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Rastafari
Simonthepilgrim
Veteran
As part of the commemoration of the abolition, in the British empire, of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour had a piece about Rastafari. The speaker was Barbara Makeda Blake Hannah who has been a Rastafarian for some 30 years.
What struck me most forcibly was hearing her say that she has found, in her religion, forgiveness for slavery. In a world where grudges seem to last for centuries, it was heart-warming to hear that the white-hating aspect of Rastafari is passing away. And that the speaker was a woman from a tradition which has tended to portray women as subject to men.
Of all the religions with which I have come into contact, Rastafari is the one which is treated with least respect. It is seen as no more than an excuse for marijuana smoking and for loud music. The depth of Bob Marley's message about oppression and liberation is simply ignored, overlooked because of the quality of the music.
From a personal point of view, it was living in London, in a bedsit in Ladbroke Grove, that brought me into direct contact with Rastafarians. I found them profoundly challenging. Their awareness of discrimination and abandonment by the system made me aware of the deep and abiding racism in our society. Their elders were deep and articulate thinkers, both kind and strong whilst continuing to acknowledge anger at their slave past.
Perhaps it is their influence that drives what some of my friends complain about in me: a sort of heightened sensitivity to discrimination, a paranoia that goes beyond my Holocaust heritage. Perhaps they are right. The truth is that I wouldn't want to be any different: the discriminations are enshrined within our Western, white male dominated society.
I think that I owe my Rastafarian friends much gratitude. They showed me, in angry and sometimes violent ways, that we only live the comfortable lives that we have as a result of the abomination that is slavery.When I hear people deride the idea that we owe reparations, I understand all too well: if we were to pay the descendants what we owe to their ancestors, we would have to become beggars ourselves. It is so much safer to say: "It wasn't me. It was those evil people back then and over there so I owe nothing from what I have inherited from them."
When I first heard about interdependence from Thich Nhat Hanh's work and Joanna Macy and others who found their inspiration in the Dharma, it made sense of my own feelings. Not one of us can resile from the debts we inherit. When I think back to the anger and the violence of my time in and around Nottinghill Gate, I realise that it, too, is part of the debt we have to pay: as a white male, I become a screen onto which others project the Oppressor. I can dislike it, and rail against it, as our dear Celebrin does, as I have done.
If I do that, however, I miss the lesson that is there to learn. Our own dear and valued "Daily Dharma Drops" offered us this, the other day:
What struck me most forcibly was hearing her say that she has found, in her religion, forgiveness for slavery. In a world where grudges seem to last for centuries, it was heart-warming to hear that the white-hating aspect of Rastafari is passing away. And that the speaker was a woman from a tradition which has tended to portray women as subject to men.
Of all the religions with which I have come into contact, Rastafari is the one which is treated with least respect. It is seen as no more than an excuse for marijuana smoking and for loud music. The depth of Bob Marley's message about oppression and liberation is simply ignored, overlooked because of the quality of the music.
From a personal point of view, it was living in London, in a bedsit in Ladbroke Grove, that brought me into direct contact with Rastafarians. I found them profoundly challenging. Their awareness of discrimination and abandonment by the system made me aware of the deep and abiding racism in our society. Their elders were deep and articulate thinkers, both kind and strong whilst continuing to acknowledge anger at their slave past.
Perhaps it is their influence that drives what some of my friends complain about in me: a sort of heightened sensitivity to discrimination, a paranoia that goes beyond my Holocaust heritage. Perhaps they are right. The truth is that I wouldn't want to be any different: the discriminations are enshrined within our Western, white male dominated society.
I think that I owe my Rastafarian friends much gratitude. They showed me, in angry and sometimes violent ways, that we only live the comfortable lives that we have as a result of the abomination that is slavery.When I hear people deride the idea that we owe reparations, I understand all too well: if we were to pay the descendants what we owe to their ancestors, we would have to become beggars ourselves. It is so much safer to say: "It wasn't me. It was those evil people back then and over there so I owe nothing from what I have inherited from them."
When I first heard about interdependence from Thich Nhat Hanh's work and Joanna Macy and others who found their inspiration in the Dharma, it made sense of my own feelings. Not one of us can resile from the debts we inherit. When I think back to the anger and the violence of my time in and around Nottinghill Gate, I realise that it, too, is part of the debt we have to pay: as a white male, I become a screen onto which others project the Oppressor. I can dislike it, and rail against it, as our dear Celebrin does, as I have done.
