the woo-hoo's

With an appointment at 10, there is not so much room to exercise my usual morning blither. But old habits die hard and there is a little time ....

Today I think that in spiritual endeavor (or any other for that matter), it is a good idea to be wary of the woo-hoo's. Not look down like some gently smirking adult, not suggest that anyone could outgrow or get smarter than the woo-hoo's, not pretend that woo-hoo's were an estate of lesser attainment ... just keep a gentle eye on the woo-hoo's.

Woo-hoo enlightenment! Woo-hoo perfection! Woo-hoo peace! Woo-hoo ordination! Woo-hoo an understanding that brooks no doubt! Subtle or gross -- the woo-hoo factor.

Woo-hoo's can and do inspire action, perhaps, but they also carry with them the very doubt that woo-hoo enthusiasms may seek to allay. This isn't good or bad, juvenile or adult, lesser or greater ... it just strikes me as a tendency worth attending to. Cruisin' and brusin' are a package deal that turning into a serene and holy zombie cannot cure.

Yesterday, on a Buddhist bulletin board, I read a question about why anyone should consider ordination a necessity ... or even hold it up as a reasonable, heart-felt desire. And without really thinking about it, I wrote:

For those inclined to Buddhism, the lay person tries to learn what the monk already knows even as the monk strives to learn what the lay person already knows. We distinguish these two by station, but what is already known is indistinguishable.

Is this true or is it more facile mind woo-hoo? I don't really know. I guess, like anyone else who might be inclined, I'll just have to check it out.

On the dining room table, there is a fat Independence Day rocket I bought my younger son for his birthday. Though such pyrotechnics are illegal in this state, well, what the hell -- July 4 is coming and we plan to set it off whatever the fallout.

I await with glee the woo-hoo I fully expect it will inspire.

A brilliant BOOM is really kool.