Yes that is a good "story". I am aware of what my face looked like, it is how I live my life. This is where MoQ will take one.
Mark On Sep 17, 2011, at 5:06 AM, MarshaV <[email protected]> wrote: > > I do love a good story... > > > > > "One of the most famous Zen Buddhist koans, or riddles that move one beyond > merely rational thought structures is “What did your face look like before > your parents were born?” The koan goes to the very heart of Buddhism, since > Buddhism is a religion that finds the idea of a personal self to be something > of an illusion, something that gets in the way of understanding, something to > be transcended through enlightenment ." > > ... > > "Menander was a lucky guy. He had a good Buddhist master in the form of the > Venerable Nagasena who answered his questions and put him on the path to > Enlightenment. The exchange between the two is a classic of Buddhism and > still very instructional for those of us who are not kings and don’t ever > want to be. Menander begins by asking Nagasena who he is. > > "Nagasena says that his parents gave him the name Nagesena but there is no > person named Nagasena here. Menander asks him then who it is that wears > robes, accepts alms and keeps vows. Nagesena replies that it’s not Nagesena. > The king asks him whether any of his body parts are Nagasena. No. The king > asks him whether his feelings or perceptions, impulses or consciousness are > Nagasena. No. Finally the king calls him a liar for say that his name was > Nagasena. > > "Then Nagasena shows him the difference between a conventional usage and a > deeper reality by showing the king that his favorite chariot is only a useful > symbol and a name, since no part or accumulation of parts can be said to > constitute a ‘chariot’. Ultimate reality is beyond both things and the > symbols that describe them. > > "The most impressive lines of the dialogue come when Menander asks where > wisdom dwells. Nagasena says that it dwells nowhere. The king says that there > then must be no such thing as wisdom. Nagasena asks him where the wind > dwells. The king says that it dwells nowhere. “Then there is no wind either,” > replies Nagasena." > > > http://opencopy.org/lectures/western-encounters-with-buddhism/1-how-the-buddha-got-his-face/ > > > > > > ___ > > > Moq_Discuss mailing list > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org > Archives: > http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ > http://moq.org/md/archives.html Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org/md/archives.html
