WEEK THREE ESSAY
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I am a long-time practitioner and teacher of Yang-style Taiji Quan (also spelled Taichi Ch’uan), a Chinese moving meditation and martial art often described as “the way of water.”
When I first began teaching Taiji at the local Recreation Center, the Center’s Fitness Director told me she was eager to expand their Taiji offerings. She mentioned that there was already a Taiji class on the schedule and asked me to attend at least one session and let her know whether the instructor was teaching “real Taiji.” In hindsight, that request felt like a setup.
I attended the class expecting to encounter a form of Taiji I would recognize. Over the years, I have been exposed to many styles of Taiji, through different teachers and practices in both China and across the United States. I know that there are four main families that developed Taiji, and there are ancillary practices, such as the Sword, Saber, 5 Animals, etc. What I encountered, however, was unlike any Taiji class I had previously experienced. The instructor explained that she taught according to how she felt that day, allowing her mood to determine the content of the class.
Afterward, I asked her about the lineage of her teaching. She named a source that was not associated with any of the four traditional families who developed and transmitted Taiji in China. As a Chinese speaker, I was further surprised that the name she used did not even appear to be Chinese, at least as far as I could recognize.
The class itself was very popular. In many ways, it felt like a high-energy movement class—something like Zumba—with a few Taiji terms sprinkled in. I actually enjoyed it. Still, I could not, in good conscience, report to the Fitness Director that the class represented Taiji as I understand and practice it.
For me, lineage matters. Taiji was developed and preserved through four families, and if one is not teaching from one of those lineages, I do not believe it is appropriate to claim that one is teaching Taiji. I have always held the lineage of my own practice in high regard. I know I will never be as accomplished as the Yang family originators of my form, including their son Yang Chengfu, who taught Cheng Man-ch’ing. Cheng Man-ch’ing, in turn, shortened the form, brought it to America, and taught my teachers, who taught me.
In my own Taiji classes at the Recreation Center, I share a brief history of this lineage with my students. It is important to me that students understand, as I was taught, that the form and practice I teach are part of an ancient practice, standardized, time-tested, and effective. While individual understanding deepens over time, the form itself does not change.
I am deeply grateful to my teachers and to the lineage that has made this practice available to me. The Taiji I practice is simple, but not easy. It requires discipline—both to learn and to apply in daily life. I am thankful for the generosity of this lineage in sharing Taiji with people in America and around the world. It has made my life more livable.
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Hi Kat, this is fascinating. I would love to learn more about this practice. Your essay makes me think that, among other reasons, lineage is also important to keep the practice within certain confines (or the soul of the practice), as opposed to introducing too much of our own interpretation and/or intuition. I really appreciate your statement, “While individual understanding deepens over time, the form itself does not change.” Thanks for sharing this!
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Hi Kat, I practice Chen-style Taijiquan, and I also feel strongly how important respect and loyalty for the teachers who taught and refined the practice for generations since 1400. Side note, my local teacher lived with Grand Master Chen-Xiaowang for several years in China, and his son, Chen-Yingjun is coming to our school in May to offer a 4-day workshop. Excitement is building!
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There are two lineages that resonate most powerfully for me.
The first is the lineage of mothers. I came to meditation practice through the Mommy Sangha, which created a container for practice that was flexible enough to adapt to the utter chaos of new motherhood (where none of us were getting 20 minutes of alone time to sit and anyone who had a shrine before kids likely had to convert that precious space into a changing table). The story of Siddhartha’s journey to becoming the Buddah begins with him leaving his wife and children (way to go deadbeat dad). As mothers, we are the ones who remain and do the work day in and day out of nurturing the next generation, being present, and dealing with the challenges of the world as they come – often with no break, no time to go on meditation retreats, and practice that is frequently interrupted by requests for goldfish crackers. That, my friends, is it’s own path of warriorship. At times, teachings from the great male teachers can feel so out of touch with the mother’s reality, so finding teachers who can speak to our lived experience is a challenge, but there are a few. Our Mommy Sangha jokingly refers to Pema Chodron’s “Comfortable with Uncertainty” as the mother’s bible.
The other lineage I claim is that of only children. It is a unique experience to grow up without siblings. It has been particularly challenging to be an “only” who is trying to navigate the unexpected death of one parent and failing health of the other without sibling supports. The term “lonely only” definitely resonates for me, although loneliness is just as pervasive among people with siblings and even those who have siblings don’t necessarily have positive relationships with them. I have found it helpful to have a loving kindness practice where I think about fellow only children navigating similar challenges to mine and it has made me feel less alone in difficult moments.
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Oh Stina, I so resonated with your lineage of mothers! When I first learned to meditate, and heard the instructions, I thought, “These people clearly have no children!” And yes, the Buddha leaving his wife and newborn child (the day after his son was born! And no note, just gone!) ooh, that’s a hard one to look past. You might like to read The Buddha’s Wife, by Janet Surrey and Samuel Shem; it tells the story from the point of view of Yasodhara. (And isn’t it weird that we don’t even know her name? Just “the Buddha’s wife”, like for years I was just known as “Zoe and Jordy’s mom.”)
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Stina, oh Stina! Preach, sis. This line of thought re : Buddha as deadbeat Dad… just wow… I’ve gone down a google wormhole on that one, and I’m not done with it.
Reading your answer here had me change what I’m going to write (why I try not to read any prior to just doing my own.) Doh! I’m not looking at lineage through the lens of what/who/where where I connect. Thanks for that.
Also, and of course, YES a thousand times to 100% of what you say re |Mother lineage. -
Even with my kids 20 and 24 now, your essay felt so validating. I remember being jealous of a friend with no kids who meditated daily, did her yoga teacher training and then led yoga retreats in Costa Rice the year after. Meanwhile I was at home with two small kiddos just dreaming of a moment alone and my ex-husband saying that me going off to teach yoga once a week was my alone time. Mothers are mainly in my lineage as either mothers or mothers/therapists.
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Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, Stina, and for opening up my mind to both that I hadn’t given much thought to. As someone who has actively chosen not to bring a child of my own womb into being, I very much appreciate hearing the perspective of a lineage of mothers and your experience with that lineage. In addition, I am myself not an only child, but am married to one, and I am so often blown away or brought to tears in him sharing an experience or something I had never considered as a person with a sibling. I feel I’ve only gotten a small glimpse into what it must have been like to be an only child from my husband, and will never been able to fully know, but I so appreciate your reminder of this and of sharing your experience with this as lineage. Thank you!
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Thank you, Stina~ I really enjoyed your essay – it touched my heart. I am a mother of two (now grown) children, and I remember how hard it was to find a moment to myself to meditate (or anything else!). I also liked your pointed reference to the Buddha leaving his child. I always worried about that, too: how could he do that? I think it’s in the book, Siddhartha (or maybe it’s another book – I can’t remember!), that the child one day comes to the Buddha to confront his father, and (as I remember it) the Buddha simply laughs. To me, it’s like a koan: I can’t understand the Buddha’s response using my worldly logic. When I read that book as a young college student, I remember wondering if I could ever be that detached from the structures of the world. I watch myself as a mother, and I notice where I fall into the role…maybe too far. Now that my kids are grown, they brush my “mothering” aside, and I am grateful to keep letting go. I love my self-reliant children, and I also deeply enjoy our family as a love community more than I ever knew I would. Thanks again.
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Stina, I also identify with the lineage of being a mother. It is indeed has been one of the most challenging but worthwhile journeys. Yes, early motherhood is especially a challenge. Such an adaption, and then to just find time to care for oneself. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the lineage of being an only child. I have several dear friends who are also only children, and your thoughts have helped me to understand them more deeply.
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Kat, I just started an online Tai Chi class. I know literally nothing about Tai Chi! I started the class and liked it, but decided to get the accompanying book before going further. I really do want to understand the philosophy. You wrote that the practice is simple, but not easy. That is one of my first takeaways! Thank you for sharing!
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When I think of the concept of lineage what comes to mind for me is something that has been passed down from generation to generation, and this doesn’t necessarily have to be passed through a family or bloodline. Thinking about lineage immediately made me think of being a mother and a grandmother. I have felt so incredibly blessed to be both. My mother and my grandmothers were all loving and involved in my life. I am thankful for this. Since this was modeled to me, being an involved mother and grandmother has come naturally to me. It’s interesting though because being an involved grandmother can sometimes be something that I have to really work at. By this I mean I have to be sure to reach out a lot because one of families is very busy. Since the kids have gotten older they don’t need me as much, but I know that I need to still be as involved as I can. Being an involved grandmother to me also means that I am still being a mother to my sons. It may not seem like this to them, but they are always at the heart of why I am involved with their children.
A lineage that I have adopted as I’ve grown older is to be steward for the wild things. The natural world has become very important to me. In particular I do what I can to help the birds in my community. I do this by participating in citizen science programs and educating myself about birds, wildlife and the effects of climate change. I hope that this lineage will be passed on to my grandsons. I’m working at it! When I’m out with my binoculars and camera people will often stop to ask me about birds. I hope that these interactions help to pass on the importance of the wild things in our world.
