Zen and the Art of Burning Man
I’ve just returned from 20 days at Buring Man (build, burn, strike). As a Zen practitioner, it provided ample fuel for my practice. Coming into my third burn and as a leader of a large camp (PlayAlchemist, 260 people), I had the following questions and intentions in mind:
- Could I embody no-self (anatman) throughout? No self, therefore no expectations, no desires (no FOMO!), nothing unrequited, nothing lost, nothing gained. Living Nirvana.
- Could I engage in Continuous Practice for the entire period?
Dogen said: “On the great road of Buddha ancestors there is always unsurpassable practice, continuous, and sustained. It forms the circle of the Way, and is never cut off. Between aspiration, practice, enlightenment, and nirvana, there is not a moment’s gap. Continuous practice is the circle of the Way. This being so, continuous practice is unstained, not forced by you or others. The power of this continuous practice confirms you as well as others. It means your practice affects the entire earth, the entire sky, in ten directions. Although not noticed by others, or by you, it is so.
- Could I see my mind clearly through the smoke and sparkles of the event? And could I accept all that I see of my own mind (the desires still, the self-criticism or aggrandizement, etc.)? Could I let go of this mind and be free to just be…and especially just be in service the entire time without expecting something in return?
As you all know, this year, we had a little “situation” at Burning Man with three months of rain dumping in 24hrs, causing a full 2+ day shutdown of all movement within Black Rock City.
My fellow camp leads and I are pictured below addressing our camp as it became clear that:
- much of our infrastructure was destroyed
- that we would be rationing food, water, and fuel indefinitely
- that our entire megawatt power grid (which I laid by hand would be offline for several days due to electrocution risk) and that I would do the unplugging…barefoot in the mud ⚡️
- some of us would want and/or need to flee right away, while some would stay the duration no matter what — which would create complex community dynamics (judging, resentment, guilt etc.)
- camper health breakdowns would accelerate (we had one full mental breakdown, one broken arm, two broken legs)
I’ll spare you the play-by-play as we navigated, keeping everyone as safe and sane as possible, getting everyone off playa, striking camp, and leaving no trace of ourselves.
What I will impress upon you however, is a powerful set of lessons that came through as I listened to a podcast episode by Shugen Roshi of Zen Mountain Monastery in my trailer during a rest period. Shugen is a core teacher of mine, and ZMM is my home sangha, where I’m a Practicing Member. The lessons are summarized below as “Zen and the Art of Burning Man”.
Around minute 17:40 Shugen Roshi shares Hakuin’s perspective on DongShan’s five ranks (the ranks of realization/enlightenment).
How can we go beyond all of the stuff we make conflicts out of and realize that’s the story we’ve been telling for so long [that we’re separate from others] is so worn out and yet we don’t seem tired of it. It shows itself for what it is and what it will be every time [suffering]. And yet we keep telling it.— Shugen Roshi
From Haukin on DongShan’s fourth rank:
In this rank, the bodhisattva of indomitable spirit turns the Dharma-wheel of the non-duality of brightness and darkness. He stands in the midst of the filth of the world, “his head covered with dust and his face streaked with dirt.” He moves through the confusion of sound and sensual pleasure, buffeted this way and buffeted that. He is like the 🔥fire-blooming 🪷lotus, that, on encountering the flames, becomes still brighter in color and purer in fragrance.”
👀 And with this, my mind is blown 🤯 and tears come to my eyes😭. I am seeing now the full build and burn to that point, the current moment, the challenge ahead, and can see that the self I brought has been no-self. This skin bag that arrived on playa called Peter (aka Red) has been moving about for days upon days, has been manifesting as a 🔥🪷Fire Lotus. Burning brighter as it got tougher. Just getting shit done. Helping without expectation. Loving everyone all the time. Leading with easy in the most troubled times.
Haukin continues:
He is like the 🔥fire-blooming 🪷lotus, that, on encountering the flames, becomes still brighter in color and purer in fragrance. He enters the market place with empty hands, yet others receive benefit from him. This is what is called to be on the road, yet not to have left the house; to have left the house, yet not to be on the road.” Is he an ordinary man? Is he a sage? The evil ones and the heretics cannot discern him. Even the buddhas and the accenstors cannot lay their hands upon him. Were anyone to try to indicate his mind, it would be no more there than the horns of a rabbit or the hairs of a tortoise that have gone beyond the farthest mountain.
