A Word of Caution

This is for any newer folks to Zen and Buddhism in general. I want to give you a word of caution on what you read on these sub reddits. I have seen posts and comments here that will attempt to, for lack of a better term, baffle you with bullshit or confuse you with some “zenny” language into thinking that something one or another poster here says is true or deep, and then they will pile on the vitriol if you disagree. Regardless of what I, or anyone says, Zen can be traced back to the Buddha through Mahakashyapa – making true Zen and Buddhism one. Any splits or schism that came after – came after. Some will try to sell you that they are separate things, but this is simply not true. Buddhism and Zen have the same goal – human flourishing. To get caught up in names and forms, to argue the small points and minutiae of what was said by one “master” or another 800 years ago, to not understand that truth and growth and innovation in the way we understand Buddhism and Zen did NOT stop in medieval China or feudal Japan or even 2500 years ago in India is simply a false doctrine. The Devil reads the Bible, and Mara can quote scripture. I know that those who wish to try and make themselves out to be learned or masters or enlightened (none of which will I claim) are salivating and waiting to comment on this with a “TL/DR” followed by a flaming castigation of my understanding and lineages, but the reason I wrote this is to say: if you get told a bunch of crazy stuff and then get dressed down for your opinion, this is not Right Action nor Right Intention. This is not teaching the Way. This is not Compassion. The intention is for certain people to feel like they “owned” someone else, and the Buddha would be ashamed to be associated with such behavior. So, do not believe that Zen and Buddhism are separate just because someone says that some master or another from centuries ago didn’t talk about Buddhist Basics in a treatise clearly made for people who didn’t need to be reminded of “kindergarten Buddhism”. Zen Masters of today have volumes written on the 8 fold path and such, and those masters trace their lineages through the ones being trotted out as never having said anything about the Path or the Noble Truths or whatever. What? They just all went rogue? Every Zen master whose lineage went through ancient China just went off the reservation? Dogen was a fraud? No. Read, form your own thoughts, find a teacher or two who speaks to you. Don’t just take the word of some guy on Reddit throwing up quotes from a 5 century old manuscript from the other side of the world and tells you that “it don’t get no clearer than this”.

Submitted May 02, 2023 at 12:05AM by SeaworthinessLost459 https://ift.tt/b2Woe38