Below is a collection of thoughts I wrote after reading the sutra of Hui-neng. I’m wondering what you think? I am a secular Buddhist practitioner usually of the vipassana/theravada kind, but lately after reading many zen texts I’m thinking of “converting”. I think my characterization of Theravada is a little odd but let me know what you think of the zen part. Thanks
Zen Buddhism: “Happiness and compassion is the mind when it is cleared of all preconceived notions, thoughts, feelings, free from past and future. In this state you reach the primal evolutionary state and your purpose is lived without conception. Your decisions and actions are now in line with your empty nature.”
“Theravada mindfulness is becoming more aware of the mind and the things that cause you suffering so you can gain knowledge about your mind to exert more control.”
“Zen is shedding the layers of bullshit piled upon your mind that controls you. It is anti-mindfulness so your actions are perfectly in line with your nature, no control necessary, no mental masturbation.”
“A zen psychopath might find himself at odds with society, but Theravada can be used to enslave, or commit genocide on global levels through skillful control and knowledge of mental states.”
“In some sense, the zen state is always there, underneath everything.”
“Theravada builds another layer on top of the ego and is aware of the ego, an inner self seeking more control of the ego.”
“Zen loses the awareness of the ego in the first place, and finds no contradictory selves, in fact, no self at all.”
“Zen moves away from concepts and outside of language games and thinking. When meditating you let thoughts flow by, in Theravada you note which thoughts come up and study them. Zen sees an active mental life as all bullshit that’s making our lives worse, Theravada wants to study the mind through more thinking.”
Submitted March 06, 2018 at 07:42AM by JainKratom http://ift.tt/2oSx13L
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