Do not be concerned with the faults of other persons. Do not see others' faults with a hateful mind. There is an old saying that if you stop seeing others' faults, then naturally seniors and venerated and juniors are revered. Do not imitate others' faults; just cultivate virtue. Buddha prohibited unwholesome actions, but did not tell us to hate those who practice unwholesome actions.
Dōgen Zenji (道元禅師; 19 January 1200 – 22 September 1253), also known as Dōgen Kigen (道元希玄), Eihei Dōgen (永平道元), Kōso Jōyō Daishi (高祖承陽大師), or Busshō Dentō Kokushi (仏性伝東国師), was a Japanese Buddhist priest, writer, poet, philosopher, and was the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan.
WanderingRonin77 commentary: I've been in the Zen community for a little over two months now, and it has been quite an interesting time so far to say the least. I would like to dedicate this post to someone in the community who is a compassionate person, a mentor and a fine example of a human being, mongreloctopus. I'm not sure what happened, but it seems that he deleted his account and has left the community. If so, this is a great loss for us all, as he was a wise and helpful soul. This brings up a series of points that I would like to make about the community in general, and I would like the input of anyone who wishes to share their thoughts so that we can possibly create a few solutions.
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Should every famous figure in Zen history be ignored after Dogen? There are so many famous figures in Zen that are having their names outright tarnished in the Zen community, and I find this behavior deplorable. There is a strong effort to discredit figures such as Dogen, Shunryu Suzuki, Roshi Philip Kapleau and many others here. The entire Japanese Zen Buddhist lineage is even somehow in question, which is beyond preposterous. I believe that we can find wisdom in Zen almost anywhere we wish to find it, and the study and practice of Zen should not merely be limited to a specific period in history and the study of only a certain group of people.
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There is a point to practicing compassion, and this has an effect on the community. If we don't stand up in direct opposition to intolerance, slander and religious persecution within our own community, then this has a highly negative effect over time. This is also why the r/zen subcommunity has become somewhat famous as a toxic environment. Of course this is in part about our resident troll Ewk, but it is also about YOU as well. If you feel that what Ewk or what anyone else does here is harmful or abusive, and YOU don't step forth and say something or downvote the offending statement, then this allows this type of behavior to stand and actually encourages it. The "Mods" obviously aren't doing their jobs and protecting anyone here from outright violations of the reddiquette, so we have to take a stand ourselves. If not, good people with very much to offer usually end up leaving, which in turn raises the level of toxicity and extends the vicious cycle.
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You are fully allowed to have a modern practice and understanding of Zen. We cannot allow what a vocal minority says to inhibit our practice and understanding of Zen. Zen is not contained to a specific group of people who have long since expired. Zen is alive and well, and you are free to practice it as you see fit. The problems usually begin once someone tries to tell someone else how they should be practicing Zen. I am a firm believer in that people generally know what they need and how to proceed in their own practice if they wish to follow Zen on their own. If someone feels that they need to sit in zazen, then they should be able to discuss the benefits of zazen freely in this community without being persecuted for their beliefs.
Submitted March 31, 2018 at 07:53PM by WanderingRonin77 https://ift.tt/2pSGPv2
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