My tears continue as I feel the weight of having been fire-lotus-like during this intense experience. Burning brighter/serving harder/helping more — during a time of mud-mergency. How fortunate to have had enough practice to this point to bloom from these muddy waters, not mired and bogged down, but propelled and supported by the challenges. And yet, with no-self, there’s no back to pat. Just continuous practice. Showing up again and again as the muddy waters rise. No Peter to be proud of or disappointed in.
The lessons I learned are simple but I expand on them a bit below. The lessons add up simply to arrive with no-self to Burning Man or wherever you go. That no-self requires nothing in return for its efforts. It acts according to the causes and conditions of the moment without hesitation. This is bliss. This is nirvana.
In order to experience bliss/nirvana/flow — whatever you want to call it — even in the most challenging times, especially at Burning Man, I encourage you to follow Zen and the Art of Burning Man in your next adventure to Black Rock City. Here’s how:
Zen and the Art of Burning Man
- 😶🌫️ SHED THE SELF we lug around. That baggage will sink us.
- 🧠 SEE YOUR MIND through all “external” experiences. These stimuli are a mirror showing us our own mind. See this mind each time. Let it go. The mirror is clear and bright — no dust alights.
- 🧘🏽♀️ PRACTICE CONTINUOUSLY as each moment is a teaching. Your crazy campmate =is= a great teacher. Your lust for XYZ =is= a great teacher. Your frustration and anger with ABC =is= a lesson delivered on a silver platter tailored just for you!
- 🪷 MANIFEST AS A FIRE LOTUS in these challenging times. The world needs those who can take darkness and transform it into light. We need all the fire lotuses blooming bright to hold the suffering that abounds in this world.
- ☯️ MERGE ALL DUALITIES so you can see clearly. No us. No them. No me. No you. Just one thing. This merging of dualities simplifies and clarifies any conflict found on playa or off.
- 🎁 THERE ARE NO GIFTS in Black Rock City or in the default world. This is just an idea. With no self, all dualities unify into non-dual; who would give what to whom? The attachment to the gifts we give and the way the receiver receives them is one of the most painful experiences I see at Burning Man. It can destroy a community. This is your choice to suffer in this way. Your gift becomes a poison you drink willingly. You brewed it. You served it. Don’t choose this kind of suffering. Breathing out we let it go… breath out and say “I gave what I gave. I got what I got. And it is NOTHING. All is burned up now into one pile of dust and ash.” Be this one pile of dust and ash. Breath new life into this tired body having released the gift, giver, and receiver.
- 🏯 BE GENTLE WITH THE SANGHA you’ve created at Burning Man. Hojin Sensei (Abbess of the Fire Lotus Temple in Brooklyn) recently recounted that Maezumi Roshi used to say:
Sangha is like being in a rock tumbler. We all come in with sharp edges and we need to bump. And that’s how we smooth out a bit.
- 🤝 EXPECTATIONS ARE THE PROBLEM both at Burning Man and in the default world. When we expect the burn to be hot, and then it’s cold and muddy with rain, we think it’s “ruined”. Our expectations of people and circumstances are premeditated resentment! Choose to have no expectations, and you will have no disappointments. Conflicts will be resolved immediately. Suffering will be avoided en masse. Choose expectations, and you’re in for a world of hurt.
I hope this post was useful to you — zen can be a little complicated even though it’s supposedly simple. Perhaps it sounds unloving, or intellectual or not “heart-centered”. I promise you if you go inside these teachings you’ll find it’s the most loving of all.
This practice has transformed my life. I am ever grateful. Three bows to my venerable teachers whom I’ve learned from in this life and posthumously:
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
- Taizan Maezumi Roshi
- John Daido Louri Roshi
- Geoffrey Shugen Arnold Roshi
- Koshin Paley Ellison Sensei, Chodo Robert Campbell Sensei
- Hojin Sensei, Hogen Sensei
