Buddhism for city people

Jen B. (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Fae a Dodo (photo), Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

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It's happening. I'm becoming Fae.

It's nice to hear about the Thai Theravada Forest Tradition, imagining sitting under a canopy of green jungle light in meditation, no mosquitoes making it into my crot or parasol netting.

But I live in the city, tool around in an EV, and can hardly see myself ever moving into the forest. Don't go in there! That's where the Fae (Irish sidhe) reside, fairy woodland tricksters wanting little if anything to do with mere mortals. How the Buddha got along with these devas and devis makes little sense, unless he spent a lot of time sending them metta or loving-kindness to soothe them that he was no threat.

It used to common, now rare.

Wandering ascetics, monks and nuns, dealing with ogres (yakkhas) and gnomes (kumbandhas), shapeshifters (maras, nagas, asuras) and other oddities (narakas) and ghosts (pretas), it makes no sense to city folk, the Cosmopolitans used to temples and officiants.

It's true, Fae. Buddhism began as a forest tradition, but it came out of the woods long ago, into the village and big city centers. Now monastics are temple-priests. Everything but weddings are arranged, even though monastics will gladly come by after the nuptials to offer blessings (suttas) and protective chants (parittas).

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In the city, for example Bangkok, Thailand, Los Angeles' twin city (both sharing essentially the same long name) we find magnificent temples with royal patrols, gold edifices, statues, pagoda reliquaries.

Now throughout the US there are meditation centers, monastic complexes with an emphasis on lay practitioners. Come see.

Can I drive there?

Of course.