The Divine Masculine

I like taking online personality tests for fun. Last night, I took another one. It is a test for the “alpha male” personality. I was surprised that the test result says I am definitely an “alpha male.” I am a Wall Street guy who turned into a Zen teacher. I thought I have been taking a low profile, especially in recent years. After my Wall Street career was lost due to the collapse of Enron, I became a teacher, then a substitute-teacher. I can often be found in an elementary classroom. And kids love me. How “alpha male” can I be?

Most of us in the modern society understand what the “divine feminine” means. But most of us have no idea what the polar opposite — the “divine masculine” — means. Mass media tend to make fun of the men, as if male bashing is a fair game, but not female-bashing. On TV, we can see this clearly in the cartoon portrayal of the Family Guy and Homer Simpson. Gone are the days when the man of the house is portrayed as a role model. Does anybody still remember John Walton in “The Waltons”? He is the rock of the family. Unfortunately, a standup guy like John Walton is nowhere to be found today on TV.

In traditional values, there is such a thing as the “3 P’s” of manhood — to procreate, to protect and to provide. As someone who grew up in Hong Kong, I have been brought up with such understanding of what it means to be a man. Ever since I was young, I have been told that it is not easy being a man. Manhood has many responsibilities. The main duties of a man is to provide for the family and to protect the weak. It is a sad turn of…