Sometimes Tradition Sucks: What a Difference a Year Can Make

It was just over a year ago that I very publicly withdrew from the Taego Overseas Seminary after learning about their discriminatory policies; until then these policies had been unknown to me and the general public. Nine months and one retreat into my training with them, I discovered that openly gay and lesbian people could not be fully ordained as monks, despite my being clear from the start that I’m a gay man. After a lot of digging around it was also reluctantly revealed to me that women, anyone over the age of 55, and people with physical challenges were also excluded from ordaining in this order. 

All of this was justified to me as being based on the Vinaya (monastic rules of conduct written a few thousand years ago), yet within the Vinaya can be found rules that expressly forbids monks to be married or to lead non-celibate lives. Yet Taego monks (at least the heterosexual, male ones) are allowed to marry. But in Taegoland, women and lgbt people may not.

When I discovered I would have to lie and hide who I am if I were ever to ordain as a monk in this order, I was crushed. For many years I felt called upon to ordain so the Taego Order seemed a natural fit since it billed itself as a progressive order with a 1,000 year history, rooted in Korean Zen (a tradition I had by now grown very fond of). The Zen geek in me was enamored with the idea that I could be part of a lineage with such a long, unbroken line of transmission (which as it turns out isn’t really true anyway).

As Zen Master Seung Sahn used to say, sometimes a bad situation is really a good situation. And sometimes what appears to be a good situation is really a bad one. This wisdom that I’m paraphrasing very much applied to my experience last year:  at the time it felt like the worse thing in the world was happening to me, yet it was in fact the best possible outcome in the long run.

In Zen it is often emphasized that we ought not be fooled by appearances because they can be misleading and inaccurate. 

For a long time I was stuck on an idea of what constituted an authentic Zen Order because I bought into the concept that a Buddhist lineage that can be traced back for hundreds of years must be more valid, more desirable, more authentic.

Yet witnessing the Taego Order’s double standards and blatant discrimination under the guise of tradition underscored that many things which are rooted in history and/or tradition are not necessarily good or desirable at all: and in fact they can often be quite harmful. 

Traditionally marriage between the races was considered illegal and immoral until a 1967 Supreme Court decision corrected this wrong view, despite the fact that the vast majority of the public at the time thought blacks and whites should not be allowed to marry.

Currently, in most Christian traditions women are not allowed to ordain on a level equal to men. 

The Buddha himself is often credited with taking the revolutionary step of ordaining women, but he only did so begrudgingly and after being convinced by Ananda that women were just as capable of awakening as men are. However, his nuns had additional rules and restrictions to observe, rules that their male counterparts were not asked to follow. He then erroneously concluded that as a result of his succumbing to the pressure to ordain women, his teachings would only survive a mere 500 years rather than the 1,000 years he had previously predicted. He was, after all, just a dude who lived 2,500 years ago, a man that while amazing in many ways was also just a product of his time.

All of this is especially interesting to consider in light of the major breakthroughs that have occurred for the LGBT population in the United States over the past year: the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and having a sitting president voice support for marriage equality. 

Sometimes tradition is misguided and no longer correct, and therefore needs to be changed. 

Many people argue that marriage should be between one man and one woman because that is how it has traditionally existed, and that the rules of marriage are clearly outlined in the Old and New Testaments. If one is to take the Bible literally however, there can be a strong case made for polygamy, allowing slavery, and outlawing divorce.

Interestingly, after leaving Taego, which I thought was a 1,600 year old order, I discovered that it was actually formed quite recently as a result of a mass exodus of monks from the Chogye Order in 1970.

The unexpected turn of events last year led me to the Five Mountain Zen Order with whom I was able to ordain just four months ago. Five Mountain is a thoroughly modern and truly authentic Order based in the same Korean Zen lineage of Zen Master Seung Sahn. It’s a young and growing “Monastery Without Walls” whose main focus is helping people regardless of their financial means or geographic location. Founded by my teacher and friend Ven. Paul Yuánzhì Lynch, it recognizes and respects tradition while being dedicated to offering people teachings and opportunities to practice in ways that make sense in our current culture and time. Paul is building an international sangha that is inclusive, dynamic, and far-reaching, and together we are trailblazing a path which other contemporary Western Buddhist lineages would be wise to follow. 

Knowing what I know now, I’d have never bothered chasing after an idea of authenticity because Im now in the company of a sangha that is more concerned with helping others than following outdated and useless rules. 

What a difference a year can make.