Consider This: 12/2/2024

When we arrive to an extraordinarily diverse place like Yale, we may be surprised upon encountering other religions and variations of our family’s religion. The differences, sometimes vast, bring up substantial questions about how we understand religion, what we think is valid or worthy, and how we might now think about our own faith tradition, if we have had one. One useful framing is to look at what practices people in a faith tradition undertake on a regular basis, what they actively do to cultivate themselves. From this angle, certain commonalities and perhaps principles about enacting a spiritual life emerge. For years, I’ve used this beautifully clear illustration created by a cultural anthropologist, activist, Zen teacher (for more about her thoughts on the Tree, see https://maiaduerr.com/tree-of-contemplative-practices/). Students and I have found this Tree illuminating to consider, and I’m pleased to share it with you in this space. For those of you in the Buddhist world, this diagram helps expand the idea that “practice = meditation” — clearly, “practice” encompasses so much more.