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I so enjoyed reading your reflections on lineage, Virginia! I love the images they sparked in me. First, as someone who is child-free by choice, but who has two young nieces and who feels lately like I was born to be an aunt – it is my new favorite part of life! But what your essay brought up more for me was the absolute beauty and sense of awe I have felt by watching both my sister-in-law (who I’ve known since she was 18 and has always felt like a little sister to me) become a mom, and my mom becoming a grandmother. Words really cannot express how all our lives have changed and how messy and beautiful it all is, and I love thinking about it now in terms of lineage, so thank you for that.
And secondly, your stewardship of wild things! What a beautiful image you portrayed, and one that I feel completely connected to but never really thought about in terms of lineage, but of course! We are all connected (and maybe especially with the birds and wild things). Thank you, thank you for your words. -
Loved your essay, Virginia ~ I especially loved the lineage with the wild things: the birds. Yes, birds are so much a part of my life, my meditation, and my heart. The other day, I meditated looking out at my backyard forest and the birds that were flying all around, I loved becoming one with that environment and letting their flight patterns turn into a gorgeous kaleidoscope for me. I also love the forest trees and all the foxes and deer and turtles that live there. That lineage of life makes me feel so happy to be alive.
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Hi Virginia,
I LOVE the perspective of lineage as wild thing steward and plan to adapt that. After moving to a big city, one of the first things I connected to was its birds. I didn’t know, but NYC is a major stop on avian migration paths. I have not found it possible, yet, to literally pick up a wounded bird, but I do know who to call and try to participate in that way. I hadn’t ever connected that to a feeling of lineage and am so grateful for your perspective.
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Thank you Virginia,
Reading your essay made me reflect if it is possible for mother/grandmother to have also colored my lineage. I’ve grown up being raised mostly by my mother and grandmothers, who were all very stable and trustworthy beacons of morality and integrity in my life. You mentioned being blessed with motherhood and grandmotherhood, and this blessing I recognize from the perspective of a son and grandson. Many thanks.
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I hadn’t ever really thought in terms of lineage in that language. But now that I’m thinking about it, it’s really fun to notice that I have immediate strong identification with three separate lineages.
The first one to come to mind is JUBUs – a term coined by Roger Kamenetz in his book The Jew in the Lotus, standing for Jewish Buddhists. I’m Jewish by heritage, and though I haven’t ever identified as a religious or spiritual Jew, I have always known myself as a cultural Jew. And not surprising to me, many (if not most of the American Buddhist teachers I’m familiar) with are also JUBUs. Here’s a partial list; I bet you’ll recognize a lot of these names. Joseph Goldstein, Sylvia Boorstein,Tara Brach,Leonard Cohen,Lama Surya Das, Mark Epstein,Norman Fischer, Allen Ginsberg, Philip Glass,Tetsugen Bernard Glassman, Natalie Goldberg, Daniel Goleman, Dan Harris, Goldie Hawn, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Jack Kornfield, Ethan Nichtern, Sharon Salzberg.
The next lineage that I strongly identify with is women Buddhists. I learn best from teachings by Buddhist women. Pema Chodron, of course. Lama Tsultrim Allione. Susan Piver. And I’m drawn to books about Buddhist Women: The Hidden Lamp: Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women, edited by Florence Caplow and Susan Moon. Being Bodies: Buddhist Women on the Paradox of Embodiment, edited by Lenore Friedman and Susan Moon. The First Free Women: Poems of the Early Buddhist Nuns, translated by Matty Weingast. And my favorite: The Buddha’s Wife: the Path of Awakening Together, by Janet Surrey, PhD and Samuel Shem, MD. I strongly recommend this one (and I think it would make a great OHP Book Group book).
And my third strongly felt lineage is makers, especially knitters. I come from a family of talented knitters, and grew up in the midst of my mom, my aunts, and my grandmother, who taught me to knit so young that I don’t even remember learning, any more than I remember learning to walk. You’ll see by my profile picture how well knitting and meditation go together. (Picture borrowed from the cover of medKNITation, by Suzan Colgan.-
Hi Rosie,
Yes! I recognize all the lineage teachers you mention in the Jewish/Buddhist tradition because I started studying with the San Francisco Zen Center with Linda Cutts, Edward Espe Brown, and Norman Fisher as lineage teachers over time. As you refer to the lineage, I felt at home with your history. Very fun!
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Rosie, thanks for thee book reccos. I have TBW on the way already. I had never heard of it, and I am making concentrated efforts to when at all possible put women first, followed by anyone from a disenfranchised group – re what I am taking in info-wise, in entertainment etc. It sometimes takes a lot of work, but is worthwhile as it tips the balance in my own small way to de-centre male voices I feel we have been programmed to assume are the correct ones by default. I too am drawn to this witty, sometimes gentler approach. I suppose this does come from what I can now see is an underpinning lineage of womanhood.
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Hi Rosie–
You’ve brought up something I hadn’t realized until I was writing my own essay, and you stated it so clearly: learning best from women Buddhists. I believe that’s one reason that I’ve stayed with it, and why the connection seems so strong. The religion of my youth simply had no place for me. I look forward to looking into some of the books you’ve mentioned!
And your profile picture is wonderful–yes knitting is it’s own form of meditation for which I am grateful. -
Rosie, thank you for your reflection. I enjoyed your comments on lineage through a line of makers. I, too, am an avid knitter! There is always something (or multiple somethings!) on my needles. It’s wonderful to be part of a lineage of makers, to know the many hands that find such joy in the act of creating. So much about knitting lends itself to being present and in the moment, a gift of the craft if I choose to allow it. I’ll check out the MedKNITation book! Thank you!
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The first thing that comes to mind with this question is that I come from a family of teachers in which education is very highly valued (especially PhDs, though that’s another story). My maternal grandmother, my mom & dad, his sister and her husband — all schoolteachers or college professors of some flavor. There is a great respect for knowledge and the privilege of learning and sharing it. I’ve taken so many lessons in my life and completed so many programs, and I still can’t resist the lure of something new (to me) to learn about and take in so that it can become a part of me that I can offer to others in our interactions.
I am having a bodily sense of the difference between external knowledge that we bump up against and the deeper integration that makes us (or has the potential to make us) wiser and more useful. This is related to the three components of learning that we discussed a couple of weeks ago, of course. But integration is necessary for us to be able to take our place as part of the line — to become a worthwhile link on the chain.
Reflecting on my lineage, my grandma arises as a model of unconditional care and love that I remember and rely on when I need holding and that has shaped my mothering. I think about the role of music in my life and I’d have to name Chopin as not just an inspiration but a connection across time that I feel when I look at the marble bust I have of him on my music cabinet. I am part of a line of pianists who have played his music with wonder and delight and will continue to do so into the future. Even within my own life, it is a special experience to now play the Etudes or Nocturnes that I first played decades ago. I think about my yoga teachers and the wisdom they connected me with in training, brought to life by their unique personal energy and beauty. And I think about my major enneagram teachers, who form part of a larger group of psychological and spiritual thinkers, writers, and teachers whose work I’ve benefited from. Their writings and teachings represent their own respectful interaction with the flow of consciousness that they’ve tapped into, and I am honored to learn from them and join in to the best of my ability.
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The importance of lineage for teachers relates to ensuring that the integrity and authenticity of the practices and techniques are maintained over time.
Practices in field in which I work are based on a wide variety of psychological and behavioral theories, with a sprinkle of self-help tools and current trends. I am grateful to have a lot of freedom to determine which approach I choose to use. I have experimented with many modalities. While novel research and experiential outcomes lead us to continually adjust our practices, I have found that when an approach is based on a stable, validated foundation that can be clearly traced back over a significant period of time, in most cases the results are more reliable.
I have always had an appreciation for things which seem to transcend what is popular at a particular moment in time, things that have deep roots and a timeless feel: The essence of humanity that is so much more than how successful we are in meeting the current (fleeting) cultural expectations or standards. This is what the topic of lineage is bringing up for me today. I have an image in my mind of people standing on the shoulders of so many others before them, and those at the bottom are smiling with pride.
