Question about Foyan's text (Instant Zen)

1. How can we slow down and see?

I like how explicit Foyan is when expressing his disapproval of the traditional "sacred" meditation.

• "later people did not understand the meaning of the ancients; they went off and sat like lumps with knitted brows and closed eyes, suppressing body and mind, waiting for enlightenment. How stupid! How foolish!"

Instead of this strict religious style of meditation, he simply advises us to "Just let go, then step back and look; only then will you understand."
But he advises us against being like this : “I do not reason, I make no calculations; I am not attached to sound and form, I do not rely on either the impure or the pure. The sage and the ordinary mortal, delusion and enlightenment, are all completely empty; there are no such things in the Great Light.”

I feel like I might be overthinking this, but I don't know how to kill my doubting mind so let me ask in uncertainty. How can I "just let go" and "step back and look?" What does he mean by that? Physically relax? Mentally slow down? Emotionally calm down?

2. Foyan on finding a good companion / teacher.

"Association with good companions is a serious recommendation of the ancient sages. Students today should fol­low the words of the Buddhas and Patriarchs by finding a teacher to attain discernment. Otherwise, how can you call yourselves students?"

He says students should find a teacher to attain discernment.

I do feel like I have seen some many great companions / few great teachers on this subreddit.

But how can we "discern" a proper teacher in the first place? After finding a teacher, how can we ask them to be our teacher? Do we just politely ask the person? Any tips/ advice for a n00b like me?

3. Foyan on Ego.

Here I only require you to study the path. Your first priority, twenty-four hours a day, should be to get rid of unenlightened egotism towards others. Why? Egotism towards others is the business of mediocrities.

" Here I only require you to study the path. Your first priority, twenty-four hours a day, should be to get rurof unenlightened egotism toward others. Why? Egotism toward others is the business of mediocrities. My late teacher never had any egotism toward others. As his assistant I saw quite a lot, but I never saw him have a single thought of annoyance."

He was spit on his face and was patient through extremely vile talks. He was reviled, and :

"Now my teacher finally spoke out; “ This fellow,” he said, “ has hollered at me twice!” By this we can see he had no egotism toward others."

Why and how was he patient and calm? Looking at the circumstance, any normal person would get angry and fight back in such a displeasant situation. Why does he emphasise in "getting rid of unenlightened egotism towards others," and how should we do this? This sounds contrary to the behaviors of many other zen masters, as they often behave in an impatient / violent manner.

4. Chosen ones?

"However, there are those who accept attunement and those who do not; there are the foolish and the wise, there are those who can be saved and those who cannot be saved."

I don't understand why certain people just cannot be saved. In a utopian world, is it impossible that everyone is saved and awakened? My first impression of this was that it reminded me of the concept of "salvation" of christianity, where certain individuals are "saved" through salvation. The chosen ones are "chosen before the foundation of the world" (not the exact quote). This sounds a little depressing to me.

Thank you lovely Zen community! <333

Submitted July 19, 2022 at 07:53PM by GreenSagua https://ift.tt/Kbrdk1D