Every zen master has their own style of pointing. Some people awaken with Mumon, some with Joshu, others with Huangbo. Why marry yourself to only one zen master or method like some kind of obsession?

If you have been studying zen and/or buddhism for more than a year or two, maybe it’s time to switch up the method / book / zen master.

Why develop an obsession with 1 particular master, method, or text when you can mingle around a bit and see what teachers or methods inspire your own insight or realization in achieving zen.

Some people awaken with Mumon.

Others awaken with Joshu.

Some might like Huangbo or Bankei.

There’s no telling what zen master, book, or sayings will speak best to your particular mind or conditions, so why not mingle a bit with the reading list.

Why marry yourself to Shakya or Dogen or whoever, especially if you’ve been barreling down some path for 5+ years with no zen, developing some kind of obsession with a single zen master or method when there are literally 100s of tried and true zen masters and cases all of whom have wildly different styles of teaching and pointing, including one which might work better with your particular mindset.

Classic examples from the reading list include:

Gateless Gate.
Blue Cliff Record.
Book of Serenity.
Record of Dahui.
Sayings of Joshu.
Sayings of Bankei.
Sayings of Huangbo.
Sayings of Yunmen.
Sayings of Layman Pang.
Sayings attributed to Bodhidharma.

Zen is about zen, not about marrying some old dead dude.

Dibs on Mumon though.

Submitted May 26, 2019 at 07:17AM by chadpills http://bit.ly/2MbqVKJ