APACHE ZEN A Way of Dis tr a c t i o n The Apach e Indians, it now see m s , were particularly good at obs erv a tio n and tracking bec a u s e ther e were ma n y in their tribe with what is curre n tly called “Atten tio n Deficit Disord er”. ADD in childre n is som e ti m e s referr e d to as Hyperkin e tic Syndro m e when it is associat e d with over- activity and difficult to ma n a g e beh a viour; mos t children with this condition grow out of it before they beco m e adults, but it is now recog nis e d that som e adults re m ai n with residu al symp t o m s mor e tha n usu ally distr ac tible and restles s with an inability to conc e n t r a t e for long periods on one particular thing. Perha p s the Apach e s with this sort of mind were able to conv er t a possible “proble m ” into a positive and us eful talent, and were bett e r able to notice cert ain key signs tha n thos e track er s who conce n t r a t e d in the “nor m al” way. Conce n t r a tio n is fund a m e n t a l to Buddhist me dit a tio n practice, and I wond e r how the Apach e track e r s would hav e cope d with sitting in one plac e and conc e n t r a ti n g for an hour or so in the tradition al way! I think that they might hav e preferr e d action me dit a tio n tech niq u e s like thos e ass ocia t e d with the Martial Arts, or perh a p s a walking practice. I hav e come to realis e that I am an Apach e Buddhis t. This is bec a u s e my mind, when it com e s to me dit a tio n in particular, works like that of an Apach e track er - I am one of thos e peopl e who prefer active me dit a tio n tech niq u e s , and this may be bec a u s e my conce n t r a tio n is alter e d as a result of having the dise a s e multiple sclerosis. People with MS not only hav e physic al disability but ma y hav e som e cognitive deficits as well, including difficulties with me m o r y and conc e n t r a ti o n. Many people hav e conce n t r a tio n proble m s for a variet y of reas o n s not just residu al ADD or MS, but also due to anxiet y, depr e s sio n, strok e s , Parkinso n ' s Disea s e and ma n y oth er conditions . Should people like us be discour a g e d from me dit a tio n practice? Certainly not. Perha p s , in a stra n g e way, we can ad a p t to mor e active, less boring, tech niq u e s and beco m e the Tracker s of the com m u ni t y or Sang h a ! As an Apach e Buddhist I no long er try to ap e you conv e n tio n al ones. Yes, I do att e n d a mon t hly me dit a tio n ses sion with our local Sang h a . We use short Gath a s (vers e s ) and a Bell of Mindfulne s s , which me a n s that I can just abou t cope bec a u s e the time is divided into ma n a g e a b l e proportion s . The idea of sitting still in one plac e without interru p tio n is an an a t h e m a to me.
Beca u s e I hav e MS, I not only hav e difficulty conce n t r a ti n g for long periods, but I also suffer from restles s spas m s , fatigu e, incoordin a tio n and bladd e r symp t o m s . Howev e r the Buddhis t World does not see m design e d for people who are disabl e d physic ally any more than it does for the cognitively impaire d! To be a tradition al practicing Buddhis t it is ess e n ti al to be fit and active. I shall nev er forget the dism a y e d faces when I had to sit in a chair while oth er s stood in an orderly fashion during a prec e p t s taking cere m o n y which was being video e d for post e rity. (Have you ever wond e r e d why ther e are so few sick or disabl e d people at me dit a tio n ses sion s ?) Every day mindfuln e s s techniq u e s hav e be e n helpful to me, but I am wary of the Dog m a of ess e n ti al sitting me dit a tio n practice, and hav e nev er see n any convincing evide n c e that it is mor e effective tha n other mindfuln e s s practic e s . The Buddh a may well hav e found this way very helpful in the hot lands of the Shakn a m u n i, but did Mahavira, Micah, Jesus, Moha m m e d , Francis Assisi, Gand hi or Mother Teres a rely upon this techniq u e ? I think Gota m a Buddh a went out of his way to teac h tolera n c e and the import a n c e of learnin g from our own exp erie n c e in our own life cont e x t. My own practice is bas e d on rea din g a chap t e r of the Dha m m a p a d a each day (when I can), tog e t h e r with occa sion al mo m e n t s of Yogic bre a t hi n g and mindfuln e s s of everyd a y phe n o m e n a . I also like to write short poe m s abou t natur e and live a life in keepin g with the five prec e p t s as far as I am able. More specific me dit a tio n on daily hindr a n c e s and irritation s is perh a p s the ne ar e s t I get to adop tin g formal tech niq u e s . One of the things that irritat e s me mos t is the Motor Car - I hear the noise of a vehicle arising far awa y, coming to its maxi m u m and then fading aw ay. Som e ti m e s the noise take s a long time to com e and on other occasion s it is quick and loud. I bre a t h e with awar e n e s s when the noise app e a r s and am consciou s that all feelings, perc e p tio n s and thoug h t s - like the nois e - come into being, exist and the n pas s aw ay. So I transfor m noise, oth er irritation s and adv er sitie s into a way of est a blis hing a non- att a c h e d Yogic/Budd his t/S ys t e mi c view. An over all Dha m m a /P hilos o p h y is an ess e n ti al found a tio n to my practic e, and I derive this from my pers o n al life exp erie n c e s und er s t o o d in the light of litera t u r e , poetr y and art from all tradition s and non e. I also nee d fellowship and get this from my family, friend s, our local Sang h a , curre n t and forme r patie n t s , fellow MS people, collea g u e s and my inner guide s. The ess e n c e of my practic e is to dev elo p “ A vie w as va s t as th e
sk y but acti o n s as scru p u l o u s as an at o m ” and “Ey e s as cold as d e a d e m b e r s but a h e ar t th a t burn s lik e fire ” . (from Mahaya n a Buddhis t sourc e s ). And so to beco m e , in my cont e x t, an Apach e track er maxi misin g aw ar e n e s s , comp a s s io n and disp a s sio n for the sak e of all beings . Dr Sandy Burnfield From “Buddhism Now” - November 1997