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Welcome to the Buddhist Military Sangha! This is a nonpolitical and nonsectarian forum for Buddhists serving in the US Armed Forces.
-Provide a welcoming and positive forum for Buddhists currently serving or who have served in the military to communicate with and support one another. -Recognize and promote honorable military service as in accord with the Eightfold Path's Right Livelihood. -Correct misconceptions about Buddhists serving in the military. -Help Buddhists unfamiliar with the military understand the jobs of their relatives and friends who are serving or who have served, and who love and respect the military profession. -Help Buddhist Sanghas learn how to support and understand Buddhist military members, veterans, and their families. - Represent the importance of religious pluralism and diversity in today's military population, and by extension in American society. -Provide information about Buddhist Military Chaplaincy in US Armed Forces.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Zen Sesshin and Basic Training??
Unitarian Universalist Army Chaplain Candidate David Pyle has posted a very interesting (!) comparison between Zen sesshin (meditation retreat) and military basic training on his blog Celestial Lands.
2 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Thank you for the link, Chaplain Shin... But just so you know, I am still a Chaplain Candidate, not yet acessioned as a Chaplain.
It was an amazing experience... and thinking about the comparison between Sesshin and Basic Training was inspired by a question my Roshi asked about how similar the two were.
I will write more later on the experience, after I have had some more time to process in a deeper way.
You know I was thinking of attending a sesshin when I get back from Iraq. I didn't know it would be a repeat of boot camp! Great article. It's probably the best description of a sesshin that I've ever read. Not so sure if I want to do it now...
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2 comments:
Thank you for the link, Chaplain Shin... But just so you know, I am still a Chaplain Candidate, not yet acessioned as a Chaplain.
It was an amazing experience... and thinking about the comparison between Sesshin and Basic Training was inspired by a question my Roshi asked about how similar the two were.
I will write more later on the experience, after I have had some more time to process in a deeper way.
Yours in Faith,
David Pyle
You know I was thinking of attending a sesshin when I get back from Iraq. I didn't know it would be a repeat of boot camp! Great article. It's probably the best description of a sesshin that I've ever read. Not so sure if I want to do it now...
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