Thanks for your replies to my post, Mike, Blossom and Ahmed. You all seem a bit unsure if your reply make sense, but to me they certainly do.
I hope Suzuki does NOT mean doing only one thing at a time, or like Mike wrote: "If we're washing dishes, for instance, we should be washing dishes --not washing dishes, trying to balance our checkbooks in our head, planning dinner, etc." That would perhaps be feasible for a monk in a monastery, but would be very hard in normal life. I imagine my neighbour, who is a mother of three children and has to do lots of things at the same time: dressing one child, watching after her other childs, in the meantime plan all activities in order to have them all at school the right time while they are already late. She cannot just focus fully on, for example, dressing one child. Or, concerning my more simple life, I sometimes have to prepare a meeting while driving my car, or type a mail while monitoring if a collegue I have to speak has already entered. So I hope Ahmed is correct when he writes: "I think the passage you cited does not mean that one should do just one thing at a time because what about multi-tasking? Is multi-tasking not a part of one's Buddha nature?" But if multi-tasking is 'allowed in Zen' (don't hit me for this phrase...), what does the text of Suzuki mean that I cited in my previous post? Thanks for sharing your thoughts or giving your explanation! --- In [email protected], Ahmed <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I have read that book as well. So beautifully simple it puts me into a > trance when I read it. > > I think the passage you cited does not mean that one should do just one > thing at a time because what about multi-tasking? Is multi-tasking not a > part of one's Buddha nature? > > The book "The Way of Zen" by Alan Watts spells this all out very clearly > especially where it goes into the details about worrying about worrying and > how we can actually never do anything wrong in Zen because everything is > natural. Even unnaturalness is natural. This is the reason why and how one > can just relax and let everything go. > > So what it means to me is be naturally in the moment without carrying the > previous moment (but really you can't ever "carry" the previous moment--you > only imagine it is so). > > (I probably didn't make any sense but I think the meaning is clearer after > reading Alan Watts book.) > > > On 5/2/06, Eugene <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > I am reading the book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, of Shunryu Suzuki - > > an excellent book. It goes into depths while being understandable. > > > > However, there is a concept in it I don't understand. I would like to > > have some explanation... > > > > It is about going fully into an activity, leaving nothing of yourself > > behind. So you are like ash afterwards... who has read this book and > > can explain? > > > > thanks! > > > > > > > > > > > > Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are > > reading! Talk about it today! > > > > > > > > SPONSORED LINKS > > Zen buddhism<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads? t=ms&k=Zen+buddhism&w1=Zen+buddhism&w2=Tibetan+buddhism&w3=Zen+alarm+ clock&w4=Zen+garden&c=4&s=77&.sig=52TlVEGAmH-gdZZJfROS7A> Tibetan > > buddhism<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads? t=ms&k=Tibetan+buddhism&w1=Zen+buddhism&w2=Tibetan+buddhism&w3=Zen+al arm+clock&w4=Zen+garden&c=4&s=77&.sig=QfjwyeHX2_FsqbByJ9GpJA> Zen > > alarm clock<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads? t=ms&k=Zen+alarm+clock&w1=Zen+buddhism&w2=Tibetan+buddhism&w3=Zen+ala rm+clock&w4=Zen+garden&c=4&s=77&.sig=p6mapzEPZ_ScmHU_NtLhyg> Zen > > garden<http://groups.yahoo.com/gads? t=ms&k=Zen+garden&w1=Zen+buddhism&w2=Tibetan+buddhism&w3=Zen+alarm+cl ock&w4=Zen+garden&c=4&s=77&.sig=u-HWXzyfc7JgA6dUQHO-gw> > > ------------------------------ > > YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS > > > > > > - Visit your group "Zen_Forum<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum>" > > on the web. > > > > - To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > > [EMAIL PROTECTED]<Zen_Forum- [EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > - Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of > > Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/>. > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today! Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> 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/
