AMA

Was encouraged to do an AMA.

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Not Zen? Suppose a person denotes your lineage and your teacher as Buddhism unrelated to Zen, because there are several quotations from Zen patriarchs denouncing seated meditation. Would you be fine saying that your lineage has moved away from Zen and if not, how would you respond to being challenged concerning it?

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I wouldn't mind. The longer I attend to my practice, the less I care about other's opinions of me.

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What's your text? What text, personal experience, quote from a master, or story from zen lore best reflects your understanding of the essence of zen?

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I had a personal experience when I was 8 years old. At the local landfill, dropping off a load of trash. This was a time (and place) when a person's refuse had to be carted off once a month or so to a location vs being picked up by a service. I was sitting on the tail gate of my fathers truck, staring and a child's chalkboard easel. Half buried under dirt, partially exposed where the ABC's could still be made out along the top. Ants had formed their mound along one edge where the numbers 1 thru 10 were stenciled vertically along the side. My first thought, was that at one point, this item belonged to someone. It was part of their life in some degree. Now it was here, forgotten, abandoned, soon to be buried under the earth. I thought, how easy is it to forget something that was once loved. I assumed the child that once used this easel appreciated as I would have. How much effort must one apply to completely "forget" something? Then I looked up and saw my old man tossing trash into a hole in the ground. Could my father forget me? If I disappeared right now, and left this body behind, and an imposter took my place, would anyone notice? I stared back at the half-buried easel, staring intently, focusing extremely on this trash as a symbol of the summary of those thoughts. How was "I", "Me", and not another "I". Furthermore, how would I know? How could I be certain? If I forget "I", yet I am still the same "I", will I know that I forgot? Will I eventually remember. I tried, in that moment, to forget everything I knew. For a brief moment, I felt a feeling that I cannot explain. Not peace, not panic. Not fear, not elation. There was no pleasure, but also no sense of anxiety. When the experience was over, for a half-second, I had feared I accomplished the goal of forgetting myself. I looked at my father as he approached me, silent, to see if could recognize me. He said "Let's Go!". I was assured I was still me.

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Texts: Platform of the Sixth Patriarch. In chapter 10, Explanations of Namarupa, revealed to me that the experience I had so long ago, can be achieved through practice. However, I discovered meditation and yoga before ever even reading the Dao or knowing Zen existed. Much of what I have studied in the Vedas is paralleled by what I have read by Zen masters (and what is offered and discussed in this forum).

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Dharma low tides? What do you suggest as a course of action for a student wading through a "dharma low-tide"? What do you do when it's like pulling teeth to read, bow, chant, sit, or post on r/zen?

I remember a phrase from someone, saying to "walk through the door of every emotion that arises". I don't really know what it means, but in sitting with that idea for some time, I've come to form the idea that every moment has value and a teaching. We prefer the ones that are elating and pleasurable. But the dullness, boredom, pain and agony are great moments for practice. Sometimes I have found myself in a "Low-tide" moment, and realized the only thing keeping me there was NOT choosing to 'be' otherwise.

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Submitted January 16, 2019 at 08:50PM by yogiscott http://bit.ly/2RB2dG0