13-16 December Zen Retreat, Dharma Centre, Robertson

I am part of a Zen Sangha, we meet once a week on go on retreat every alternate month at the Dharma centre in Robertson. This was our final one for the year, and included a special extra day. It seemed doubly auspicious being on the week end of Madiba’s burial.

A conversation which emerged:

In the context of meditation and mindfulness practice, there are now institutions which give official formal accreditation for such practice. This opens the debate; does a certificate, or possibly more accurately can a certificate endorse such practice. A qualification might ensure that certain procedures and criteria have been met, but Practice with a capital ‘P’ requires ongoing, persistent and committed practising. Inspection of such accreditation practices can open a can of worms. This can open up into forms of abuse, exploitation and tyrannical control for establishments, the accreditors, whose aims may not align with the very practices being accredited. This has played out in health areas where ingredients in herbal, ‘naturopathic’ medicines have been scheduled by pharmaceutical establishment, thus making them unavailable and/or illegal.

Does life-long learning mean that we need to constantly be doing courses, obtaining certificates? How does self-learning and experience fit into this?