Postscript for pathtivists
On this website there is a clear delineation, and this happened around the threshold of autonomy. What was significant for zandtao about this threshold is that the seeker has developed sufficient practice to cope with a journey into the unknown. To begin the work on the Prajna portal, zandtao gave the Diamond sutra warning. Zandtao found this warning sutra connected with the Heart sutra but now considers it essential for all journeys taken into the unknown - hold to the practice. On this website the practice is developed in the Pathtivist Trilogy, and zandtaomed advises on this practice.
For zandtao himself he started to go beyond the practice with his work on Viveka-Zandtao, and within this book concerning solitude zandtao started his journey into the unknown that led to the threshold of autonomy. From then on he held to his practice, but this practice has been improved by the love-wisdom balance that he learned with his work on the Prajna portal, but he has heeded the warning of the Diamond sutra to hold to his practice.
In the Pathtivist Trilogy zandtaomed speaks of his MwB love-wisdom meditation practice together with the Seeker Story, and advises seekers to follow this. In the Manual he puts forward the notion of path activism – pathtivism asking seekers to follow their paths and embodying their paths in activism depending on what arises from the path; this is a fundamental difference to an activist who follows a cause or ideology first. And this fundamental difference is that for a pathtivist their actions are guided by the path of love and wisdom and not guided by conditioning (or the rejection thereof) that arises in causes and ideology.
Love is key for pathtivists. In wisdom there are often accommodations or compromises made by institutions, so that the institution can pursue the religion through wisdom only. Compromises with wisdom suit the patriarchy, patriarchy does not encourage love. Even in romantic love patriarchy creates patriarchal restrictions within families that limit romantic love. When religious institutions accept a wisdom-only approach this limiting of love is fundamentally a compromise with patriarchy.
Love provides power. When we look at war and poverty with compassion, we see people dying because of patriarchy. Wisdom that we gain through our practices (often developed from religious institutional teachings) helps us to see the source of the war and poverty within the need for accumulation in the 1%-satrapy of patriarchy. Within the wisdom of such institutions is this understanding, but compromise means that this wisdom doesn’t act against establishment. For pathtivism and its autonomy there is no such institutional restriction. A pathtivist decides which community action to participate in based on their own love and wisdom. The path and its love means that there must be sampajanna – activism based on embodiment of love and compassion; preservation of wisdom allows for compromise. Without love, wisdom remains isolated in institutions without an activist component. Up to the point of autonomy a seeker needs to develop a practice, without a practice exposure to conditioning will lead to errors. Once there is practice and autonomy, a seeker can begin activism. With pathtivism we see with clarity that patriarchy and conditioning are manipulating current activism so that it is not effective. The work of the pathtivist is to ensure that activism is effective by using their paths of love and wisdom to guide other activists on a sound strategy. Without the path where is such guidance? Without the path we have a struggle that in totality is going nowhere. Each conditioned generation rises out of their upbringing making demands as if they were the first. They close their minds to the wisdom of previous activists (even if those activists were not pathtivists they have still developed wisdom), and repeat the mistakes of previous generations. Activism needs to be based on love and wisdom, and not a rejection of conditioning. We need the wisdom of pathtivists to help us work together constructively. We need paths that put the love of people first and not demand of people that they conform to an ideology first. Wise love needs to be the guiding power of activism. As part of practice there is a release of the egos that divide the struggle, it is not ego and individualism that win the struggle but action that is based in love and community. Pathtivists work for the community not for their selves, egos and position. Putting the path first can build effective activism.
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