AMA

Not Zen?

I don’t do seated meditation currently, and when I did do it I wasn’t doing so because i thought it would make me “enlightened”. My interest is in studying the lineage of Bodhidharma, nobody has ever claimed this isn’t Zen.

Whats your text?

It’s a lame and obvious answer, but The Zen Teaching of Huang Po is brilliant. It cuts to the chase, and doesn’t feel like a struggle. I get the impression people are of mixed feeling about the potential accuracy of Blofeld’s translation but on the face of it, he seems to provide useful insights in the footnotes. That said, I have a particular memory of walking around in the spring rain during lockdown listening to Foyan’s Instant Zen as narrated by Mitchell Ryan which was quite an incredible experience.

Koan-wise, I think Longtan’s Candle is a great depiction of Zen, including the wonderful addendum where Deshan is pwned by an old lady (and doesn’t even give the woman credit for it. I find Koans pretty difficult to make sense of, although shout out to the guys at Knot Zen for making them seem more approachable.

Dharma Low-tide?

This question should be rewritten IMO. Nobody seems to know what it means. If it feels like pulling teeth to do something, then don’t do it? Ultimately things can be painful and difficult, it’s not supposed to not be that way. Sun Face Buddha, Moon Face Buddha.

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I’m shattered from work and enjoying the quiet that comes with October. The tea is on. If you feel like chatting, I'm about.

Submitted October 03, 2020 at 05:28PM by mortonslast https://ift.tt/30vcBBi