Dear NAFPS Community:
I am not Native American, and practice as a Soto Zen Buddhist. I am not a professional, just a private person.
I have been researching injurious spiritual counterfeits for years
and am perturbed by the harm incurred by persons who buy
in to groups using material stolen and then distorted by greedy
merchants who have exploited the rightful custodians of tribal
spiritual heritage.
One of the vows I took as a lay practitioner of Zen was 'to uphold all forms and ceremonies'--which means, to me, honoring boundaries, never entering a circle if not qualified, and to honor the practice paths of all human beings by not trespassing.
I do a lot of research and can post helpful URL links .
I also own some books that are hard to find, and from which I can quote material others may find helpful in research projects.
I will never quote material from this site elsewhere unless given clear permission, as so much as already been stolen from this community and I do not want to repeat the process.
Finally, 15 years ago, I recall meeting a sweet, 20 year old girl, who said she was part Lakota and was moving away to go to the midWest to find someone to teach her the practice path.
Now, years later, I have thought of her and worry about what happened to her. I gave her a copy of Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions and now I fear that, through my ignorance, I may have played an unwitting role in leading her astray.
She looked like an open and very trusting person. Unless her guardian angel worked overtime to protect her, she would have been vulnerable to exploitation.
We do not know how much time we each are going to be allotted in this life. So I find it sad to have it wasted by recruiters for spiritual counterfeits.
We cant prevent people from going astray but at least can make sure information is available for those willing to do background checks.
Human beings are not here to be used as objects.
Many bows to this community.
