Precepts of Bearing Witness - Barry Magid

Andrew Tootell's OzZen Podcast

In this talk, my teacher, Barry Magid introduces us to the precepts of bearing witness. Barry suggests that the metaphor of bearing witness is more suited to contemporary lay practice in the west, than the metaphor of making a vow. When we bear witness to for example, violence in ourselves, we lay the groundwork for transformation through seeing ourselves clearly, without judgement. In contrast to this, vows can be easily broken and also may set up the aspiration to become an idealised version of ourself, forever feeling less than the projected ideal. The talk is followed by a very informative Q&A session.