Last semester I completed a Comparative Religious Ethics course, and my final project was a seminar paper comparing Buddhism and the Rastafari religion.  This is an odd comparison, but one that makes sense in my spiritual microcosm.  I am a striving (and mostly struggling) practitioner of Zen Buddhism, making it an obvious choice for the comparison. But, I have also taken an interest in Reggae music after randomly choosing a Reggae Internet radio station for calming background music. It has blossomed from background melodies to the forefront of my musical universe.  The soulful reggae melodies that I have grown to cherish are often accompanied by passionate lyrics celebrating the Rastafari culture, a movement that I knew nothing about.  An excerpt from my paper summarizes the origin of the Rastafari movement:

Born out of the slums of Jamaica in the 1930’s the religious and political movement played an important role in raising racial and anti-colonial consciousness in Jamaica.  The Rastafari movement is a powerful counteraction to the beliefs of the slave owners who proclaimed that African culture was inferior and that the country of Africa itself was an inferior territory; a “dark continent filled with uncivilized languages, cultures and custom.”  Rastafari is a religion fueled by resistance against oppression, exploitation and racial oppression, as well as a reclamation of black pride and African culture. With over a million practicing Rastafari’s throughout the world, the history and faith of this religion extends well behind the music, fashion and marijuana culture stereotype commonly accepted in American culture.

One of the many things that I respect about the culture is that the Rastafari lifestyle strives for harmony with the natural world. They believe in maintaining the purity of the body and harmony with nature through their rituals of diet, medicine and hygiene. I have always believed in the spirituality of nature, so this aspect of the culture speaks loudly to me. Our world is struggling under the duress of manmade complexities. And I do believe our salvation lies in nature. Any lifestyle that embraces a more natural way of living very much appeals to me. My happiness and inner peace has always been tied to my connectivity to nature.  This research was a pleasant reminder that I have been neglecting a natural remedy that has never failed to heal me.

My journey into the Rastafari religion has inspired me to look closely at my own spirituality.  It has inspired me to strengthen my commitment to Zen.  As a result I have been intensely disciplined about my daily zazen practice.  I have been incorporating a more natural way of living:  in my health, diet and through connectivity to nature. Zen and the Rastafari religion are similar as they both emphasize the individual pursuit to spirituality over that of the laws and structures of religion. With both Zen Buddhism and Rastafari, the journey to salvation begins and ends with the practitioner.  And the convergence of both cultures in my research forced me to look deeply into myself.  And I am better for it.

If you are interested in reading more on the research, my paper is available in its entirety on Research Gate.

And, you can also check out my Modern Reggae Jams playlist on Spotify to hear the songs that inspired my research…

The following narrative was written for my Literature of Displacement course.  It is an unpolished critical reflection piece on Mary Pipher’s book The Middle of Everywhere.  Pipher shares her experiences and relationship with refugee families that she has assisted as part of her work as a cultural broker.

Pipher’s biggest contribution to the advocacy of refugees is that she is able to humanize refugees, by crafting a narrative that provides a personal glimpse into their personalities and everyday lives. Her first-hand stories draw on themes that most can relate to: feelings of insecurity, struggles with finances, family issues etc.  Then, she extends the narrative to show how the barriers of language, unfamiliarity of the culture, post-traumatic stress of escaping war and lack of resources of a refugee complicates these relatable issues.

The fact that this humanization is required in this discussion is troublesome, considering one should not have to humanize those who are obviously human beings.  In American media and on the global political stage refugees are often presented as non-humans.  They are presented as a political situation, as mere statistics or as a collective entity that threatens American ideologies. “It is only when we strip the humanity from people – when we stop imagining them as being quite human like us – that our empathetic nature is eroded” (Owen Jones).  Our empathic nature is being intentionally numbed. This allows the powers that be to further their wars and unethical behaviors with less public opposition.

How does the empathy and compassion she evokes lead to action?  And, as privileged Americans do we have an ethic responsibility to assist in the success of refugees?  There is an enormous gap between the ideals expressed in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the actual achievement of what those rights allow.  Without guidance a non-English speaking refugee may not have knowledge, communication skills and transportation to seek out and fight for what these rights allow.   In most situations human rights are not attainable or applied fairly. Is it our ethic responsibility as fellow humans to bridge the gap between declared rights and attainment of what those rights offer?  I believe that we do have an ethical and social responsibility to our fellow human beings, but I understand that I am not the majority.  And making that argument to the masses proves to be difficult.

I believe that service to others, especially to those of diverse cultures, helps you to cultivate and solidify your beliefs and ethics.  It is achieved through comparison, through respect and removal of your comfort.  Your service to others shapes your inner self.   It is deeper than Karma and consequences. It is about expanding your knowledge of both yourself and others.  Pipher praises the resilience of successful refugees: what they had to endure to get to America and what they have to do to adapt to America. Their experiences shaped their inner selves.  And there is a lot we can learn from their journey by being a positive part of it.