Zen Practice

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earl

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Just to get a bit more "zennie" flavor in the buddhist forum, which is my "no-thing,":p thought I'd post a few new & old statements re "how to practice Zen."

Dogen from Genjokoan:

"When you find your place where you are, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point. When you find your way at thhis moment, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point; for the place, the way, is neither large nor small, neither yours nor others'. The place, the way, has not carried over from the past, and it is not merely arising now. Accordingly, in the practice-enlightenment of the buddha way, meeting one thing is mastering it and doing one practice is practicing completely."

From Dennis Genpo Merzel, Kanzeon Zen Center, Salt Lake City, Utah:

"Beginner's mind is a mind that creates no walls or barriers, that has no abiding place or footholds. It is one with the continuous movement of life. Completely, endlessly moving on. Exploring, realizing, experiencing whatever comes up. Only a mind like this can be truly joyful, always new."

"You do not establish any views or keep to any mental states; you move with a mighty flow, so that when the wind moves, the grasses bend down." Yuanwu, (1063-1135).

Have a good One, Earl
 
I'll throw in a statement from Seung Sahn, recently deceased Korean (Son) Zen master who always liked to talk about zen practice as maintaining "Don't Know Mind:"

"Zen is very simple...What are you?

In this whole world everyone searches for happiness outside, but nobody understands their true self inside.

Everybody says, "I"-"I" want this, "I" am like that...But nobody understands this "I." Before you were born, where did you come from? When you die, where will your "I" go? If you sincerely ask, "what am I?" sooner or later ou will run into a wall where all thinking is cut off. We call this "don't know." Zen is keeping this "don't know mind always and everywhere."

Take care, Earl (I think?):p
 
Thanks Earl!


I have always thought that the "Don't know mind" relates to the Christian idea of humility, the "becoming as a little child". One of the ways I recover my sanity when I experience being alone in my own head without adult supervision, is to remember that ultimately I don't really know what anything means, I merely impute meaning.

Thank you so much for this wonderful reminder!

Peace

Mark
 
earl said:
I'll throw in a statement from Seung Sahn, recently deceased Korean (Son) Zen master who always liked to talk about zen practice as maintaining "Don't Know Mind:"

"Zen is very simple...What are you?

In this whole world everyone searches for happiness outside, but nobody understands their true self inside.

Everybody says, "I"-"I" want this, "I" am like that...But nobody understands this "I." Before you were born, where did you come from? When you die, where will your "I" go? If you sincerely ask, "what am I?" sooner or later ou will run into a wall where all thinking is cut off. We call this "don't know." Zen is keeping this "don't know mind always and everywhere."

Take care, Earl (I think?):p
Click to expand...
I was just given Dropping Ashes on the Buddha by the local leader of the Cold Mountain Zen Center, founded on the teachings of Seung Sahn. Every other page he baffles me, and astonishes me about every third page.

"... if you are thinking, you can't understand Zen...Zen is keeping the mind which is before thinking."
 
Hi--Peace to All Here--

While looking around a bit (wondering why many Christians and Buddhists seem to understand something about one another, which led me back to a term I have always wondered about "Zen-Christianity"), I came across this thread, and decided to resurrect it (no pun intended:D). As I have been missing Paladin's input around CR, I thought I would just comment and say that I also thought of that Scripture to which I believe may have been referred: And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Jesus quoted in Matthew 18:3, NIV).
I have to say that Maimonides' words (in my signature) also fit nicely into this discussion....:)

InPeace,
InLove
 
InLove said:
Hi--Peace to All Here--

While looking around a bit (wondering why many Christians and Buddhists seem to understand something about one another, which led me back to a term I have always wondered about "Zen-Christianity"), I came across this thread, and decided to resurrect it (no pun intended:D). As I have been missing Paladin's input around CR, I thought I would just comment and say that I also thought of that Scripture to which I believe may have been referred: And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Jesus quoted in Matthew 18:3, NIV).
I have to say that Maimonides' words (in my signature) also fit nicely into this discussion....:)

