#Zen.

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I am gonna take a slightly different approach to this post....... I usually knock a post together during my morning chill out period after I wake and before I goto work..

This post is gonna take a lot longer.... The focus being Quality over Quantity from now on.. I'm gonna start with a theme, then work through that theme over as many days as it takes me..

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Where to start?

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What drew me to Zen, and where did my journey begin?

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I really can't remember what the exact circumstances were, but I've always been drawn to things of this nature, be it religion, man's quest for meaning within this world, or a thirst for knowledge..

If I remember correctly, I may have gotten Shunryu Suzukis book, Zen mind, Beginners mind, around twenty years ago, but we will say no more about the divisive Japanese sensation that is Suzuki..

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Fast forward a couple of decades and T. O. M has reinvigorated his Zen study with actual Masters from the Classic period..... Let's start there..

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Is Zen a quest for knowledge of the human condition? Let's ask Nansen!

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Gateless Gate #34: NANSEN’S NO WAY

Nansen said, "The mind is not the #Buddha; knowledge is not the Way."

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Well, jesus christ on a pushbike.. Zen isn't about knowledge.

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But didn't someone say to know the self? Let's ask Yunmen?

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Zen Master Yunmen #219

Master Yunmen related the following story:

Changqing asked the Genius, "The Buddhist teachings say that sentient beings use it every day yet do not know it. The Confucian texts also state that one uses it daily yet does not know it. Now what is that which one does not know?" The Genius replied, "One does not know the Great Way."

Master Yunmen said, "Exactly, he doesn't know!"

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Is this not knowing something that the Masters transcended? Do they know?

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Man, I wish these Zen Masters weren't so cryptic.

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It seems that knowing shit ain't gonna cut the mustard..

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What now?

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Quotes are in Bold Type and are taken from Zen Marrow.

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https://zenmarrow.com/search?q=Know

Submitted July 18, 2022 at 08:18PM by transmission_of_mind https://ift.tt/YM0dvuj