It can be hard to tell who is enlightened and who isn't in some Cases, especially given that some who appear as master in some Cases appear as pre-enlightened students in other Cases.
But that can also work to our advantage in studying Zen students, since we have before and after pictures.
I'll touch on some famous ones, feel free to add what you like.
High Stakes Emotions
This isn't the only example of a quitter, either. Zen students really really care about enlightenment. It isn't just these pre-enlightenment Masters, it's everybody. There are strong emotions involved, and it's not the kind of strong emotions of the people who troll this forum with Dogenism/NewAgery/Buddhism nonsense... it's the strong emotions of people who live in Zen communities with Zen Masters.
Quarrelsome by Nature
Deshan wanted to pwn the entire Zen community, and that's before he had much of a grasp of what they even stood for. He's a fun example, but there are lots of people who are clearly trying to put one over on Zen Masters during public Q&A. The West has an uninformed view of Zen (because Buddhists lie so much) while in contrast the 1,000 year textual history has just so many people arguing all the time. Interestingly, this appears to be more authentically Indian than many characteristics of the cultures that passed from India to China.
Glib Devils
As he entered the master's room, Nanquan was lying down resting. The master asked, “Where have you come from?” Congshen replied, “I've just been staying at Sacred Icon Temple.” Nanquan asked, “Did you see the famous icon?” Congshen said, “No, but I see a reclining buddha.” Nanquan sat up and asked, “Are you a novice with a teacher, or none?” Congshen replied, “I have a teacher.” Nanquan asked, “Who is your teacher?” Congshen said, “In the cold of this mid-winter, I am happy to see you enjoying good health, teacher.”
Debate Society
Zhaozhou investigates the old woman... because people won't stop talking about her. We could just explain it as "they had no tv or radio or internet" but that's a misunderstanding... because there was enough talk that people thought they should bring it up to Zhaozhou. I can't imagine what that decision was like... but clearly there was community behind it.
.
µ Yo͞ok Welcome! Meet me My comment: These are all snapshots illustrating how ZEN IS VERY UNLIKE DOGENISM, BUDDHISM, NEW AGE, AND CHRISTIANITY. There are a ton more examples. And sure, people who don't study Zen will say the 1,000 years of historical records are "just snapshots". But there are so many more.
What this all tells us is that there is a very different cultural attitude in Zen communities than we find in religious communities in the West, which accounts for why some people who come in here are so upset that they aren't being treated like it's Western Church Hour, and instead, seems more (to the outsider) like professional wrestling where the audience is required to participate.
Submitted March 09, 2023 at 06:12AM by ewk https://ift.tt/RLcehpH
No comments:
Post a Comment