Hello Everyone!
Some of you know me, some of you don’t; it’s all good! I’m hoping we’ll all get to know me a little more through this post … including myself! lol
I’m doing this AMA for a couple reasons. If you’re reading this, I assume you’re interested in diving deeper, otherwise, feel free to just disregard everything and just jump right into the comments, that is OK too.
First, I sort of figured “it’s time” within the little personal narrative I’m living with regards to Zen and with regards to this forum. I think I’ve hit a point in “my Zen” where I feel comfortable talking about it and being challenged on it … and also sorting out what is a legitimate “challenge” and what is simply a troll actually asking you for help in dropping their act.
Second, as a part of settling into the “rest of my life with Zen”, I’m going to be taking on a few “meditative” practices that involve me posting my thoughts / analyses on koans (starting with the Blue Cliff Record), and just generally “trying” to participate in the community as much as possible. And to the extent you are interested in advice from me, I encourage you all to do something similar once you’ve gotten to a point in Zen where you feel like you have “The Eye” for it too. That is, find some arbitrary way that’s nonetheless meaningful to you in order to engage in Zen … assuming you still want to. Once some people see through the weeds they move on. It’s all up to you!
Anyway, as I begin settling into that “participating”, I’ve already started to get a lot of questions from people and I’m getting to know a whole lot more people in general … so I’d like to have a few resources to just point people towards when asked frequent questions. On a fundamental level, I also think at some point I “owe” it to the community, to all of you, to sort of let people know what I’m about and where I’m coming from.
Which I guess sort of leads into the final motivation (that I imagine). Besides “putting my money where my mouth is” while also challenging myself as part of the aforementioned “meditative practice” as well as putting myself out there to the community, I’d also like to have a future resource to point to about where I stand and what I’m about with regards to Zen .. to the extent that ever needs to be pointed out to anyone at all.
Which is to say I’ll probably be linking back to this post for a while but maybe at some point I’ll change that up as I change … who really knows, right? Haha, isn’t that kind of the point?
Ok anyway, let’s get into it!
(For new people, these are the “standard” r/zen AMA questions)
[1] Not Zen?
Suppose a person denotes your lineage and your teacher as Buddhism unrelated to Zen, because there are several quotations from Zen patriarchs denouncing seated meditation. Would you be fine saying that your lineage has moved away from Zen and if not, how would you respond to being challenged concerning it?
The only lineage I’ll dare to claim is Bodhidharma’s lineage. In the end, I don’t really care what anyone says about what I believe. I came to this forum absolutely clueless about what Zen was. Ewk told me I was clueless and told me to quote Zen Masters. I asked Ewk who were the Zen Masters and he showed me a list. [This] is not the same list but it's pretty much the same.
I found a home with Huangbo. With Huangbo, things began to click and I began to see. The texts I would recommend could always change, but On the Transmission of Mind (Huangbo) and the Recorded Sayings of Linji will always be my textual core. At one point I rested upon Bankei, but now for my top three I list Huangbo, Linji, and Foyan.
I think Foyan is too direct for beginners, they are at risk of either being confused or being falsely confident … but I think once you even begin to get a glimmer of understanding, Foyan’s directness is indispensable. Even he says as much:
Wisdom is like the sun rising, whereupon everything is illuminated. This is called the manifestation of nondiscriminatory knowledge. You should attain this once, and from then on there will be something to work with, and we will have something to talk about. If you indulge in idle imagination and toil over objects, then you have nothing for me to work with.
But I don’t need sitting meditation, I don’t need a particular teacher or lineage … and neither does anyone else who sees things for what they are.
[2] What's Your Text?
What text, personal experience, quote from a master, or story from Zen lore best reflects your understanding of the essence of Zen?
There is no “one of all time” but here’s what I’ve chosen as of this OP for an expression of the fundamental “point" (in addition to the texts mentioned above):
(Huangbo)
From the time when the Great Master Bodhidharma arrived in China, he spoke only of the One Mind and transmitted only the one Dharma. He used the Buddha to transmit the Buddha, never speaking of any other Buddha. He used the Dharma to transmit the Dharma, never speaking of any other Dharma. That Dharma was the wordless Dharma, and that Buddha was the intangible Buddha, since they were in fact that Pure Mind which is the source of all things. This is the only truth; all else is false. Prajñā is wisdom; wisdom is the formless original Mind-Source. Ordinary people do not seek the Way, but merely indulge their six senses which lead them back into the six realms of existence. A student of the Way, by allowing himself a single saṁsāric thought, falls among devils. If he permits himself a single thought leading to differential perception, he falls into heresy. To hold that there is something born and to try to eliminate it, that is to fall among the Śrāvakas. To hold that things are not born but capable of destruction is to fall among the Pratyekas. Nothing is born, nothing is destroyed. *Away with your dualism, your likes and dislikes. Every single thing is just the One Mind.** When you have perceived this, you will have mounted the Chariot of the Buddhas.
[3] Dharma Low Tides?
What do you suggest as a course of action for a student wading through a "dharma low-tide"? What do you do when it's like pulling teeth to read, bow, chant, sit, or post on r/zen?
In the past, some people have rejected this question. I agree that the concept of a "Dharma Tide" is misleading, and I also agree that this question really doesn't belong as an AMA question, but I think it introduces a really good point through it's mistakes.
Namely, that there are of course "Dharma Tides" in the superficial way this question is intending it, which is, as I understand it, times when you aren't interested in Zen or aren't feeling super "mindful" or feel like you're engaging in "self"-reinforcing behavior or just otherwise "failing" the Zen Masters.
So it would be silly to pretend like one doesn't know what the question is getting at. However, those who criticize this question are correct in the sense that it is a harmful question. These "Dharma Low Tides" are amazing. "Forgetting about Zen" is one of the most goddamn "Zen" things that you can do.
The Masters have said, "Your Ordinary Mind is The Way." They mean your "root" mind but regardless, being "regular" is being Zen ... and I think almost everyone intuitively knows that it is not quite so straightforward to "act natural" on purpose.
So for the Dharma Tides, just be the Ocean.
I actually get a little jolt of excitement when I naturally forget about Zen and then remember it ... minutes, hours, days, later. I mean, you can never really "forget it" but, in the case of "days", usually it's about being more involved in your "regular life" rather than posting on Reddit, reading Zen Masters, and contemplating Zen.
Just like when you "sleep" on something ... most of the time, a lot of work gets done "in the background."
Submitted December 26, 2019 at 10:00AM by GreenSage45 https://ift.tt/2EUtFWk
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