Re: ecovillage and sustainability

Actually, I am very much drawn to many of Ken Wilber's ideas, which are truly 
a visionary and far-reaching, yet logically rigorous synthesis of what we now 
know about our holarchic inner and outer worlds. And his critique of the 
self-indulgent narcissism of "Boomer" culture is very much on target.

But I have some difficulty with his personality, as it comes through in his 
books. As a friend of mine observes, "he has an ego the size of the universe." 
This is, perhaps, an occupational hazard for one with such an impressive and 
disciplined intellectual scope. He can prevail in any argument he encounters, 
and it obviously has gone to his head, so that he believes he is infallible, 
and shows contempt for those with different ideas than his. 

The question of "leadership" is an excellent case in point, but I feel that 
it is possible--though rare--to have inspired leadership while minimizing the 
egomania that is the perennial occupational hazard of leaders--especially 
spiritual leaders!

Compare, for example, Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village with most other 
Guru-directed spiritual communities (such as Rajneesh, Adi Da or whatever his current 
honorifics are, Muktananda, etc.) In the latter, the guru is revered, even 
worshiped, as a kind of earthly deity, and, more often than not, has abused this 
adulation, either by amassing great wealth, insulating himself from criticism, 
enforcing rigid and servile obedience, and surrounding himself with the 
trappings of royalty. In contrast, Thich Nhat Hanh, while remaining the 
unchallenged spiritual leader of Plum Village and its satellite communities, is for all 
that still a humble and devout monk with a quiet, self-effacing sense of humor 
in his Dharma talks. He is revered--but not worshiped. This is why I can 
freely claim discipleship of Thich Nhat Hanh, while simultaneously, without 
trepidation, making my own decisions about which of his precepts (e.g.his ban on 
alcohol) reflect a small instance of his all-too-human rigidity, rather than any 
divine mandate in human flesh.

Most charismatic spiritual leaders we read of, past and present, have a 
message which boils down to "follow me!"  The Buddha, in contrast, left his 
disciples with the injunction to "be a light unto yourself." This is how I reconcile 
being an adamant free-thinker, yet a Dharma disciple in the lineage of Thich 
Nhat Hanh.  So while egoless leadership may be ultimately an oxymoron, we can 
nevertheless seek out those leaders who clearly demonstrate, in both word and 
action, pursuit of the asymptotic goal of egolessness--spiritual leaders like 
Thich Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama, or political leaders like Gandhi, Martin 
Luther King, Nelson Mandela, or even Kofi Annan. "Wherefore by their fruits 
shall ye know them."

Best wishes,

Tom