Against The Stream: The Buddhist Path Of Revolution

Against The Stream: The Buddhist Path Of Revolution
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Against the Stream is more than just another blog about
Buddhism. It is a manifesto and field guide for
the front lines of the revolution. It is the culmination of almost
two decades of meditative dissonance from the next generation of Buddhists in the West. It is a call to awakening for the
sleeping masses.

Wake up: the revolution has already begun; it started 2,500
years ago, when Sid (Siddhartha Gautama, Sid for short)
emerged victorious over suffering in the battle with his own
mind. But, as most things tend to be with time, the spiritual
revolution that Sid started, which we now call Buddhism, has
been co-opted by the very aspects of humanity that Sid was
trying to dismantle. The causes of suffering and confusion in
the form of greed, hatred, and delusion have continued to corrupt the masses and have even crept into the teachings of this
revolutionary path.

This blog is my attempt to present an introduction to
the radical path of awakening as I believe it was originally
intended and instructed. I have done my best to leave behind
the dogmatic and culturally biased perspectives that have
come to be part and parcel of many of the current presentations of Buddhism.

That having been said, I must also admit that my own
biases and conditioned experiences will surely color these
blogs with the unenlightened views and opinions that limit
my ability to always see clearly. I have not attempted to be
precise or historically correct in my interpretations; rather, I
have taken the liberty to share the path to awakening as I have
been practicing it and experiencing it from the inside out.
I am convinced that what I will present in these writings is,
for the most part, in line with the oldest recorded teachings of
the Buddha, the Theravadan tradition, as preserved and practiced in Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar), and Thailand. Many of
these teachings I received directly from the unbroken monastic
lineage that leads all the way back to the Buddha. But more
important is the fact that I have directly experienced these
teachings and the transformative effects of this path over
approximately two decades of meditative engagement. I have
will not attempt to present all of the wisdom and compassion of
the Buddha in these writings; rather, I will do my best to
share teachings and techniques that I believe will lead to the
direct experiences of the Buddha's compassionate wisdom.

Against the Stream is my attempt to illuminate the path to
freedom as I believe the Buddha intended it to be, as a radical
and subversive personal rebellion against the causes of suffering and confusion. We have the ability to effect a great positive
change in the world, starting with the training of our own
minds and the overcoming of our deluded conditioning.
Waking up is not a selfish pursuit of happiness; it is a revolutionary stance, from the inside out, for the benefit of all beings
in existence.

May the teachings and techniques in this blog inspire you
to serve the truth of generosity, kindness, and appreciation and
to defy the lies of selfishness, ill will, and jealousy. May all
beings meditate and destroy the causes of suffering in the
forms of internal and external oppression and ignorance. And
may the inner revolution bear the fruit of freedom you took
birth to experience!

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