If I do that, however, I miss the lesson that is there to learn. Our own dear and valued "Daily Dharma Drops" offered us this, the other day:
What is the Understanding Ability (Paññâ Indriya)?
The Blessed Buddha once said:
What, Bhikkhus, is the Ability of Understanding?
Here, Bhikkhus, any Noble Disciple who is both intelligent and wise;
is endowed with understanding of cause and effect,
is endowed with understanding of arising and ceasing,
is endowed with understanding of conditioned dependency,
which is Noble, penetrative, & leading to the complete irreversible
elimination of any and all Suffering...
He understands it, as it really is: This is Suffering!
He understands it, as it really is: This is the Cause of Suffering!
He understands it, as it really is: This is the Ceasing of Suffering!
He understands it, as it really is: This is the Way to End Suffering!
This is called the Ability of Understanding!
Source (edited extract):
The Grouped Sayings of the Buddha. Samyutta Nikaya.
Book [V:199] section 48: The Abilities. 10: Analysis ...
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Comments
I think you are absolutely right about the Rasta religion. It is both deep and deeply spiritual, and although some of their views seem out of sync with "contemporary" times, it is a very modern religious expression, on par with most if not all of the more prestigious, organized religions.
I've known a few "authentic" or religious Rastas. While, from the establishment's perspective, they may be overly sensitized to oppression, discrimination, and the legacy of slavery, in fact, this sensitivity is, IMHO, completely appropriate. It's because they are so far outside the mainstream that they can so powerfully critique the "center". It's us white folk who are largely blind to the terror and genocide against people of color, especially black Africans many centuries ago.
Beyond the literal, socio-political meaning of the oppression of the people themselves, the spiritual message of liberation is also part of the struggle. For the Rasta, daily life as oppression is the physical manifestation of a spiritual lesson: daily life has the potential for liberation as well. It's a lesson for us all!
Peace,
I abhor the platitudes of Politicians, whose motives I cynically question currently, with regard to the apologies they are making....
Thank goodness that as a general and social observation, Slavery is a thing of the past, here, but 'both sides' need to rid themselves of the shackles worn, both voluntarily and invisibly. I'm talking of the persistent, insiduous and negative sentiments of prejudice, of course.
Nice post, Simon, thank you.
Nevertheless, I believe this commemoration is having beneficial effects. People are beginning to look at the whole business of treating other humans as chattels or resources. The institutionalised racism of our 'white' society and its wealth resting on the backs of slavery are no longer dirty little secrets. Even Canterbury is now asking: "Why were we compensated for the loss of slaves but the released oppressed were given nothing?"
It is perhaps time that we turned our eyes towards our cousins in Germany. They have had to live with the horror of a generation that permitted genocide within living memory and on their own soil. We should be asking them how we go about making amends. Apologies are empty without amends.
I was horrified to learn that the splendid Coddrington Library which I well remember from All Souls', Oxford, was entirely funded by a slave-owning, slave trader. Every lawyer, politician, historian, et al., who have benefited from the magnificent library have done so at the expense of human misery.
How do we make any sort of reparation?
And how do we confront the chattel slavery which still exists in the world, to say nothing of the wage/benefit slavery that is imposed on our own poor and disinherited? Is it not time to take real action against people trafficing? Hand-wringing is not enough.
As I continue to practice Buddhism I force myself to look at horrors instead of turning away but there are two things that I find very, very difficult to look at; the abuse of animals and the reality of global human slavery today. So dark. True hell realms. So overwhelming in every sense that I'm rendered semi-paralyzed at the very thought of them. I don't know what I can do...short of bearing witness. Then again, I still haven't been able to watch the videos I got from PETA and two other animal rights groups. I can barely even talk about them. These are some of the issues that make me yearn for a teacher to whom I can bring the questions "How do I skillfully view these atrocities and what is it that I can do about them?"
I realize my perspectives on these issues are imbalanced but I don't know how to get to the middle of the path regarding them.
I guess I'm also a little off topic but these things have been on my mind recently and I needed to get them out.