InPeace,
InLove
Click to expand...
Hi, InLove. Been missing Paladin's input, too. Thomas Merton had written that he sought to simply open himself to receive God-that the "presence of God is like walking out a door imto the fresh air. You don't concentrate on the fresh air, you just breath it. And you don't concentrate on the sunlight, you just enjoy it. It's all around you." Yet it seems that by the time we're adults, we've forgotten how to do that naturally and then we seem to "have to do something special" to get out of our own way to do that. Meditative methods are quite literally ways for me to get out of my own way and why I personally like to go light on dogma/doctrine-for me at least too many concepts running around my mind-particularly those that just don't seem to sit naturally with me-merely clog up my apparatus and just create more stuff I have to clear out to be that receptive opening I conradictorily strive for. I have to continue to remind myself that when my head & my heart are battling, need to always listen to the heart. We will never really satisfactorily learn ultimate Truth in our heads-concpets are too limited and dualistic by nature-will though be the truth, if only the truth meant for each of us individually, if we follow our "hearts." Hopefully, this post posts OK as my computer was just messing with my head speaking of which as I was attempting to type this. God bless you, Earl
 
Hi, Earl:) (and everyone--peace)

Your post sounds just fine to me. Personally, I also believe that I just need to get out of the way and let The Divine take over. I believe most people would agree that this is difficult in the world today (and even the world past and future:)).

People do this in "different" ways, that frankly, to me, do not seem as diverse as, for some reason, we tend to want to make them appear.

Thanks for your post--I always love hearing from you.

InPeace,
InLove
 
Well, when I need that breath of fresh air, I come here so I can see all you wonderful people:)

Iv'e missed you all, and it has been a very busy summer so far. HUGS!


Peace

Mark
 
I certainly think we can fill our heads with far too many "conclusions"........"beliefs".........And that these will dictate our experience. We then "confirm" rather than transform/transcend . Personally I have always been attracted to the "stripping of the self" ideas, and someone has said here that we need to "get out of the way" and let the divine take over. Yet I do think this can lead in part to a total denial of ourselves, a reluctance to face our full reality and vulnerability - and insight and acceptance relating to this involves our capacity to accept others, as they are, without judgement, which for me must be part of any genuine path. Perhaps we need to truly see ourselves - and accept ourselves - as we now are.............full of conflict, contradiction.......greed, confusion, fear, anger, spite, envy.........(speaking only of myself of course!)...before we attempt to "strip" ourselves of self or "get out of the way". Perhaps a little bit of "spiritual by-passing" could take place, conflicts avoided.......and in "avoiding ourselves" we begin to view others as alien...."below" us..........in need of "our" insight.

I love Thomas Merton's words concerning the humble person.............."who seeks to beg a share of that which everyone has received". What everyone has received is mercy.........each is enfolded with true compassion.....For me it is the light of total acceptance that allows me to see myself just as I am, without rose tinted glasses. I am a Pure Land - Shin - Buddhist but I hear the truth of the words of Julian of Norwich, the Christian mystic......."Our Lord in his mercy reveals our sin and our feebleness to us by the sweet gracious light of his own self, for our sin is so foul and so horrible that he in his courtesy will not reveal it to us except in the light of his mercy."

In Shin, it is a dialectic of light and darkness...........each reveals/unveils the other.....on-going throughout our lives as lived and experienced each moment, each day. The more we trust the Light - the True Compassion of Reality-as-is, as personified by Amida - the more we see the darkness. All is non-judgemental. And to a certain extent, it is not trying to "strip ourselves" or to "get out of the way"....but to know ourselves. Pure acceptance of what we are now seems paradoxically the only ground of true transformation.

Derek
 
Very true, Tariki. Jung had said we do not become enlightened by visualizing beings of light but by shedding light on our dark places. It is difficult to "get out of our own way," until we clearly see what the obstacles in the road are. If we are not opening our eyes wide to the path we are walking we miss alot and probably stumble more than is necessary. In fact, I have always thought that growing a "larger heart"/increasing the compassionate acceptance of what is difficult is really most of what "enlightenment" is all about. This sort of acceptance seems to be as integral to the Buddhist path of awareness-"what am I experiencing now?" as it is to the theistic paths that ask "what is your will now God?" Fighting with our reality simply is an aspect of "getting in our own way." Take care, Earl
 
Derek,

What a beautiful post. I am much enamored of your way of seeing things, true compassion for the human condition shines in what you say.
What people usually mean by "getting out of the way" usually refers to becoming aware of behavior or modes of thought that simply aren't helpful. Merton describes this as finding the higher self, and then trancending or going through that self into the Divine. I agree with you that blame or shame only hinders us in that process, for we aren't good or evil, we simply are.
People like yourself increase my gratitude for expansive vision and "deep Looking" as the most Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh would say:)

Peace

Mark
 
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