I'd answer the questions associated with AMAs, but the page seems to be unavailable. I'll provide some background.
My interest in "East Asian thought" started with a copy of the Tao Te Ching 20+ years ago. I have diligently studied Taoism since then.
My interest in Buddhism was sparked by reading Siddhartha 20+ years ago. That did not spark diligent study.
My more serious interest in Buddhism started in 2013. I spent a coupl weeks learning about Theravada Buddhism from a guy named Adam Mizner as well as discovering Dharma Drum Mountain (Chan (not r/Zen) Buddhist Organization). I learned styles of meditation from both Adam (2013) and Dharma Drum (2016).
The most serious Zen text I studied/read (prior to the collection of texts I've picked up hanging out here) was the Gateless Gate/Barrier.
That's a spattering of things close to relevant, but I learned TM (transcendental meditation) from their HQ, investigated other organizations (like the local Shambala Center where I grew up), and I've stopped by and talked to people from a variety of Zen and Zen adjacent things.
I came here to investigate Zen more closely/critically because it regularly comes up in different ways inside of different Taoist texts.
I've pretty much only been interested in "enlightenment" ever since originally running into the concept. The idea of having some kind of experience/understanding and magically transcending worldly desires and the stress and suffering of "the real world" was a sexy concept.
I hang around in the event that I have something useful to share or someone shares something interesting or insightful.
The most recent "real world" actions as a result of hanging out here was picking up a copy of the Lanka Sutra and queueing up the Heart Sutra. I started digging into the Platform Sutra earlier this week as well. Perhaps one of my favorite books acquired as a result of hanging out here is "Master Ma's Ordinary Mind". I like that it has the original Chinese, it's concise, and the commentary is nice.
I'm an open book. I'll answer even the most obviously sarcastic questions sincerely.
FYI, the only connection Soto Zen I have was stopping by the Minnesota Zen Center at a friend's request. I read one of his books. I also read Zen Mind Beginner's Mind at some point. It wasn't until hanging out here that I gave much thought about the various styles, and lineages of Zen. When I ran into Dharma Drum in 2013 I was like "OH! Chan is where Zen came from?!"
I mention this because ewk was triggered by me saying "just sitting". I didn't even know that was a Soto thing until he brought it up. I'll probably come up with another way to phrase "just sitting" knowing that it carries so much baggage. Or not… lol
Anyhow… have at! :)
Submitted January 17, 2020 at 04:23PM by CaseyAPayne https://ift.tt/2tuuanI
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