Generations

Many years ago studying philosophy at the University of Barcelona the professor quoted the famous Spanish philosopher, Ortega y Gasset as saying that if you didn't understand generations you probably wouldn't understand much of anything. It was many years later that I found William Strauss & Neil Howe's work "Generations; The History of America's Future 1584 to 2069." The title is a complete misnomer because the study of generations is universal, and Ortega is sited as an authority in this very volume.

Well, I've lived long enough to know from first hand the wisdom and problems of generation study. My Grandfather was born in the 1880s, my Father in 1911, and I feel that the descriptions given of their generations run very true, not only to the men (and women) involved, and their influence on me; but also the description of my generation (The Silent), and the generation of my children (the Thirteenth) and others. There are many complexities here, and I suggest they are worth the effort. The book's jacket says "that (it) changes forever your view of our national legacy ... and our destiny." More important is the personal insights it offers for understanding oneself, ones peers, predecessors and the people to follow. Give it a try for your generation and the Boomers and see what you think. More on this subject later on. & you can find a good summary of it in Wikipedia.

koans

All my important teachers/mentors have used koans. I well remember finally encountering the actual word reading Zen literature at sea in the fifties ... Blyth, Suzuki (Daisetz Teitaro) & others. Then my fellow dharma bums were throwing it around. But the experience of it went back to my early childhood, first at the bus stop with questions and challenging words to work on after the bus had departed. & with my Grandfather Roberts, quoting from history, telling me tales & inciting my curiousity. Later people like C.B. Stewart used words, poems and teachings to challenge my assumptions and to encourage questions and deeper learning. One of my most important latter teachers, Frederick Franck, insisted upon ontological questions concerning what humanity is, what the human has to be in order to claim humaness as a working birthright. His central koan echoes countless others, "Who Am I?" His seminal volume "What Does It Mean to Be Human? Reverence for Life Reaffirmed by Responses from Around the World (compiled and edited with Janis Roze & Richard Connolly) includes the responses of many many people on the subject. His "Fingers Pointing Toward the Sacred" is a wide ranging pilgrimage to cover many many areas of his spiritual pilgrimage, and ends with a focus on humanity.