This picture is portraying a positive stereotype regarding Buddhism. “We’ve done nothing wrong…” implies that everyone who practices Buddhism is perfect. Warner touches on this point in his book.
He states, “Lots of spiritual-type people try to establish some kind of spiritual purity in their lives. In order to do so they often try hard as they can to eliminate anything that might disturb purity…our practice seeks to expose everything…it may look like we’re doing nothing when we sit zazen. But we are actually exposing ourselves to ourselves.” No one is perfect, but abolishing certain things to reach this goal is not the way. Warner talks about his own trials and tribulations, and he acknowledges that it is hard to just simply escape life; you have to deal with it. Through Buddhism he has achieved a better tool of relating to the world. He says, “This is why I do zazen. I’ve discovered that when I didn’t do it, my body and mind were too scrambled up for me to interact with anyone in a sensible way. But there’s another side to that. You’re just like me, an a**hole.” He admits he is not perfect, but through Buddhist practices he becomes aware of himself and his relation to the universe.
He addresses the point of strict adherence to Buddhist precepts. Some people believe they cannot practice Buddhism because of the precepts. In Buddhism the main goal is not keeping the precepts. The goal is to receive these precepts and recognize the value and purpose in one’s life. In Buddhism, morality is reality itself. “We are living in the now so we must find rules that can be used here and now. We must find our precepts every moment”. It is not about striving for a perfect life, but understanding the value of living correctly.
