Zen teacher Ellen Birx writes in her book Healing Zen: Awakening to a Life of Wholeness and Compassion While Caring for Yourself and Others (Viking Compass 2002) "Yamada Roshi spoke of four types of people: an ordinary person without enlightenment, an ordinary person with enlightenment, a saint without enlightenment, and a saint with enlightenment. Of course, the fourth type is what we would all like to be and what the world needs most. However, what this scheme is pointing out is that personal insight and saintly action in the world do not necessarily go hand in hand. Insight alone is not enough. Insight must be coupled with an ongoing effort to actualize in your actions what you have realized through mediation practice. Insight is actualized through service." (Page 232- chapter on "SERVICE - Doing What Needs to Be Done). In her chapter "COMMUNITY- Supporting One Another" she writes, "Although we are a Zen community, we do not seek to establish ourselves as a separate community. We are fully integrated into the many communities in which we live our lives. Whatever we realize through Zen practice is actualized in the way we live our lives in our families, our workplaces, and in local and global communities. Roshi Kennedy often challenges his Zen students by saying, "Who cares about your enlightenment, if it doesn't lead to compassionate action?" Any authentic enlightenment experience leads us back into our communities. It does not isolate us. The energy of our insight is poured back into building up and healing our families, our workplaces, and our local and global communities." (P.230) In Zen we say, "Along with the ideal comes the actual, like a box and its lid." It's not always a perfect fit.
on 4/7/05 11:35 PM, at_man_and_brahman at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > I'm not Catholic, but I've long had a > fascination with the Roman church, > not unmixed with a habit of > criticizing its excesses, oversights, and > material appetites. > > In the last days, I've been moved by > what I've seen at the Vatican as it > gets a chance to get back to > basics. > > Though I disagree with the Pontiff > on many issues, in retrospect I find > his immense compassion and > dedication to his principles a > profound essence of sainthood. > > In contrast, Maharishi looks plastic > and superficial. It is easy to say that > Maharishi has "infinite compassion" > for the plight of the world, but it is > all SOOOO self-centered and has been > at the expense of simple, direct > compassion for the huge number of > people he has used up and spit out, > a process now reaching a crescendo. > > I agree with Rick that Maharishi is an > extraordinary man in myriad ways, > a "volcano" of creativity. At the same > time, his greatness includes so many > holes, each of which has a commonality > in the absence of the very kind of > pure holiness and heartfulness that > John Paul II embodied. > > Given the emerging redefinition of who > Maharishi is as a man, including > allegations of womanizing and enabling > his family to swallow donations voraciously, > and the opportunity we have to review > the Pope's life in this week's concentrated > overview, the question comes up: > > Is it necessary to be enlightened to be a > "saint," and is it necessary to be a "saint" > to be enlightened? > > I would say that Maharishi is enlightened > but not so much a saint upon deep > examination. John Paul II was a saint but > probably not enlightened in the sense that > most of us on this list have some similar > understanding of. > > Which do I want more to be myself? Probably > the latter. I prefer the human-scale and > approachable spirituality of a man who kisses > the ground in each of over one hundred > countries that he visits, even if he lives in > the age of Kali, to the grandiose and > self-absorbed spirituality of a man who > expects the ground to kiss his feet. > > When Maharishi dies, I don't think he'll get more > than a small AP paragraph that will show up > in Section F of your local newspaper, next to > the latest story about Britney's fifth husband. > > "The Joke's Over for Beatles' Giggling Guru" > > And I don't think that that's just because world > consciousness is low and "undeserving" of > appreciating his greatness. He truly hasn't earned > the honor, for all of his accomplishments, because > his heart has not been right. > > In the wonderful film from the '70s "Sage of > a New Generation," Maharishi is asked at the > end how he would like to be remembered. > Maharishi, in one of his best moments, looks > quite surprised by the question and gives > a long pause. He says softly, "I do not wish > to be remembered." The feeling in that > vignette and the man he's since become > are separated by such a gargantuan gap > that I cannot help but wonder if that loss > of humility is itself the principal reason > that Maharishi has been so much of a failure > in achieving his life goals. > > It kind of surprises me that no one has > examined this obvious theme on FFL. > Perhaps participants prefer to spend > their time discussing how many angels > can give head on a pin. > > > > > > To subscribe, send a message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Or go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ > and click 'Join This Group!' > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > -- Rick Archer SearchSummit 1108 South B Street Fairfield, IA 52556 Phone: 641-472-9336 http://searchsummit.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
