Straun -- thanks for rephrasing my question. Much more concise!!
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Platt wrote:
Try as I might I'm having trouble understanding Rob's plea for �sensitivity.� Am I
correct in assuming that it would be better if we dumped the intellect in favor of
all *becoming* Zen Buddhists?
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Platt, having pursued a Masters Degree in Economics, I am all for intellect! I'm
just against intellectual prejudgement of value. Value is experienced.
Experience first, then make sense as things stimulate your intellect... Your use
of the word "become" is very interesting. I think we should pay close attention
this word. Does not "becoming" a Zen Buddhist mean mentally rejecting other
alternatives? This is just replacing one filter with another.
I would like to include an excerpt of lecture from Krishnamurti. This is ths
source of where I am coming from. Of course, I just want to explore truth so I am
definately interested in any criticisms/questions you might have. Try to follow
every sentence carefully without any pre-judgement or conclusion. In other words,
be *sensitive*. Also -- without judgement -- observe the thoughts that
spontaneously come into mind. That is true intellectual quality.
"I would like to discuss with you the problem of freedom. It is a very complex
problem needing deep study and understanding. We hear much talk about freedom,
religious freedom, and the freedom to do what one would like to do ... I wonder if
you have ever stopped to observe the marvelous glow in the west as the sun sets,
with the shy moon just over the trees? Often at that hour, the river is very
calm, and then everything is reflected on its surface ... It is all very
beautiful. And to observe, to watch, to give your whole attention to something
beautiful, your mind must be free of preoccupations, must it not? It must not be
occupied with problems, worries, with speculations. It is only when the mind is
quiet that you can really observe, for then the mind is sensitive to extraordinary
beauty; and perhaps here is a clue to the problem of freedom...
Many people in the world are independent, but very few are free. Freedom implies
great intelligence, does it not? But intelligence does not come into being by
just wishing to be free; it comes into being when you really understand your whole
environment, the social, the religious, parental and traditional influences that
are continually closing in on you... To understand all these and become free from
them requires deep insight; but you generally give in to them because inwardly you
are frightened. You are afraid of not having a good position in life; you are
afraid of what your preist will say; you are afraid of not following tradition, of
not doing the right thing. But freedom is really a state of mind in which there
is no fear or compulsion, no urge to be secure...
Have you not noticed that your parents and teachers tell you that you must amount
to something in life ... Or you try to imitate the example of some hero, to be
like the Masters, the saints, so you are never free. Whether you follow the
example of a Master, a saint, a teacher or stick to a particular tradition, it all
implies a demand on your part to *be* something; and it is only when you
understand this fact that there is freedom."
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