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Having meditated “with” Susan and been connected to the Open Heart Project since 2015, I’m sure I’ve heard Susan talk about lineage many times. But it is something I hadn’t given a whole lot of thought to until somewhat recently. More on my mind in the past was the idea of a shrine, and it’s something I thought about and built upon for years. Over the course of many years, my shrine has evolved slowly over time into something more close to my vision, starting from simply a corner of my guest room where I would meditate, to a custom table built by my husband with many cherished items adorning the top. I was close to feeling like it was “final” (to the degree where anything can be final), with the exception of one thing. Behind the table was a big, blank, empty wall. Not just anything could go there, I felt. I spent years thinking about what might best fit the space, but until last year, it continued to sit empty. In November 2024, I decided to attend a party honoring the 10-year anniversary of my aunt’s passing. I wasn’t all that close to this aunt while she was alive, but she was my mom’s eldest sister, and my favorite cousin’s mother, so I felt close to her nonetheless and like I HAD to go to this party. I hadn’t been able to attend her funeral 10 years earlier, and my 2 cousins whom I adored had dreamed up what they called “The Paige Party” to honor her. I decided to go to support them, as well as my mom, and it was here I had my first real experience with lineage. My aunt had been an artist, and the first part of the party was a social where we all just hung out and got to mingle around and view her artwork that had sat boxed away since her passing. When I came across one of her wall hangings, I was so moved by it I unexpectedly (and embarrassingly) burst into tears. I couldn’t stop thinking about the piece throughout the entire party (which included many performances and was quite long), and afterward, my uncle completely unprompted said he had seen me connecting with the art and wanted me to have it. That whole weekend, I felt more connected to my aunt than I ever had before. At the time, I almost didn’t take my uncle up on his generous offer because I couldn’t think where I would even put it, but before the weekend was over, it hit me like a wave. I would put it on the wall behind my shrine. A few months later, while attending a retreat with Susan at Kripalu and hearing her talk about lineage in the sense of requesting blessings, it all came together for me. That began my new relationship with lineage. Because around the same time I had a very random but powerful experience with a medium and my dead grandmother, when I now sit to meditate and make offerings and request blessings, I am mainly picturing my aunt and my grandmother, but they also represent this deep connection I now feel to the entire spirit world, which I am blessed to feel. This whole experience has deepened my relationship to my meditation practice, and I finally feel like I have a sense of my heart’s lineage as Susan so beautifully wrote in our reading for this week.
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Liana, this is such a beautiful story and what a wonderful gift to have connected so deeply with your aunt’s artwork. Thank you for sharing!
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Wow! I love this story so much. As a hobby artist, I know most people will never see my art and I do it for the process, how good it feels to make something, and as a way to connect with my artist daughter. Your essay opens up the possibility that it may someday affect someone unknown to me, a niece, a grand-niece, maybe a stranger.
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What a beautiful story, Liana! I too built my shrine gradually over a couple of years, with each item an intentional addition. And I too have family art on the wall behind my shrine! My maternal grandmother was a painter, and I have one of her paintings just above my table. Aunt Paige must be pleased to be part of your space: )
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I reflected on lineage when creating my shrine for meditation. I included a memento from a retreat with Susan in Austin, since she is my direct link to the dharma and the spiritual origins of my practice. Susan speaks often of her lineage and the unbroken chain of wisdom stretching from her teachers back thousands of years; and I include that venerable lineage in my thoughts, although it feels less tangible to me. I feel like I have barely scratched the surface of the dharma as shared by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Sakyong Mipham, Thich Nhat Hanh, and others, so my connection to Susan feels much more tangible.
Beyond this lineage, I have always felt a strong connection to my matriarchal lineage, especially my mother and grandmothers, and my shrine includes items honoring them. They are/were amazingly strong and spiritual women, and I feel their presence at a cellular level. They also stand in for thousands of years of women who have brought fierceness and grace to the world. I also include my daughters who are always in my heart, as I hope to plant karmic seeds for their future, and their children’s future. The last addition I made, which felt like a bridge between the generations and between the many evolutions of myself (if there is one?), is a picture of me as a child. When I see three-year-old me, I feel magic knowing that under the layers of self-consciousness and self-criticism, there is that same wide open heart.
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Melanie, thanks for bringing your young self to your shrine. I’ve done a lot of reflection on my childhood, and the child that I was. I’ve fallen in love with her, and I’m inspired to add one of her photos to my shrine. I think in a way because I was so young, I had a stronger connection to the divine universe, and the many forces that would shape me in later years hadn’t had much chance to make me forget my Buddhanature.
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Melanie, Thank you so much for sharing that you include a picture of your 3-year-old self on your shrine! I love this idea and the joy it sparked in me. I have only recently begun connecting with my younger self on a cosmic level, as a way to remember the pure joy of being a kid. I think it has especially come closer as I have begun my journey as an aunt to 2 young nieces (2.5 years and 6 months), and they have been absolutely wonderful reminders of the joy of childhood. Thank you for inspiring me to think about the possibility of adding my own picture, whether of me or perhaps me with my nieces – something for some reason I hadn’t thought of at all! Cheers.
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I heard Susan’s suggestion for sources of lineage a few years ago: to seek the blessings of those who have inspired, led, or taught me, or have trodden some part of my path before me.
I include my ancestors, teachers whose influence shaped me, then the writers, creators, growers, and others whose examples I try to follow. The ancestor and teacher threads overlap quite a bit, as so many of my extended family were teachers – my dad, aunts and uncles, grandparents and forebears beyond.
Somewhere along the way, I also absorbed the idea of a special category of respect for spiritual teachers. Susan talked about respect and gratitude expressed as wishes for the well-being of one’s own teachers. That felt very appropriate to me, so I made it part of my practice too.
However, somehow it never clicked for me until this discussion came up in the course, that behind Susan’s teaching is this unbroken chain of transmission from teacher to student reaching all the way back to Buddha. Now I begin to realize the significance of that connection, and it arrives with a weight I did not expect.
It feels like I have been given a jewel, and just began to understand its value – what it represents. Now I sense lineage both as a gift of connection and authenticity, and as a responsibility to become ready to pass the jewel along in turn.
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Hi Colin, I am moved by your awe in receiving the jewel of the dharma through the ancient roots of lineage. I marvel at how fortuitous it is that Susan and The Open Heart Project entered my experience! I also feel the desire to pay it forward and share this gift—jewel—with others.
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Hi Colin, I really love your image and reflection of both being given a jewel and then recognizing its weight. That’s really gorgeous and it’s striking me, in context of this discussion, that part of the practices we’re talking about are daily, often very sweet ways, to honor that jewel. Even if, baseline, it just means that we’re seeing it.
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I teach yoga and the term lineage is very familiar. I appreciated that during teacher-training, we were well-taught in the different branches of yoga asana, how they developed and the important teachers who taught those methods. Even though there is now a proliferation of methods, most are still traceable back to Sri T. Krishnamacharya, the developer of modern yoga.
On a personal level, I inherited Vietnamese cultural values and Catholic rules of behavior from my parents, an emphasis on continual learning from my maternal grandparents, and a sense of aesthetic from my paternal grandparents. Because my family and I fled Vietnam at the end of the war, I also belong to the lineage of immigrants and transplants to the US.
I have tried to learn meditation many times in the past 30 years but the most successful experience was guided by my teachers at the Healing Cultures organization where, for 3 years, we had daily individual practice, monthly online small group meetings and, twice a year, retreats or pilgrimages to bolster community and practice. My teachers believed in the importance of ritual, of setting up a meditation altar and building strong supportive energy at that altar with daily practice and mantras. Their lineages combined Saivism from India and Ninniku Okyu from Northeastern Japan.
I really like the simplicity, silence, and alertness of shamatha vipashyana and hope to one day count myself in that lineage of meditators.
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I was relieved the first time I heard Susan talk about lineage, and made it clear that our lineage is personal and is not limited to only our Buddhist teachers. That made it much more meaningful!
I was a member of a Shambhala sangha for several years, so my lineage includes Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Also those whose works I’ve read, the Dalai Lama and Thich That Hanh.
Pema Chodron’s works have helped me through very difficult times, particularly the admonition to “lean into the pain” when all I want is to make the hurt go away. She imbues her teachings with such warmth and humor and humanity that it’s infectious.
I also include Sharon Salzburg, who I read very early on, and whose description of Basic Goodness set me on a whole new path. And of course, Susan Piver, who makes all of this real and a part of daily life.
I’ve always felt a strong connection to Our Lady of Guadalupe, especially now, when compassion is so desperately needed. (Her statue watches over our yard—-she made the trip from Socorro, New Mexico seat-belted in the back of a Honda. I’m sure it was a sight.)
And my grandmother Jennie, also a shining example of compassion and kindness. I don’t have a statue of her, but she deserves one. It would include a pie.-
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Mary,
Your final sentence about your grandmother deserving a statue that includes pie made me smile. It brought to mind my own grandparents who, despite having a large family and not a lot of money, were always willing to give whatever they could and lend a hand when needed. My grandmother was also a fabulous baker – I’m still trying to replicate her chocolate chip cookies. Thank you for sharing!
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Growing up, my mom would often call me “Jhansi Ki Rani”, Queen of Jhansi. I heard that so many times that her voice rings unbidden into my mind whenever I am faced with challenges or riddled with self-doubt. The Queen of Jhansi was a brave queen who fought against the colonial forces and died protecting her people, her country, her lineage. The songs of her courage, her sacrifice are sung and passed down from generation to generation invoking reverence for her strength and reminding us that we all possess this capacity too. These are the songs of my childhood – the fierce feminine, the warrior queen.
My early childhood was spent in the jungle – the mountains, the rivers, the waterfalls, the wild animals and stories of Mowgli, set in that very same landscape, memorialized into lore and legends. I was born in that jungle and my spirit never left. Thousands of miles and decades later, I still reach for it, within me, around me, letting mother nature cradle me, and breathe life into the wilderness that is my roots.
