[Buddha-l] Enneagram and Buddhism

[Richard Hayes]

Dear denizens,

I just finished attending a four-day conference/retreat on the enneagram
sponsored by the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque
(http://cacradicalgrace.com/). The main speaker was Russ Hudson,
co-author with Don Riso of The Wisdom of the Enneagram. Hudson, by the
way, is one of the most engaging speakers I have heard on any topic. If
you get a chance to hear him someday, don't pass it up. He and Riso have
a good website, too: http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/

The Center for Action and Contemplation is a Catholic center, so most of
the discussion of the enneagram at this conference was focused on how it
could support Christian practices. While I have no aversion to Christian
beliefs and practices, Christianity is not the framework in which I am
most at home expressing my own experiences. As the conference unfolded I
couldn't help thinking of the enneagram as a tool that could support
Buddhist practices. Years ago I had a student who was both a practicing
Sufi and a Nyingma Buddhist. He used the enneagram extensively and gave
some interesting talks on the topic.

What I'm wondering is whether any of you BUDDHA-howLers have made use of
the enneagram as a tool in helping you choose the most effective
Buddhist practices for your temperament and personality type. If so, I'd
be interested in hearing from you off-line. Please contact me at
rhayes at unm.edu.

-- 
Richard Hayes
Department of Philosophy
University of New Mexico