There is no particular pathway into it. If your own self is clear and everything is It, when you visit a teacher you do not see that there is a teacher; when you inquire of yourself, you do not see that you have a self. ... When you see in this way, are you not independent and free?
Foyan Qingyuan [1067-1120]: Instant Zen: Waking Up in the Present, Thomas Cleary, 1994
_____________________________________________________________________
Commentary and questions: What does Zen study and practice lead to? Surely there's a purpose or some merit to being independent and free as Foyan shares here; why do we study Zen and take up the practice of it? Are there practical applications for Zen in every day living? I believe so, but what do you think?
I do understand that some people study Zen in a technical and distant sense that don't wish to actually practice it, and they'll more than likely say that Zen has no practical application or purpose. But if you do practice Zen, then what do you do this for? Independence and freedom are the direct opposites of dependence and captivity, so this even reveals that there is some aim to the teachings.
For example, would you rather be enlightened and free from dependence and captivity or not? To move freely through life with less suffering, to enter the marketplace with helping hands, to have understanding; these are all worthwhile goals and accomplishments that make life so much better than the alternative, which to me gives Zen great purpose and meaning.
Submitted January 20, 2020 at 08:57PM by _WanderingRonin_ https://ift.tt/2GbBaIQ
No comments:
Post a Comment