Dadi and Babuji, my grandparents, raised me. They raised me the way they raised their own children in the post-colonial era, lifting the family out of extreme poverty through strict discipline, a sense of personal responsibility and keen focus on securing the best education possible. Hardwork, integrity and education were the non-negotiables. Dadi and Babuji’s picture on my desk reminds me everyday that this is the ground I must walk on.
Lineage, is a line that runs, through us, across the ages and connects us to what came before us, and if we are worthy, passes through us to what comes after us. It is like the string that passes through the pearls, weaving them together into an ornament. A pearl cannot ‘see’ the string, yet senses its mysterious presence in its core, as something that holds it, something that helps it find its place in the order of things; keeping it from getting scattered and lost. That, to me, is Lineage.
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Ankur – this is a poetic tale, it is beautiful. I have read the 2nd paragraph over and over and it’s so clear and expressive – “my spirit never left”, “I still reach for it”, “cradle” – exquisite! Thank you.
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Ankur, thank you for sharing this beautiful reflection. I love that your mother called you Jhansi Ki Rani! Such a powerful story. I remember reading it when I was young from an Amar Chitra Katha book my Dad gave me. An inspiring story of courage and resilience. I, too, wrote of the power of story in my essay, so when I read your reflection, I felt a sense of connection with your love of this great story.
You also shared such a beautiful description of your childhood landscape, how even now you have a sense of reaching for it. I too find that the nature and landscapes of childhood made a strong impression on me. -
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It’s fun to think of the lineage streams that have been important in my life.
The first one that comes to mind is the lineage of my Grandmothers. They were women of strong faith and believed in the power of prayer. In my own way, I continue that lineage by calling on their strength when I need it in my life. My form of prayer might be different from theirs, but I feel linked to them through my own practices.
I also have a strong connection to Yoga, having practiced it since I was in my early 20s. I have studied the various deities and connect with their strengths. I love the forms of Kirtan and Asana for connecting with that deeper sense of magic in the world.
I came to Tibetan Buddhism in my 30’s and definitely feel strongly connected to that lineage. In particular, Pema Chödrön has been a guiding light and teacher for many years. Her picture is on my shrine. I love how Susan said that it is not really about the person in the photo, but rather the teachers and the lineage, all the way back to the historical Buddha. I have attended a Pema study group for over 10 years with fellow students (the Pema Tigers) who have been on the same path. I feel a love and devotion to her as my teacher, but I believe that connection goes much deeper than just to a person whom I have never met. There must be something else going on here, wherein I am linked to the teachers and teachings who have come before her. Pretty cool.
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Hi Elizabeth–
That is wonderful–the Pema Tigers! Isn’t it amazing that you were able to connect, and then also find a group who shares that connection. It’s hard not to think something else is going on. I moved not long ago and *somehow* stumbled headlong into a group of women who ostensibly get together weekly to draw and do watercolor, but it’s become so much more very quickly. The universe nudges us sometimes.
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I suppose I think of lineage as the people who have made a large enough impact on my life that I feel I am carrying some of them or something about them forward with me. I believe lineage is passed through time and care, love and inspiration, and you know when someone joins that group. Many people give you something valuable or inspire you but they don’t quite join that group.
My family is my lineage–how they behave as a family, what values they expressed to me, the genes and personality traits they passed down to me. For example, these include the values of prioritizing physical health via exercise and mental health via activities which engage the brain’s learning. This also includes my ancestry – Lebanese, Polish, Irish, and to lesser extent a smattering of other European ancestries, like other white Americans who are the descendants of immigrants. I made Lebanese food with my grandparents and cousins–grapeleave, fatayer, mjudra. Aside from this, I would say generally my lineage of family relates more to behavioral and interpersonal aspects, rather than cultural, ethnic, or national.
There are certain mentors who I feel have passed to me some of their essence, beliefs, traits, or skills–my longtime guitar instructor and dear friend, Jamie Stillway, a few kind teachers from my martial arts school, my swim coach, two of my previous bosses perhaps. I have been touched by and spent time with a few different Buddhist teachers, though I would not say I have a guru teacher. Or maybe I do but I’m not aware of it… it can be a mysterious process. In Buddhist terms I have been exposed to both the Nyingma and Kagyu lineages, though again, I’m not sure I have a direct guru at this time.-
Thanks for sharing the insight that your lineage derives from behavioral and interpersonal aspects, whether you’re talking about your family or other mentors and teachers, moreso than cultural or ethnic qualities. And the idea that they have passed some of their ESSENCE really resonated with me, maybe because it suggests such a strong connection or mutuality and makes our human experience feel less lonely.
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When I first think of lineage, I think of yoga, Tai Chi, and Buddhist Dharma. This is because I’ve had the incredibly great fortune to encounter and in a small way practice within these ancient wisdom traditions. And each one has touched my life in pivotal ways.
It’s my understanding that for much of the time since they were first established, most people on the planet couldn’t access these bodies of knowledge or even know they existed.
Thankfully, there have always been individuals, groups, and whole societies studying, practicing, and refining these wisdom teachings. I think of these people as a lineage within their tradition: the countless beings who struggled and sacrificed to be able to study and practice. And my heart sings when I imagine each person carefully considering whether and how to share the precious knowledge they had discovered for themselves. Over thousands of years, hand by hand, they passed along this treasure, until I had a chance to join that lineage. Such unimaginably good fortune! Such indescribably wholesome karma! Such deep, deep, gratitude!
I also think of my ancestors and their grit, courage, and steadfastness to create better lives for their families. The insane, impossible hopes of my paternal great-grandparents, who sent all their children away to save them from war and authoritarianism in Romania. And the courage of their 10-year-old son (and my grandfather) landing alone in Montreal and never finding the Romanian contact who had agreed to meet him. But on overhearing a conversation he understood, he walked up to a group of men and asked for help. He passed 94 years later, leaving a legacy of patience, gentleness, and understanding for all of us.
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Hi Dejuan, I enjoyed reading your reflection on lineage, particularly how you personalized it by thinking of the individuals who helped pass along the traditions. I had not thought of it in quite that way, all the people who carried the teachings to us through the years. How magical.
I also thought of my ancestors when considering my lineage. The story of your grandfather is striking. How he had the fortitude at such a young age to strike out truly on this own. Your family has a rich heritage in his courage.
I think this musing really taps into the gratitude you have for all of the streams that have brought you to where you are on your path. Thanks for sharing.
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Please Share Personal Reflections on Lineage
I’ve been thinking about lineage since my first serious introduction to it in last year’s OHP course, Buddhism Beyond Belief. Before then, I thought of my ancestral line and I thought of learned Buddhist teachers and figures, and then thought, well, I’ve struggled with my ancestral line and don’t have that much intimate knowledge of learned Buddhist teachers. When we met in small groups in the BBB class and one of the members said they had Julia Child on their altar, I learned I could broaden my list and my attitude.
I have a working list. I don’t think I will ever live in a space that could house all their pictures, books or relicy items, and they certainly earn me a hand-me-down scolding from Susan’s teacher Sam, but it is a list in progress, as I feel my way into more clearly discerning lineage…. and editing. Who inspires me, who do I admire, who do I want to stand with, who makes me feel awe, compassion, humanity, belonging? I remember “finding” them beginning by reading biographies by nightlight, as a child, pretending to be afraid of the dark, seeking answers; how does one live? how does one make their way in this world?
Some on my list I’ve met in person, some I’ve met in books, some in song, they have taught me to speak and to sing and to dance and to listen and to act, and to love, helped me learn, been with me in my doubt, confusion, fear, smallness, grumpiness, joy and expansion and they have helped me be present when I need to open my heart and behave with courage, kindness and humor.
I have deep gratitude that they have been/are an important part of my life and my memories of them are filled with love and admiration.
Bernie Lesser, Sam Lesser, Sylvia Lesser, CJ and Mabel Broadhead, Goldie Lipson, Henry Haskell, Ernst and Ilse Bulova, Susun Weed, Robin Rose Bennett, Renee Solomon, Mrs. Grobe, Frank Agresta, Dorothy Johnson, Sumner Rosen, Hyman Grossbard, Bertha Capen Reynolds, Sandor Ferenzi, Zusanna Budapest, Marion Tolpin, Karen Horney, Eleanor Roosevelt, Robert Caro, Woody Guthrie, Saul Alinsky, I F Stone, George Orwell, Paul Robeson, Pema Chodron, Sylvia Boorstein, Susan Piver, Juliette de Barclai Levy, John Lewis, Deb Dana, Bernie Saunders, Brooke Maxwell, Maya Angelou, Malcolm X, Fred Hampton, Pete Seeger, Laura Nyro, James Baldwin, Annie Sprinke, Rumi, Phil Ochs, Nick Drake, Aunt Alice and the League of Women Shopper’s, Bill Moyers, Joanna Macy, Mr. Rogers, Dorothy Parker, Jane Goodall, Linda Thai-
Lauren,
I LOVE the expansiveness of your lineage. I had a similar experience that my lineage was supposed to be and look a certain way, otherwise it wasn’t “legit” (by whose standards I don’t know, but some “expert” or “Big Teacher” haha). I too expanded my lineage to include those that were on my Path, who shared knowledge, and wisdom. Where I have found the most reliable lineage is through Queer Dharma and my Buddhist teachers (though there are few queer Buddhist teachers). Thank you for sharing.
