There is a perception in the West that Buddhists are tolerant and peaceful (and Zen is Buddhist) that can really confuse people who try Zen out at first.
I was thinking about this because of a few separate conversations with different people today, and because conversation is precious to me... it's a privilege to talk to anybody. It's privilege because talking creates a record, it's privilege to learn about different viewpoints and test them.
Zen is not tolerant and peaceful. There are a number of enemies that Zen Masters are eager to challenge:
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Fakers who aren't enlightened but want people to think they are
- [Dongshan questions the head monk to death](www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/famous_cases)
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People who practice a religion of ideas instead of personal experience
- [Elder Ting on the Bridge](www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/famous_cases)
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People who believe in an doctrine of Truth aka Revelation (Buddhists, Dogenists, new agers)
- Huangbo: Because in truth there is no unalterable Dharma which the Tathagata could have preached. People of our sect would never argue that there could be such a thing.
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Psychological, Philosophical, Metaphysical servitude, subservience.
- Foyan: I will not allow people to oppress the free.
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Pillars and Monks (just because Yunmen)
When Master Yunmen saw a monk come to visit him, he struck a blo w on a pillar and said, “ You came in here to deceive me!” On behalf of the monk he answered, “ [Lucky m e }] he only hit the pillar.” Master Yunmen whacked the monk and said, “ Letting off steam for other people’s benefit.”
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µ Yo͞ok Welcome! Meet me My comment: Some people really get confused, think Zen is Buddhism, and can't understand why Zen Masters are so aggressively intolerant.
It's not just ignorance, it's that people come in here with values that are more important to them than Zen. That's not bad.
It's not good either.
What are some "enemies of Zen Masters" that you thought of right away?
Submitted March 07, 2023 at 04:41PM by ewk https://ift.tt/WPqYMvs
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