Bill and Donald, Thank you both for such useful contributions. For my part, I tend to follow Bill's advice. Only by realizing non self can we get rid of the effects of karma (I hope). I believe Donald's way of Qi is very useful too. But it is difficult to realize. I tried to cultivate it, but Qi never came. My teacher said maybe it was because I lacked the energy due to my poor health. So it is beyond my capability. Fortunately there are eighty four thousand ways toward Buddhahood. I believe Rinzai zen is the 'purest' form of Buddhism, or the truth. It looks easy, but actually also difficult. It looks very different from what Sakyamuni taught. But I believe the principle is the same. He taught Theravada Buddhism, which then developed into Mahayana by numerous clever people who taught books they claimed to be written by Sakyamuni. In reality, they were not. But who cares? As D.Suzuki says, Buddhism is a living things which must evolve and change. In the coutries I have lived in: China, Hong Kong and Singapore, I am faced with huge volumes of Mahayana scriptures, which many thousands of camels will have trouble carrying. And the monks can only talk and be worshipped. I am fed up. Let us 'kill the Buddha' and do zazen. Regards. Anthony
Bill Smart <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Donald, Thank you for your interesting post. My comments are imbedded below: Donald Hwong wrote: Good morning Bill, Mayka's answer typifies one of the major difference between a Chinese Linage and wester Zen. This is what I have discovered after learning about Zen in English. In my opinion Maykas answer is the same as most Westerners; in fact the same as most beginning zen students. They believe Buddha Nature is something that someone else has, someone special - and they need to do something to polish-up or evolve their Buddha Nature before its mature. Most of the Chinese Buddhists believe our Buddha nature are within us, but only through Chan practice can we rid of karma and let it shine through. This is what I was taught from both a Japanese Soto and a Rinzai teacher that you already are Buddha, and that your practice is to simply realize that. Realize meaning to become aware, and also meaning to actualize or make real. A Chan practitioner means in Chinese to cultivate Bodhisattva Heart and to act in Bodhisattva way - a cycle fine-tunes each other until "everything" is consummated, satisfied and fulfilled. Which is the Third Practice in our school. I was taught not to cultivate, as to grow or nurture, because your Buddha Nature is already present and complete; but to realize or discover it by peeling away all doubts and revealing or realizing your Buddha Nature. While a meditative practice based on Chi enable the practitioner to be connected with the universe, it constantly feeds the practitioner with life force and wisdom far beyond his mental capacity. I too was taught that mental capacity or intellect is not involved in realizing your Buddha Nature. In fact I was led to believe and in fact have experienced that intellect, although not mutually exclusive with Buddha Nature, can be a big hindrance in realization. Chi foundation seems to be another major difference between a Chinese Chan practitioner and a western one. When BodhiDharma taught for the first time in China, at Shaolin, both Motion Chan and Sitting Chan, the only common thread of the two is the cultivation of the Chi/Qi/Ki. Without Chi, there is no power to transform a person. Without Chi the entire practice becomes a mental interpretation of the experience instead of the experience itself. The Soto and Rinzai teachers with whom I was involved did acknowledge Chi and its important role in realization, but I was not taught any specific practices to cultivate Chi other than zazen. It was inferred that practicing zazen was all that was needed. From my experience that seems so. This may be why the foundamental Buddhism of karma and cause and effect is not a major teaching in western Zen, because there is no practice to support it. The Soto and Rinzai teachers with whom I was involved did teach karma and cause-and-effect; but the clear understanding is that these are illusionary and after realization are not important. Karma and cause-and-effect must have an object on which to attach. I understand that object to be the Self. When the Self slips away and there is only Buddha Nature remaining, on what does karma and cause-and-effect operate? These are just my personal observations after discussion with several western Zen priests. These are my personal observations after a long and intimate student-teacher relationship with the two Soto and Rinzai teachers, many conversations and discussions with other zen practitioners and zen teachers of many disparate lineages, and most importantly after 40+ years of practice. Do let me know your comments. You got them! _/\_ Donald Bill! --------------------------------- Yahoo! Movies - Search movie info and celeb profiles and photos.