The Zen, The Bad and The Ugly.

Ahahhhhahhh a whhhhhhhhaaa, whaaa whaaa whaaaaa. ( Spits a wad of spent chewing tobacco on the dogs head)

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I've always had an issue with people that rant against any sort of behaviour that they deem to be outlandish, ( and in their rants, are setting themselves up as an opponent that sits upon the moral high ground ( hmmmm, has my responsive rant about rants also done this? ( or is this just the very nature of open discussion that this forum has now put on hold due to the rampant blocking and shying away from real discussion?))) and in the context of a public forum, the issue of who is and isn't trolling, who is topic sliding or posting up shabby content is surely one for the mods to sort out..

Anyway, Trolls.. I've got an interesting take on trolls, because to me, it seems that the Zen masters are the ultimate trolls, and they are trolling our sense of self, trolling our sensitivites and sense of importance, they are the double edged sword that simultaneously kills and gives life, simultaneously trolls and liberates.

I've been blocked by a lot of users on this sub, and they no doubt see me as a troll, but I have a different take, they just can't handle a dose of T. O. M giving them some home truths to their fragile egg shell minds and sense of self importance.

I've been reading the most excellent book by Urs App, Entitled Zen Master Yunmen, His life and essential sayings.

Here is a selection of quotes from Yunmen trolling his students personal biases, in an attempt to get them to drop their personal self ego..

( This trolling is also akin to a new apprentice on the building site or factory getting a hard time or a bit of a ribbing from the old boys, a practice that was also a double edge sword that kills the child and gives birth to the man., a practice that used to be commonplace, a beneficial practice that is now seen as too harsh by modern snowflake standards and account blockers alike.)

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A monk asked , "What is the problem?"

Master Yunmen replied, "You don't notice the smell of your own shit!"

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"Your self partiality is at the root of all your illusions, there aren't any illusions when you don't have this preference for yourself."

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"Whether you are a seasoned adept or an innocent begginer, you must show some spirit! Don't vainly memorize sayings, a little bit of reality is better than a lot of illusion. Youll just go on deceiving yourself. What's the matter with you? Come forward!"

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" You must neither fall for the tricks of the others nor simply accept their directives. The instant you see an old monk open his mouth, you tend to stuff those big rocks right into yours, and when you cluster in little groups to discuss, your exactly like those green flies on shit that struggle back to back to gobble it up! What a shame brothers. "

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T. O. M's disclaimer.

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Old Yunmen is definitely the sword that kills and gives life. He's my new favourite.

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Don't get me wrong, I don't want to stop anyone from putting up their opinions or comments here on r/zen, and I have never, nor will block anyone, I am all about open conversations and honest dialogue..

Also, just look at the Zen master in the monastery, he didn't ban anyone from coming and asking questions, because he was solid in the knowledge and belief of his life and tradition ( the life and tradition of having no foothold to rely upon) , to be able to take on all comers.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Good_the_bad_and_the_ugly_poster.jpg#mw-jump-to-license

Submitted May 30, 2022 at 01:39PM by transmission_of_mind https://ift.tt/RlEmB5r