Zen vs Dogenism: Freedom is a matter of opinion

Recently a religious troll blocked by lots of people made obviously dishonest claims about Zen, Dogenism, "freedom", and more... and I think these dishonest claims represent LOTS of the lying we see all over the internet, so let's dive in:

1. Faith-based view: Prayer-meditation isn't Zazen.

   • Comparative religion scholars have argued that it is.
   • Examination of Dogen's foundational text on Zazen calls for a) ritual posture; b) faith-based approach; c) alteration of states in practice traditionally referred to as "prayer"

2. Faith-based view: lineages are simply means of entry from different perspectives

   • That's very clearly not what Zen Masters mean by "lineage".
   • as usual, no examples from Zen Masters' teachings are referenced, *because Zen Masters don't teach that

3. Faith-baed view: Nothing wrong with appreciation of novel stimuli

   • This is a faith-based view entirely incompatible with the 5 Lay precepts.
   • The pursuit of novelty is not "ordinary mind is the Way".

The foundation of this kind or religious thinking is antithetical to Zen.

Zen Masters teach:

When Zhaozhou asked his master, “What is the Way?” the latter replied, “The Way is nothing else than the ordinary mind.” “Is there any way to approach it?” pursued Zhaozhou further. “Once you intend to approach it,” said Nanqüan, “you are on the wrong track.” “Barring conscious intention,” the disciple continued to inquire, “how can we attain to a knowledge of the Way?” To this the master replied, “The Way belongs neither to knowledge nor to no-knowledge. For knowledge is but illusive perception, while no-knowledge is mere confusion. If you really attain true comprehension of the Way, unshadowed by the slightest doubt, your vision will be like the infinite space, free of all limits and obstacles. Its truth or falsehood cannot be established artificially by external proofs.” At these words Zhaozhou came to an enlightenment. Only after this did he take his vows and become a professed monk.

The important points here come down to a few principles:

1. Fairness to the text not fairness to faith

   • What does Nanquan say? Not ignorance and not knowledge. Which means not practice, and not a obtained viewpoint.
   • What does Dogen say? Dogen says "enlightenment within practice", which is exactly what prayer is: supernatural knowledge within religious ritual.

2. Acknowledging that textual context matters in debate about teachings, not faith

   • Can you quote Zen Masters on that or not?
   • Who can you quote that represents that view?

3. What is an example of the end point of a tradition?

   • Zen Masters versus /r/zen/wiki/sexpredators - we have to talk about these not being the same
   • What is "ordinary mind" versus religious disciple mind?

Submitted June 16, 2022 at 07:50AM by ewk https://ift.tt/n6BLlt7