Warning, rant mode initiated! (Preaching mode on!)
In response to this article from the land of my forebears…. https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/13588129/nude-swim-findhorn-police/
To live without the acceptance of another’s chosen lifestyle, one must surely dwell in a fortress of their own construction — walls built of ignorance, fear, & delusion, brick by brick. (1/20)
These walls, erected high & cold, barricade the essence of the human experience from a beautiful, innate simplicity: the shedding of cloth & pretense to reveal the #naked #body as it truly is, pure in its #natural form. In the rejection of the #Naturist life, one finds not the expansion of thought, but the contraction of heart, a narrow corridor where #enlightenment cannot breathe. (2/20)
From the perspective of #ZenBuddhism, the mind that clings to such smallness, that recoils at the sight of a #Naked body, is indeed one that has not yet been liberated from the chains of illusion. It is a mind imprisoned by concepts, by labels that divide & distort. To such a mind, the very notion of #Nudity is an affront, for it threatens the fragile scaffolding of judgment upon which it precariously balances. (3/20)
These judgments are not the product of deep reflection or #wisdom but are the bitter fruit of conditioning, the stagnant inheritance of generations steeped in prudish, restrictive views. (4/20)
The inability to allow others to live as #naturists reveals a heart marred by bigotry. This bigotry, disguised as modesty or propriety, is nothing more than a refusal to witness the full spectrum of human #expression. Those who rail against the #Naked form, who clutch their pearls at the mere thought of skin exposed to air, betray a profound insecurity within themselves — a trembling before the vastness of human #freedom that #Naturism represents. (5/20)
For in the unclothed #body, there is no room for lies, for artifice; there is only truth, raw & unadorned. (6/20)
#ZenBuddhism teaches that the discriminating #mind is a small #mind, a deluded #mind. It sees the world through a fragmented lens, parsing what is pure into categories that serve only to reinforce its own limitations. It is blind to the reality of interconnection, to the fact that the #body, like the trees & mountains, is a manifestation of #Nature itself. (7/20)
To reject #Nakedness is to reject the simple #truth that we, too, are part of this #Nature, woven from the same fabric as the earth beneath our feet, the sky above our heads. (8/20)
One must ask, what could be more deluded than to vilify the very vessel through which life is experienced? #Naturism reminds us that each form, each shape, is a testament to the #diversity of existence. Yet, those who stand in opposition to #Naturism are rejecting this beautiful #diversity. They would rather we hide our forms beneath layers of fabric, pretending that the human #body is something to be ashamed of, something indecent. (9/20)
It is not merely prudishness that fuels this rejection; it is a fear of #freedom, a deep-seated terror of the #liberation that comes with the unclothed #body. The prudish #mind cannot fathom the joy of shedding unnecessary layers, of walking barefoot on the earth, of feeling the sun kiss every cm of the skin. (11/20)
Such a #mind cannot comprehend the serenity of #NakedHiking through the wilderness, where the #body becomes one with the landscape, moving with the grace of an animal unburdened by #social constructs. (12/20)
This fear is born from a lack of understanding, a lack of #awareness of the #body’s sacredness. In #ZenBuddhism, we learn to see things as they are, without adding or taking away. The #Naked body is just that — neither “sinful” nor “saintly,” neither lewd nor virtuous. It simply is. But the small-minded cannot see this. They project their own discomfort, their own insecurities, onto the bodies of others, demanding that all conform to their limited view of decency. (13/20)
It is a profound tragedy that so many allow themselves to be governed by such narrow prejudices. (14/20)
Indeed, the #mind that cannot tolerate #Naturism is one that is far from #awakening. It is a #mind steeped in duality, forever dividing the world into categories of right & wrong, appropriate & inappropriate. But #ZenBuddhism calls us to transcend such dualities. It calls us to see beyond the illusion of separateness, to recognise that the #body, in its #nakedness, is a reflection of the #natural world, as innocent & perfect as the trees, the rivers, & the clouds. (15/20)
How pitiful it is, then, to witness the prudish #mind in action, drawing lines where none exist, imposing its will upon others in a desperate attempt to control what it cannot understand. It demands conformity, not out of concern for the well-being of others, but out of its own fragile need for order & predictability. But #Nakedness, like #Nature, is unpredictable, wild, & #free. It cannot be tamed or confined to the narrow parameters of the prudish #mind. (16/20)
To stand against #Naturism is to stand against #freedom itself. It is to deny the right of others to live #authentically, to express themselves in a way that aligns with the deepest #truths of their being. It is to perpetuate a culture of shame & suppression, where the #body is seen as something to be hidden, rather than celebrated. This is the true derangement: the belief that one has the right to dictate how others should live, based on nothing more than personal discomfort. (17/20)
And yet, there is hope. For those who cling to these narrow views are not beyond redemption. The teachings of #ZenBuddhism remind us that all #minds, no matter how deluded, can #awaken to the #truth. Through the practice of #mindfulness, through the cultivation of #compassion, even the most rigid #minds can begin to soften. They can learn to see the #body not as an object of shame, but as a vessel of life, deserving of love, respect, & #freedom. (18/20)
The path to such understanding is not easy, but it is necessary. For until we learn to accept the #Naked #body in all its forms, we will continue to live in a world divided by fear & ignorance. We will continue to deny the beauty of #Naturism, the joy of being #Naked, & the profound #liberation that comes with embracing our #natural state. (19/20)