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So I have really waffled on this topic. At first I thought I had no lineage to speak of…no idea what to write. Reading essays by others here as helped me to discover that I DO SO.
First, I want to admit that when I hear the word ‘lineage’ I am initially irritated. It sounds to my ears, like an anthropological imperative… like “old way”…or like the things my family would say when I rebelled, “respect your elders!” And I just…don’t. Sure, I admit, as a bit of a self-described rebel, I prefer new perspectives. What I have learned and can now say, at 53… and a Mother… and having lived in many and varied places… is that it can be worthwhile to not always have to learn by first-instance. Perhaps there IS some good to be taken from what gets passed down, rather than rejecting it wholesale. At times, paying attention to lineage can save painful mistakes. Sometimes what is handed down is precious, well-worn knowledge. And this is where I come to Buddhism. More on that in a bit.
So, I can say that I belong to the following lineages, at least…
IMMIGRANT – My family of origin were Ukranian/Polish immigrants to Canada. They had to emigrate for the chance of a better life. I am now an EXPAT (Immigrant by choice – how luxurious!).
MOTHER (thanks for this one Stina): This has been the greatest challenge and investment and heartbreak of my life. Yes, sure I guess I’m from a lineage of Wives, Daughters, Women, etc… but Mothering is the doozie. Not all Mothers agree with each-other or Mother the same way or even speak the same language – but Motherhood is a TRIBE. Of this I am certain, and in this lineage I stand proud.
GEN X: Look, we are just build different. IYKYK. I revel in not needing to explain myself to other GXers. I feel seen, heard, understood, accepted, SAFE with my generation. Again, not ALL, but the lineage matters. As I say to my teenage kids “what do I know? I’m from the 19th century.” Joking, not joking.
Now, Buddhism: As a lineage, I am happy to stick with this, as it DOES foster/encourage new perspectives. The “don’t take my word for it, but try it on for size” approach is what keeps me coming back. And the history of the stories is somehow charming and comforting. The I think Buddhists are my people, because Buddhism tends to draw the rebels and freaks who didn’t/couldn’t conform to other faith dogmas (generally I mean). And yet, it’s ancient in origin, and has evolved in practice. Sometimes, especially very recently, (and I think we can all agree here) it can seem like we value nothing anymore in this world – like it’s all disposable. As lineage goes, Buddhism is lovely for what it is rooted in, and the evolution it invites. -
My study of Buddhism began at San Francisco Zen Center Green Gulch Farm with the teachers who were students of Suzuki Roshi – the founder. The lineage for me is as much a place as it is the teachers. Green Gulch Farm in Marin county Northern California has the land of a spiritual place and I was as much drawn to the land as the teachers: Linda Cutts, Norman Fisher, Edward Espe Brown, Mel Weitsman, Reb Anderson…..sitting with these teachers in the beautiful Zendo in high formal zen ritual moves me still. I have had many retreats on this beautiful land in which I found comfort and growth and the feeling of “home.” Being a student of Buddhism gave me a path for living a good life. It has not disappointed. Out of a need to have a more local Sangha (I live in Los Angeles), I now study Tibetan Buddhism, Kagyu lineage, Vajrayana tradition with Sylvia Bercovici as the teacher. And now this study with Susan as Teacher. Both these teachers bring Buddhism to everyday life. This lineage is new to me and foreign. I am learning so much! My cultural lineage is very much tied to “La Familia” of Italian American culture and the Catholic faith. The food is good if cooked with heart and pleasure. The deep connection here is the maternal lineage of Matilda Bertolone my grandmother. So much learned from this teacher-including the methodical,focused attention of making ravioli from scratch or singing and dancing with a tambourine having fun. On my shrine are the symbols of all the meaningful evocative objects of love in my life. And, now having the opportunity to read the responses from all of you about your lives, I see even more how to appreciate love and lineage…..
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Lineage is such an interesting question. Is it “locating” me in a constellation of bloodlines, giving me an identity within a clan across centuries, telling me where I do or do not belong, and, can I choose my lineage, or is it a caste from which one cannot escape? Maybe all of these. And, maybe lineage is an extension and reflection of the Path that I claim, Teachers (formal and informal), and direct experience. At it’s essence “lineage” is something we must claim, overcome, and weave together, for ourselves.
Like all People (because we are Human), I have an interesting and complex history of relations by blood – Oklahoma Sooners and Sodbusters, all whites in a racist “sundown town”, and Tulsa and the Greenwood massacre. I am also, it is true, a direct bloodline descendant and member of the Cherokee tribe, tracing in all 10 directions. When acknowledging historical lineage, one must encompass all its complexities – beautiful and atrocious. As the great-grandchild, and grandchild of the white Oklahomans, I am in line with those who embraced and supported racism in its worst expression. As the grandchild of a Cherokee, I am part of the lineage of the earliest indigenous peoples in America, and certainly as a white-presenting person, a product of colonial white expansionism.
However, along with, maybe in spite of, this, I came to my Queer Lineage. My uncle, Butch, was gay, and estranged from his (my) immediate family. He is one of my ancestors, not only by blood, but more importantly to me as a part of my queer lineage. I met him only once or twice in my life that I recall, he died of AIDS in the early 90’s. We didn’t have an in person relationship. But it was in my coming out journey that I realized that I felt I was missing something – a connection, a “through-line” of experience and lineage of my own queer life. Lineage then, becomes a process of “identifying the line” and of “choosing.”
Of course, I had and have now many queer lineage holders before I reclaimed Butch (James Baldwin, E.M. Forester, Oscar Wilde, Marsha P.Johnson, Stonewall activists, to name a few). I claimed my lineage for myself, for my family, and for society, and as importantly, I claim my lineage FOR my lineage. My grandparents didn’t know what to do with Butch as a young gay boy in racist and conservative Oklahoma, a story that parallels my experience. This caused a break in my lineage. He was estranged, though I say that “another word for ‘estranged’ is ‘escaped.'” (Butch claimed his lineage and life in San Francisco, CA, in the 1970s and 1980s the center of gay life at that time.). And, I had experienced my own estrangement, from myself, and from my family, and lineage. I had to both define and claim my lineage. Queer (gay, lesbian, bi, etc.) people arise in every culture and civilization since time immemorial. I was not a cast off bead without context, but a pearl in the long lineage of queer history, culture and connection. There is no way of eliminating this lineage. The lineage is there to be claimed. In claiming my queer lineage, in spite of the predominant heteronormative standards of the world I make an audacious, and risky choice. A choice of personal and social imperative. Claiming lineage is always this way, for it requires definition and choice. In all cases, choosing lineage (whether of one’s bloodline or not) involves courage. A conscious decision.
Buddhism, an integral part of my lineage, led me to discover that my Queer Lineage and Queer Dharma, and my Buddhist Lineage and Buddhist Dharma “inter-are.” To live my Dharma is to live my life through my lineage – in all of its complexities, difficulties, and beauty. This includes of course living my authentic expression and sexuality. All of these transmissions that were truly beneficial have been through ‘warm hand to warm hand,” “loving heart to loving heart,” and “warm touch to warm touch” transmission. Ultimately, my lineage supports and requires, expression through me – and I through it.
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Clif, thank you so much for talking about your Queer lineage. That ‘audacious choice’ called a resounding ‘YES’ from my own spirit. Queer and Genderqueer folk are also my people. And our courage and resilience and daring and beauty has helped us survive and thrive over 1,000s of years, from being revered to reviled. May all beings realize and dwell in the wellness of their own being, including the vast rainbow of gender and sexuality.
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Hi Clif,
Your essay is beautifully written. I related strongly to your description of complexity of family of origin lineage and queer lineage. I especially liked this sentence: “In all cases, choosing lineage (whether of one’s bloodline or not) involves courage. A conscious decision.” I’ve grappled a bit with discerning what feels like authentic lineage and finding ways for my varying lineages to happily intermingle without short-changing one in deference to another.
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Erin, thank you for sharing your discernment (this “being with the Question”). I was lost until I realized I could (must) claim my lineage and that I was free to claim and define my lineage (Queer is a foundational part of this human experience for me) – and for each of us what must be our courageous choice. Joseph Campbell said “the privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” This has always resonated with me, long before I understood what it meant. And, I connect it with the Buddha’s teaching of authentic experience. Not taking the Buddha’s or anyone else’s word for it – what is true for you/me. 🙏
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Hi Clif, just wanted to thank you for your essay. As a gay man, it moved me, and it is true, that growing up it always felt like something was missing. there were just no role models for us (either separated from family/friends or in the closet). Never thought about this until now. Thanks. I am glad future generations will have a better chance than us at having GLBTQ+ role models.
