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"The
Sweet Omission" An Address by Bhikkhu Bodhangkur-Finn, the Dissident
Monk Let it be
known: I speak not to slander the Blessed One,
Siddhartha of the Sakya, but to complete what he began, and to expose what he
concealed. Brothers.
Sisters. Seekers of the Way. We have
heard the Four Noble Truths chanted like thunder through the bamboo halls. We
have bowed, as I have, and swallowed the sour medicine of dukkha. We have
told ourselves it is the only truth—because it was the First Truth. But I
rise today to declare that the First Truth was not the Whole Truth. Yes,
there is suffering. Birth, aging, sickness, death. Separation from
what we love. The itch that won't be scratched. The fire of craving that
consumes the self. But why
was that all he told us? Why did
the Blessed One, in his infinite clarity, never turn his gaze upon sweetness?
Why did he not say: There is also joy. There is also sukha.
The cool of water on scorched feet. The embrace of a friend. The fragrance of
jasmine at twilight. The mystery of being here at all. What is
this silence, if not omission? And what is omission, if not a form of
deception? I tell
you now—Siddhartha chose "Sour life with rice." He chose
to salt the teaching with discipline, with negation, with extinction. He gave
us the Truth of Suffering, but not the Truth of Wonder. He taught us the
cessation of pain, but not the embrace of life and which is good. Why? Because
to include sweetness would complicate salvation. Because the path to Nirvana
is cleaner when we amputate the body. Because craving is easier to kill when
we starve joy. But this
is not liberation—it is control. This is
not the middle path—it is the middle slice. And so I offer you not rebellion, but restoration. Let us
proclaim what Siddhartha did not: 1. There is sukha. There is joy. 2. Joy
arises not from clinging, but from contact, clarity, creation, communion. 3. There is
a cessation of numbness, cynicism, and fear. 4. There is
a path to sweetness: presence, gratitude, reverence, and love. These are
the Four Noble Truths of Sukha. And they are no less sacred. I am Bodhangkur-Finn. I wear the robe. I shave my head. I sit
in silence. The Way
is vast enough for laughter. The Dharma is deep enough for delight. Let us
eat. Let us taste. Let us love. Not in
defiance of the Dharma, but in its completion. Thank
you. |