When I visited Korea last year, I remember going to a monastery for a meditation lesson and listening to a visiting monk speak about monastery life. He said something that rang true even for my non-monastic life at the time, that living in close quarters with the same group of people forces the ego to bump against the walls of others, prohibits one from hiding from oneself. This element of the monastery is a way for individuals to come to greater self-knowing.
I am such a young teacher in New York. I teach with others and I hear their ideas, I practice with students who have very experienced teachers and I lead them through their teacher's guiding. I am in close pedagogical quarters with others.
There is growth there. New York is a sort of monastery, but not one in which all have agreed to common rules. Each person interprets their position in this metropolis in a different way and sees their trajectory in a different light. But everyone is in a tight network of others. There are so many people in New York, and while one can hide in the numbers in the subway or on the street, this is not the reality of life. There is no hiding here.
New York shaves and sculpts its occupants. It is a busy, bustling retreat of sorts for any occupation. Although here, the ego may be inflated as easily as it may be shaved. But there is no hiding. We live in a city of closeness, of people all around us.
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