Welcome to Redesigning the Dharma
Welcome to Redesigning the Dharma (RTD). In this initial post, I’d like to briefly explain the concept behind this new website and why I’ve chosen to create another website, after my initial prototypes of Hacking The Self and Adrian Baker Meditation.
Created in 2017, Hacking The Self was a platform to explore the eclectic interests that I had through the initial stages of my spiritual seeking. There was a broad-based interest in exploring physical and mental health, and yet most of the posts pertained to my interests in yoga, meditation, psychedelics. Broadly speaking, most of these topics fell within the category of “waking up,” to use Ken Wilber’s term that describes one facet of human development often associated with contemplative practices.
In 2019, upon graduating from a Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training facilitated by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach, I created Adrian Baker Meditation for my meditation coaching business. While I’m still a meditation coach, and I’m happy that some of the content on the ABM site has been and may still be of benefit to others, something about the basic orientation of the site just didn’t resonate with me.
In a contemporary capitalist culture, you’re taught to build a brand centered around YOU. But something about that orientation around “me” just felt completely at odds with the study of The Dharma. I’m not saying it is inherently incompatible, or wrong for others to do; however, after trying it for a period of time, it just didn’t resonate with something deep inside of me, personally.
Moreover, I had also discovered that a secular approach to mindfulness meditation was not really where my interests lay. My own personal experience has taught me that it is not merely meditation as a technique that liberates, but rather the larger teachings of The Dharma that facilitate spiritual awakening and human flourishing. Of course, secular mindfulness draws on the teachings of The Dharma as well; while the secular container is an advantage in terms of accessibility to a wider audience, it is also, in many respects, a limitation for people wanting to go deeper but who have to tip-toe around explicitly religious (Buddhist) concepts and language.
I’m certainly not interested in speaking exclusively to those who identify as “Buddhist.” In fact, I’m very interested in the conversation between other contemplative traditions and Buddhism, and in the dialogue between various traditions and schools within Buddhism. I have studied in other traditions, Kashmir Shaivism in particular, as well as with teachers from various lineages within Buddhism, and I have found that negotiating these often contrasting approaches to be an important part of my own path and a rich source of insight and meaning.
I want this to be very much a platform where people can critically discuss meditation, awakening, and the teachings of The Dharma with neither attachment nor aversion towards any religious language, belief, or identity. Specifically, I’m interested in exploring this project of “Redesigning the Dharma:” the necessity of adapting the teachings of The Dharma to meet the needs of a particular time and place. Given the increasing interest in Buddhism in developed countries, and the rapid development and cultural changes happening in traditionally Buddhist countries in Asia, the time is ripe for such a discussion.
What do I mean by “Redesigning the Dharma?” and what are some of the main subjects that I wish to explore? I’ll consider this in my next post.