Creating Community in Second Life
Redwood Forest
I have been in Second Life for 3 years. I started there as a part of my job, leading talks for Java developers. But it didn’t take long before I developed a personal interest in that multiverse, started exploring the many places there, and the variety of communities. Pretty much, any interest you have will be of interest to others, and very likely there is at the least a group devoted to it, and at the most an entire SIM or several.
Joining groups is a good way to get invites to events for your various interests. I had joined several for my interest in Buddhism. And interestingly, I found that the Buddhist world in Second Life closely mirrored the one outside, in the physical world.
All the Buddhist places I visited were made to look Asian, with big statues of Buddhas everywhere, prayer flags, mediation cushions, and sand gardens. That’s all fine and lovely. Really pretty stuff. But my trip through Buddhism had taken a slightly different route personally.
Though I started in Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism like so many others, I decided I didn’t agree with the teachings, and I moved onto Zen. While that was a slightly better fit, I still found it too laden with ritual, especially Asian rituals, and not on the practical level I thought the Buddha’s teachings to be.
Later, I discovered Theravada Buddhism, but again it is steeped in Asian ritual and some superstitions I don’t agree with. What I wanted was to practice the valuable Buddhist tools and path, without cultural infiltrations, metaphysical beliefs and superstitions, and the praying and chanting.
Watermill/Waterfall Area
Second Life, I discovered, had a group called the Skeptical Buddhist Sangha. The title enticed me, and when I went to their discussions I found myself right at home, talking about teachings, but in a skeptical manner, not just accepting everything as is. This, to my mind, was much closer to what the Buddha taught, and is more in alignment with modern day people.
The Skeptical Buddhist Sangha’s discussions are great, and there was a small piece of land to go with it. But when I bought a SIM, I thought it would be neat to create an entire community, with an environment that reflected the needs of modern day Secular Buddhists, who don’t follow a specific tradition, and embraced the concerns of today, such as our ecology.
So, I created the Secular Community island to augment the Skeptical Buddhist Sangha. There we have regular meditations with both chairs and cushions. You won’t find statues of Buddha all over the place, as we want to discourage the practice of praying to the Buddha, and making him some kind of god. In addition, there are home rentals, where we ask folks to hold the 5 precepts.
Mindful Gardening Area
In addition, we also have a wonderful Redwood Forest, a fun drum and dance circle, a mindful gardening area, yoga and tai chi for mindful movement, a Scientific Research area, and several areas that are just beautiful to sit in and watch wildlife. And, of course, there is a group you can join, Secular Buddhist Land.
We have wind turbines and solar panels to energize the place, are growing hemp fields for cloth, paper products, plywood and biodegrable plastic, and provide transportation via free horses, bikes, canoes, and rowboats.
We hope to grow this community of Secular/Skeptical Buddhist, who want to study and practice the teachings, and enjoy socializing and living on the island. It’s been fun and creative to try to put together the kind of environment we feel reflects who we are in this modern day world.
Tags: community, multiverse, second life, SL
July 16th, 2010 at 8:36 am
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