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Hi Octavio. Thank you for your note, and transparency (smile). Yes, in many ways (like many oppressed and suppressed groups, including Buddhists, at times) lineage is not only not acknowledged, but intentionally erased. There is little or no trace to be easily revealed, and so we must find the threads ourselves. In the case of gay/queer people, we arise, and have done so across millennia, in every civilization. So, of course there is a long lineage that we are undeniably connected with. While I was studying at Upaya (a tradition that added “matriarchs” to the Zen lineage, by the way) a teacher was sharing a lineage story, and framed it along the lines of “this, or something close to it may have happened.” I smiled, in modern day we might say “don’t let the facts ruin a good (teaching) story.” My view is we need to amend and repair lapses or gaps in our lineage (we can surely imagine that there have been gay figures in Buddhist history, even though it has not been widely reported). Thanks for sharing your thoughts and heart, and listening to mine. 🙏🦄
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Clif, what an interesting, wonderful collection of threads in your lineage! I particularly appreciate your point about claiming lineage being a conscious decision, often with risk and so requiring courage. That seems to me to align with seeing and accepting things as they are, including yourself, and embracing the whole of yourself with loving kindness. Thank you!
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I’ve thought a lot about lineage this week and while I’d hoped to have something cogent to share. I don’t think that’s going to be the case. But, here goes.
When I first thought about the concept of lineage, my family of origin came to mind. I spent one lost weekend deep in Ancestry.com building my family tree. Going back multiple generations, my family (on both sides) has deep roots in the Midwest as both farmers and merchants. My more immediate family is predominantly blue collar and conservative. While there are aspects of this lineage that I relate strongly to – hard work, loyalty, kindness – my personal experience diverges in significant ways. I somehow turned out to be someone who has spent many years in school pursuing advanced degrees and is pretty far left of center politically. I’m also gay. Growing up, I mostly felt like an alien around my family of origin. Over time, I’ve come to recognize the aspects of that lineage that persist in me despite the differences.
The next type of lineage I considered was being part of the LGBTQ+ community. Even though I came out in the 90s when it really wasn’t always safe to, I’ve always held deep respect for those who came before me and put their lives and livelihoods on the line to live authentically. I have deep reverence for these elders and my hope is that my actions are of benefit to generations that follow.
Finally, I reflected on my sense of connection with Tibetan Buddhism. I feel great respect for the teachers I’ve encountered directly or through their writings. I’ve taken courses with Ethan Nichtern and Venerable Thubten Chodren through the Sravasti Abbey. I’ve read books by Thich Nat Hanh, Pema Chodron, and Bikkhu Bodhi (among others). And now I’m learning from Susan and reading her books. I feel cautious in making any kind of claim on this lineage because I haven’t taken the refuge vow which I think officially makes me more Buddh-ish than Buddhist. However, I feel deeply connected to both the practice and the teachings. To strengthen my connection to this lineage I plan to be more intentional about doing what is outlined in this week’s reading: 1) Make offerings; 2) Request blessings; and 3) Dedicate the merit.
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I rather enjoy incorporating the three steps of making offerings, requesting blessings, and dedicating the merit. There’s something about it that makes it more intentional, ceremonial even. It breaks up the monotony of it for me. It also allows me time to check in with myself. How am I feeling right in this very moment? I offer that. What do I feel like I need in support in this moment or in this journey? I request blessings. And then after practice, if it felt good or “bad”, offer it up– teaching me compassion for self and others. When I heard Susan discuss this a couple of years ago, I have tried to do it ever since.
I have been on a journey of searching for “god” for as long as I can remember. I have explored many traditions. Sometimes I go back to God as Jesus, even if I do not necessarily believe everything about the Christianly complex–it is still a part of me.
Sometimes I request blessings from my “highest self”. It differs from each day, but I usually try to request blessings in order to become the best version of me. I am also trying to learn self-compassion and self-esteem, and I find that it helps me to not hope and request to be anyone else. -
I first heard Susan talk about lineage, offerings and blessings sometime last year in her podcast / Monday morning meditations, and I’m glad I now actually have to write down some reflections on my own lineage.
As a Brit, I have some understanding of my/my family’s position in the class system. But I don‘t know much about my actual family lineage. I don’t know if my ancestors were writing letters to the Times about e.g. the horrors of the sugar plantations in the West Indies or the Victorian narcotics trade in China, whether they were involved or profiting from either of these or perhaps just ignorant of them. There are a lot of big question marks there for me.
As far as the last couple of generation goes, though, I come from a family of teachers and other good humans who were active in their local churches, communities and regions. It feels good and very grounding to have been brought up in that environment.
So it is interesting to me that a lineage focus can be selective, (as in: I’ll just pick the good ones) but also that it has to be, as there is so much we cannot know about where we come from. I have a particular fear of two types of injury – one that might happen by accident but another that could only be inflicted deliberately. I’ll never know if these hark back to previous lives of mine or of others, but they feel deeply rooted.
In educational and vocational terms, I’ve been very fortunate to be able to learn from expert teacher trainers in institutions that have their own lineage and heritage.
As for the Buddhist path I’d been hovering around for years, it was the “10% Happier” book and app that led me to Sharon Salzburg and Joseph Goldstein and many other remarkable teachers – it was during the pandemic that I encountered Susan for the first time in the daily meditations.
So I’ve got quite a line-up of teachers to be grateful for and to be inspired by.
And what I have learned and am learning from my teachers I hope I can sometimes pay forward to my own students. The teacher-pupil-teacher-pupil lineage continuum gives my work and my wider life meaning.
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Ho Jo, I agree with you and Clif, naming and claiming the harmful parts of our lineage is so important. My great-grandfather travelled west from very close to where I live now. He arrived in Alberta to buy a small plot of fertile prairie for his family to ‘settle’. Indigenous families had stewarded and farmed this same land for centuries, before the provincial government stole it, forcibly removed them, and then handed the land to my great-grandfather. Much of my family grew up on this farm or in surrounding small towns, rarely acknowledging the many original families living on the small reserve not far down the highway.
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Jo,
Thanks for sharing – I love your naming the unknown/shadow parts of our lineages. We often have a “family narrative” that reinforces us as the “good people” I know that my family have (despite strong evidence of adjacency if not outright complicity in atrocities). It seems a cautionary reminder to keep front and center – most people (?) believe they are the Good Guys, we can all fall into that trap. By naming it as you have done, we remember humility in our path and actions as we take our “warrior’s seat.”
I smiled at (“I’ll just pick the good ones.”). I love that idea and have embraced it – I want the best of the best and the “good ones” in my lineage in the sense that they inspire, teach, and exemplify something to me, even though, they are all too incredibly human and fallible. When I asked what to do about the failings of the human teacher in the face of failings in their own behavior, I was reminded to “look to the Teachings” (not the person). Thanks for sharing. 🙏
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I’ve enjoyed reading all your responses to this essay question. This is a difficult topic for me and not due to any trauma or life experience I can cite, but I simply have very little sense of ‘specific’ lineage. By the time I was born, 3 of the 4 grandparents available had already died. There just seemed to be no obvious thread leading any backstory about who we were, where we came from, etc. Our immediate family located in our same town was the family that I knew I was a part of. There was the occasional story shared – my mom’s father was caught in the depression and lost everything and took his own life in order to leave insurance money to his wife, my grandmother Hazel, the only grandparent I knew. Both my dad’s parents died when he was in high school and a family friend took him and his brother in. But no story was dwelt on and none of them ever led to more background of our ancestors.
I knew from Mom that in the family tree was a relative that signed the declaration but no one had ever built the tree or worked to connect this ancestor. Fast forward to 2019 and a fellow member (Sarah) of the Episcopal church I attended at that time had researched her tree extensively and had found connections to the slave trade. It occurred to me that if I had an ancestor that signed the declaration, he likely was a slaveholder. Sarah offered to look into my tree and sure enough, he was plantation owner and a slaveholder and he wasn’t the only one. It popped up everywhere on both sides of the tree. Sarah built out a tree that reached back to the late 1600’s and it was fascinating. Yet, it feels less like lineage and more like history.
I can more easily feel ancestral connection in a broad sense – that everything that had to happen before me in order for me to be here typing this is an extraordinary set of choices made by thousands over thousands of years, some purposeful and some random. That backstory is full of ‘I will never know what and when made a difference or would have resulted in NOT ME. So I am full of gratitude for the multitude of all that has happened that allows me to be here now.
I think I’ll keep thinking on this …
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Susan – Jeff Warren – Shinzen Young – Bridgett – Dr. Glasser – Marty – Mary Jo – Mukti Micheal Buck – The Luckymoms – Bobbi Goldin – Leta & Jack (mom and dad) – Mary (grandma). To these I honor with lineage. And that’s the short list. The first time I heard about lineage really, and honoring the teachers before us was in a Thai Yoga teacher training and we listed them out most recent to least. But stuck to “teachers” more in the formal sense. This time I included teachers, mentors, relatives, and The Luckymoms who were my playgroup when I was a young mother and many of whom are still a large presence in my life even with the kids practically grown up. Sometimes I have a hard swallow when I think about lineage – some of the mentors and teachers along the way were not so kind or supportive. Neither was my mother. But in my 30s, I began writing letters to my maternal grandmother to get to know her better. And I still treasure the ones she wrote back. She had passed away before I made my first quilt but I have the ones she made me. And quilting became a way to stay connected to her and my lineage. Oddly enough, my mother didn’t quilt although she did a lot of embroidery that she would give my grandmother for a particular quilt being made. I hand quilt so one typically takes me up to a year to make and have become treasured parts of my own family history. Back to the Luckymoms – I didn’t realize until this moment that the only ones I’ve made to give outside of my family were to Luckykids and to foster kids. My mother was a state social worker and I heard my whole life about how the foster kids had nothing. So in some way donation quilts to foster kids keeps me connected to her and my grandmother as part of my lineage. This was a fun essay to write! Thank you for the topic.
