Hi Marsha, "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" Cheers, Mark
On Oct 12, 2011, at 10:51 PM, MarshaV <[email protected]> wrote: > > Greetings Mark, > > > Seeing the True Nature in Things: > > Zen Buddhism teaches how to let go of the perception of things. It's said > perception is not the true identity of a thing, so Buddhists are taught to go > beyond perception. > It is said, that before practicing Zen, mountains are mountains and rivers > are rivers. While practicing Zen, mountains are not mountains and rivers are > not rivers. After practicing Zen, mountains are again mountains, and rivers > are again rivers. > > Zen enables one to look past the concepts of things, and rely on deeper > insight to correct and eradicate false perception. > > > Zen Buddhism: Concepts and Perception: > > Concepts are misleading. They elude to an independent, or as the Dalai Lama > labels it, "an intrinsic existence." Concepts establish duality: this is or > is not. > > A perception of a rose says that it is a flower, separate from soil, water, > or sunlight. It’s seen as being independent from those elements, or > phenomena. According to the principles of Zen Buddhism, this is a false > concept. > > The truth of perception depends on a deeper insight. Perception is the > construct of knowledge. A false perception will lead to false knowledge. > > Conceptualization acts as a sword, cutting phenomena into separate bits, > reducing complex discernments. The principle of identity illustrates the > cutting ability of concepts: A is A, it is not B or C. > > The Zen principle of identity is quite different: A is not A, A is B, C & D, > therefore A is A. But the third A is very different from the second A. > > > A Riddle in Zen Buddhism – A Rose is and is not: > > A famous Zen riddle illustrates how perception, concept, form, and emptiness > come together. The lesson involves a rose: A rose is not a rose; therefore it > is a rose. > > A rose is not a rose of concept. It is not a rose of perception. It does not > exist independently, or come to life all on its own. A rose arises from other > phenomena, like soil, water, and sunlight. > > When the Buddha sees a rose, he first recognizes the interdependent nature of > the rose; it is the soil from which it grows, it is the water from which it > drinks, and it is the sunlight under which it blooms. It is incapable of > existing independently of all phenomena. It is the culmination of its > necessary conditions for existence. Its origin is dependent on them: > Dependent Origination. > > The Buddha sees the true nature of the rose by looking more deeply into it, > identifying that it is not an independent form, but the aggregation of all > the phenomena that contribute to its arising: True Nature. > > > Form and Emptiness According to Zen Buddhists: > > Within the heart of Zen Buddhism is the principle of form and emptiness. > According to this principle, form is emptiness; and emptiness is form. > > Zen Buddhists believe that form is an aggregate of conditions. It arises into > being and exists because of other conditions arising and waning. Its > existence is entirely dependent. Consequent of this dependence, form is empty > of independent existence. It is empty of intrinsic qualities. Form is > therefore called emptiness. > > Form arises out of emptiness; thus created by emptiness. Form does not have a > concrete identity. Its existence is not isolated. Because of the lack of > identity and isolated existence the nature of form is empty. Thus, emptiness > is form. > > But it's important that one does not mistake emptiness for non-existence. The > principle of emptiness points to the emptiness of independent existence; > illustrating dependent origination, and stressing the interconnectivity of > every thing. > > > Seeing the True Nature of Things: > > Zen does not attempt to question the existence of things. The Zen lens > focuses on the manner in which things exist. The true nature of a thing is > discovered by looking deeply into it and identifying the absence of its > intrinsic existence. > > An everyday rose exists. The rose the Buddha sees also exists, but in a > deeper way. The Buddha sees the true nature of a rose – that it is not a > rose, but a composite of phenomena. > > A manifestation of a thing, a form, and a rose is the miracle of conditions > and phenomena co-arising. The true nature of a thing, a form, and a rose is > empty of intrinsic qualities. > > Zen Buddhists believe that by seeing the true nature of things, one can > express a deeper compassion, or true compassion for every thing. > > > > > ___ > > > 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
