Hi all! I haven’t posted or commented in a long time. And honestly, I haven’t been studying at all. I finished a couple books and lost interest lol. I may come back to zen, but only time will tell. I’m mostly back here to tell you guys about my experience with zen and this community, and maybe see how everyone else feels.
What initially attracted me to zen was my background in buddhism. I’ve also always been a person who has experienced a lot of internal difficulties and I’ve always sought refuge in ideas and practices. And as we do so often I lied about my intentions when it came to zen study. I saw interesting characters on rzen. Cryptic poems, inside jokes, debunking, constant references to texts and masters. A culture I desperately wanted to be a part of. I cared deeply about being a part of a community, having esoteric knowledge, and using that knowledge to be a superior person. But, from lurking for so long, I understood that rzen is generally about studying masters and not expecting explicit benefit from doing so. So I did my best to convince others I was a “good” zen adept, despite desiring everything I had known I shouldn’t. I wanted to sound wise in the hopes I could one day understand ANYTHING said on this subreddit but failed. I still have no clue what’s going on, and frankly I’m not interested enough in zen to try and understand anymore.
In short, whether you’re interested in rzen for community, discussion, reference, or any combination thereof; just remember to participate in good faith. Not just with others, but more importantly yourself. And if you do commit to zen study, think for yourself. There are many wonderful and learned people here. They will happily offer advice and input when asked. The more strong-willed may also offer admonishment, but take it all with a grain of salt and come to your own conclusions.
Much love!
Submitted May 26, 2022 at 09:21AM by letresorinterdit https://ift.tt/N1qXBCs
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