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In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde writes: “Yet one had ancestors in literature as well as in one’s own race, nearer perhaps in type and temperament, many of them, and certainly with an influence of which one was more absolutely conscious.” I can remember the literal library I was sitting in when I first read that and first that feeling of “double-check’:can this really be possible? Are the stories I love ancestry? And then a feeling of something bright and expansive sitting with me that had not been there before. I was, then, a young thing barely hanging on in school, very much having trouble at home, and had a ways to go before getting sober, but a seed was planted. That, perhaps, I was not the sum of what I had inherited, but, rather, had the opportunity to belong to what my heart had always known was my home. I’ve had two opportunities to bring offerings to Wilde’s grave: peacock feathers, roses, prayers. There is now a guardrail around the Sphinx that guards this site. There had been a tradition of fans of his kissing his tombstone. They’d leave bright colored lipstick kisses all over it! Over time, the acid of the lipstick was beginning to erode the stone, but they’re preserved there, still. It’s quite a pilgrimage, quite a love story.
When my partner’s friend lost her grandmother, she held a Grandmother Party. Everyone was invited to bring a tradition inherited from a grandmother. I prepared cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches, a favorite of Oscar Wilde’s.
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This has been the hardest question to answer so far, and I suspect it will remain the most challenging of the entire course. I first encountered the concept of “lineage” in October 2025 during Susan’s meditation course at Kripalu, MA. Since then, I have struggled to find a lineage that truly resonates with me.
After reading the excellent essays of my fellow students, I realized I cannot identify with the lineages others have claimed. While there are many groups I belong to and admire, I don’t consider them my lineage. For instance, I am a proud gay man and deeply respect those who came before me to make my life easier; however, I do not see that as the defining factor of who “I am.” I reached a similar conclusion regarding my heritage. I am from Mexico and love my culture, but I don’t feel my lineage comes from blood. I love my family and would do anything for them, but I do not consider them the main defining factor of my being. However, I recognize all of those (and other) factors are part of my lineage to a certain degree.
Perhaps I am overthinking or I am simply indecisive, but I believe clarity will come with time. I may simply not be at that point yet.
The only aspect of my life that feels truly defining is learning. I love to learn, to discover, and to know—not for the external value of knowledge, but for the knowledge itself. While I am not particularly inclined toward teaching, I love the process of self-discovery. Rather than following a single teacher, I prefer to read and listen to diverse perspectives to find my own truth. I wonder if it is possible to belong to a lineage of people who love to learn vastly different things just for the sake of it. I think there is something there that I need to continue to explore, even if I have to admit that I am not quite there yet.-
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Octavio, thank you for sharing, and for your honesty. I was fascinated by your description of lineage and your continued search for home in that sense. I wish you luck and keep exploring! These are concepts which in many ways must be defined and explored by each of us individually and there aren’t right or wrong answers.
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This essay to me represents a complex challenge. A lineage evokes the concept of a line in my mind. The challenge is I cannot seem to see a definitive ‘line’ to align my lineage with. But I do see a collection of lines or strings, which together make a thicker line, which looks more like a rope. Interestingly to me, at both ends of this rope I do see singular lines, one connecting to a ‘source’ and one to ‘me’. I will do my best to describe where I sense this investigation of lineage takes me.
I was born on an island in the Caribbean, Bonaire, and as such I resonate or identify with Islandness. Deep within me, even as a child, I felt connected to nature around me, which on my birth Island was always very close and intimate. Much later in life, I was approached by a small group of inhabitants of my birthplace who imprinted on me that I was part of their community, which they call ‘walkers of the wilderness’, who are intimate with nature, the elements and the spiritual world. They and me, have a holistic and animistic outlook to everything around us.
My parents and me moved to Aruba when I was still very young. I was raised there in a Christian society which was very open to other traditions. From my father’s side, with protestant and sephardic jewish lineages in my mother’s family. My father relates to Amerindian, African and German ethnicity. In some way, this has influenced and attuned my sensitivities to the lineage holders from these societies.
Later in life, I noticed that somehow I was very influenced in my pre-teen and post-teen years by Japanese cultural and spiritual factors, without me being very aware of this origin. But I had a natural tendency to connect. I did different types of martial arts, always sticking with the Japanese ones Judo, Kyokushin and Kendo. At the time, I did not see the ‘line’ of these being Japanese, but I was aligning my aesthetics to Japanese Zen.
Much later in life, I was mid 30’s, I noticed one of my friends becoming more peaceful and radiant. I asked him what he was doing and he pointed me towards Shambhala. He lent me the book The Sacred Path of the Warrior. When I started reading this and followed the meditation guidance contained in that book, I came home. I finally got to an environment where everything which was being described resonated with my own mindscape. I was offered a very helpful way to give words to what I was experiencing and ‘seeing’ in my mind. It was as if I was known. This triggered an enormous change in my attitude, helping me to rest and come to peace in my mind.
A few year later, when I was working in Bonaire, I was invited to go to India, to a retreat with the name Call of the Time. Here I met a Zen master, who shared books and the concept of Koans with me. I reconnected to Zen buddhism tradition through the Zen master and the koans. Later when I was traveling between Aruba and Bonaire, a gentleman approached me. He was a Tao master. I connected to this Tao lineage from Taiwan and was initiated as a Tao-chin.
Returning to Aruba to work, I continued to apply to my best abilities the Tao and the Shambhala teachings in my work and daily life. I did not have any formal training or initiation in buddhism and am now contemplating to do so. I did however notice a very beneficial effect from the meditation in the Shambhala tradition. This has brought me to this class.To bring this essay back to the essay instruction: I can sense a single thread, a source from which the Buddha, Lao Tzu, Amerindian shamans, Rabi’s and many wise sages have gained inspiration and wisdom, turning each into a line which come together to form a rope. This rope eventually finds its way to a collective single thread again, connecting to my lineage, from which I sense inspiration, direction. In this lineage, I notice that for me the most present influences or colors, are the lines of Buddha, Lao Tzu and Amerindians.
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Glenn, your story is fascinating and thank you for sharing! In your story I can reflect this curious sense that we seem to experience, where meaningful things can seem to happen from almost chance occurrences, or that a strong connection may arise to something and we cannot determine the source. There is an intertwining between what we are born into and what we aren’t born into, what we chose and what we don’t chose. It’s up to each of us to walk those paths, and make our own reflections and wisdom, and those wisdoms become true because we experience them.
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Hi Glen, I appreciate your idea of threads of lineage combining into a rope. That hadn’t occurred to me – that lineage ins’t just about our individual lines of connection, but what happens collectively when many of our threads form something greater together. I like image of the strength of rope. Perhaps also the intricate patterns of webs, lace, or tapestries? Thank you for the inspiration!
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My inspiration and lineage draw from activists, writers and songwriters, those who have suffered and been harmed and become shining lights of moral clarity and dignity. Frida Khalo, Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Barbara Kingsolver to name just a few. Journalists bearing witness and the First Amendment itself; Archbishop Oscar Romero, MLK, Ghandi, those who conquered their fear to stand up for justice and peace and other beings, and my own teachers who I have encountered at various stages on the Buddhist path and the path to sanity. And the lineage of women in my family: my cousins, mother, aunts, and grandmother, Rebecca, the matriarch of our family, and the oldest living relative I’ve known.
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Nearly all of the Buddhist teaching that I have received was drawn from Tibetan Buddhism, so that is my lineage. More specifically, many of my teachers trace their lineages back through Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
This understanding of my lineage has helped me practice more diligently, more consistently, and with effort and discipline, because I feel a sense of responsibility to respect the gift of the dharma that I have received “for no good reason” as far as I can tell. Tracing my lineage back through this path is a source of humility, wonder and awe. How is it that I am so fortunate to find myself here? I have no idea.
I draw on my lineage to maintain my shrine too. Chants that I recite as part of my meditation practice come from this same Nyingma lineage. I try to remember to thank all the teachers and practitioners who have come before me, doing so much heavy lifting and writing for my benefit.
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Hi Mike,
The respect you have for your lineage/teachings/teachers (past and present) shows thru in what you write here. It sounds like you chant alone at your own place? The guitar (which looks beautiful), I’m assuming means your musical. It has never occurred to me to chant on my own. I have only chanted in Sangha….I will try it!Thanks also for your sincerity here.
