Russ is one woke dude, not just on spirituality, but also on the politics of collective spirituality. And it’s collective spirituality (awakening), not institutional. That’s what I keep trying to get at with so many posts: that collective awakening isn’t necessarily gained by institutional practice; it doesn’t happen only in Buddhist organizations. In fact, my experience of awakening is that it happens largely outside of Buddhist institutions. “You’ve been told many times before, messiah’s pointed to the door, no one had the guts to leave the temple. I’m free. I’m free. And freedom tastes of reality.” (The Who, Tommy “I’m Free”).

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