Yesterday Field of Merit entered into the world of Facebook! In my post on the website of the same name I ponder on this step and on the use of the Internet to spread the word about Buddhist practice. My conclusion? The Internet can be used in the service of Buddhism if done with care and thoughtfulness.
Quietly I think to myself, Would Dogen have used Facebook to spread the word about Zazen, had it been available back then? Zazen was, as I understand, recommended universally to be taken up by lay and monastics alike. Another thought, or question, that comes to mind: Is being ‘out there’ – on Facebook, on this website, and elsewhere incompatible with being ‘in here’ which is the call of the Hermitage? To stop and be still, to reflect, to contemplate and to turn within. To turn the stream of Compassion within.