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Hi Mike,
I can’t help but feel a similar appreciation for what you expressed toward the teachers and practitioners that came before you. I also have to echo the sense of awe and surprise: Why me? Why am I so fortunate to get to practice and study with these people? Sometimes I tell people my greatest superpower is pure, dumb luck. But I suppose the Buddhist answer to all of this is ‘Karma.’ I’m curious if you feel a sense of any Karmic history or pattern that led you here?
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I have so enjoyed the essays and everyone’s discussion on lineage. I am truly enjoying the lessons and the experience that this training is revealing to me. It’s interesting to see the points from our first class regarding discovery unfold as we continue through the workbook and the essays.
I am a second generation American on my father’s side, and I have always felt connected to this family line of people who truly worked, strived and sacrificed. My great grandparents left a war torn country to find a better life for their children – both of my grandparents came here on ships through Ellis Island in the early 1900’s. They were young children. I can only imagine what it was like at 8 or 10 years old traveling across the Atlantic with their mothers and siblings. I don’t know very much about how they met, but I do know that life was hard. I remember a few great aunts and a couple of uncles. There was a bond between them and a language that I couldn’t understand. There was love and joy for me as a child in this family. I am so profoundly grateful to come from these people. I do not take for granted the life I have as a result of decisions made in a far away place, two generations ago. From the timeline of Buddhist teaching, this is not a very long time. Yet, what I think of is the respect for those who came before. And, to me the importance of honoring their legacy.
Lineage does not equal perfect harmony or superior character. I don’t know if there was scandal or unfavorable choices made in my family line. I know there was sacrifice, vision and perseverance. I imagine these things are part of the human story. It is a fascinating and multi-faceted subject to consider.
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When I think of lineage, I think of connection. A line, like that of a family tree, that links individuals together across space and time. I consider stories a major part of my lineage—-both the stories themselves and the people who told them to me. Everyone tells a story differently, taking something that is universal and filtering it through their own unique perspective. I think that’s why a story always feels both new and familiar. There’s this beautiful thread of connection between the one who told the story and the one who listened.
As I thought about this week’s essay, I struggled a bit. Once I started thinking about lineage, I found I could see it everywhere. I realized that everything I do was passed on to me from someone. My parents and family, my many teachers, even nature itself, have all transmitted a loving bond that bolsters me, carrying me through life whether I choose to recognize it or not.
Even the simplest stories have power when they’re transmitted to another with love.As I contemplated how I would write this week’s essay, I kept coming back to a personal anecdote from the past, even though it seemed too simple to write about. But then I realized the anecdote elucidated this feeling of connection, how a simple story can be a powerful link between two people.
When my oldest child was young, he was a very picky eater. Convincing him to try new foods and eat adequate meals was a major challenge. One day, I suddenly remembered a story my mother used to tell me when I was my son’s age. I, too, was a picky eater as a child (but have thankfully since outgrown it!). I had completely forgotten about the story, and was surprised when it popped into my mind. It felt to me in the moment that the story had merely been slumbering, curled up deep in my subconscious all these years, waiting for the right moment to awaken and be summoned forth.
I told the story to my son that night at bedtime. The story itself is more involved, but here’s the gist:
~~There once was a boy who just so happened to be quite a finicky eater. This boy was so picky that he hardly ate at all. All the kids in his neighborhood would spend the afternoons riding their bikes and going on adventures. More than anything, the boy wanted his own bike so he could join his friends too. On his birthday, he received a beautiful new bike, but he was so weak from poor eating that he had no energy to ride it! From that day on, he decided he would eat better and try new foods so that he would never be stuck at home without his friends again. A happy ending for the boy and his family. ~~
Later that night, I called my mother. I was curious if I had the details of the story right. I wasn’t sure if she even remembered the story. It had been several decades, after all.
“Oh yes,” she’d said, after I recounted the details, “you got it right. You asked for that story so many times, and you always wanted it told the same way.”
We laughed together for a moment, but then we both got silent. I knew we were thinking back to those days, reliving those tender moments, each in our own way. Mother and child, child and mother.
“Do you think the story helped me become a less picky eater?” I asked her.
“Maybe,” she said. “I think you outgrew your pickiness in your own time. But I always loved telling you stories.”
My son also outgrew his pickiness in his own time. Did the story help? I can’t say for sure, but I loved our moments together, and all the stories we share. -
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I feel like I have of a family lineage, a spiritual lineage and communal lineage. The family lineage is where my ancestors – Danes and Italians – immigrated to the U.S. and came together in my parents. I often embody the warmth and welcoming of my Italian family (a very “Ratna” energy in Buddhist terms). I also feel the drive, intensity, the desire to explore and push myself that I associate with my Danish ancestry.
In terms of a spiritual lineage, I have an undeniable connection to Tibetan Buddhism. This started when I was twelve, when I had this long-running, inexplicable fascination with Tibet and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It pushed me to find my current teachers, Anam Thubten, Susan, and Janet Gilmore. I draw a great deal of confidence from their lineage, because I can trace the predecessors to my teachers – Machig Lapdron, Longchepa, Jigme Lingpa, Paltrul Rinpoche, Yeshe Tsogyal and Padmasambhava. I have read their teachings and studied the myths surrounding them. I feel certain that by doing my best to follow their teachings, my path, my practice and my relationships will be genuine.
My communal lineage is the Austin music scene. I trace it back to Willy Nelson, but it includes people like Blaze Foley and Lucinda Williams. I was raised by musicians, I spent my whole life seeing my father and many adopted ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’ play gigs. They are and always were my community. They are quirky, awesome humans who have encouraged me and loved me all of my life. In many ways, they are the foundation that allowed me to practice and study Buddhism without ever questioning whether I should be chasing a more conventional career. I would not be here without them.
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Hi Joe,
You divide these lineages up so neatly, and still they cannot be contained. This is a major takeaway from reading these essays: this is what it means to be human – everyone a rich tapestry and unique with they and people around them all somewhere on the “quirky” and the “awesome” spectrum. How life affirming. You really couldn’t make you, or anyone else here up!-
I totally agree. I love how Folx reflected their lives now to lineage. I tried that and thought more about my past and what got me here. I’m going to reflect some more about how my lineage carries the stories and roots of those who came before me, grounding me in a history I did not choose but inherit.
The groups I move through now reflect who I am becoming, the communities I choose and the connections I cultivate. It’s deeply human to seek belonging, to find spaces where our presence is recognized and valued. For me, this sense of belonging is also tied to my indigenity—a reminder that my identity is inseparable from the land, culture, and ancestors that came before, even as I navigate new circles in the present.
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When I hear lineage, I think of monks, ancestors, bloodlines—and for me, paesano. My parents were both from Roggiano Gravina. My father was one of the first to come to the U.S.; my mother arrived earlier through Ellis Island. After I was born, we moved to a Philadelphia neighborhood that slowly became a recreated Roggiano. Our house was a gathering place for paesans—parties, meals, card games, dancing, and conversation filled every corner. You could say it is where the Roggianese sangha in Philly met at that time.
I didn’t know the word lineage then, but I lived inside one. I absorbed how to endure change, work without guarantees, and rely on community. I moved between worlds—Italian and English, home and school, old world and new. Being a translator for many of my paesanos felt ordinary, and it trained me to listen, attune, and carry meaning across gaps.
Maybe this is why finding Buddhism seems very natural to me. Buddhism gave language to something that had already been formed through my family’s history. My parents lived impermanence long before I learned to observe it on a cushion.
I now understand paesano as a lived lineage.-
Hi Sandi, what a beautiful musing on your experience with lineage through your family and community. I love the idea that your rich heritage ripened you for the Buddhist teachings you were to find later in life. I also appreciate your reflection on the qualities that your young life instilled in you, just by being brought up in that world.
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Lineage is such a big topic! I feel like I’m part of several great wisdom lineages. My parents met in the 1960s while volunteering at the Martin de Porres Center, a Catholic community center whose mission focused on racial justice. So I was born simultaneously into the Christian tradition, the American civil rights movement, and a family of people who deeply cared about the people around them. My parents instilled in me through their words and more importantly through their actions, the importance of compassion. I follow their example.
Later in life I stumbled onto the Buddhist path, and began my first awkward steps in following the tradition passed down through the lineage of Buddhist practitioners. I see these (and others) as lineages that I am a part of. I would not be who I am without these wisdom traditions. -
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Some personal reflections on Lineage –
On my shrine is a photo of my Geshe and primary teacher of that lineage of Buddhism.
On my shrine are images of Buddha Tara and Vajrayogini and the Dharma Protector.
On my shrine are photos of my Dad holding me when I was a baby with my uncle, his twin, a photo of me and my sister as small children, and a photo of a very dear friend when we were in our 20s at a Buddhist Meditation “Festival” 20 years ago.Lineage in Buddhist circles can also get so political. Yuck. Let’s just focus on the pure Dharma from pure teachers please and move on from that.
Lineage to me is the lineage of my spiritual path, those teachers who I have a heart connection with and those deities whose qualities I admire. And, Lineage to me is also family, ancestors, benevolent guides, and allies. I have family images on my shrine also as a form of requesting blessings to protect and guide us on our paths.
That’s all for now. Thank you. – Jodi
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