I'm going to try it alone for right now, But I'll share my expreiences with the group. Would that be Ok?
----- Original Message ---- From: Bill Smart <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 4:51:26 AM Subject: [Zen] Re: beginning again I practice by myself also, but that is by circumstance and certainly not by choice. PRACTICING alone is fraught with snares and pitfalls, most of which are virtually undetectable without guidance, or at least group interaction. TRYING TO PRACTICE alone is, in my not-so-humble opinion, practically impossible. Unless you have had a good begining and some solid experience with zazen, I would discourage you from TRYING to practice alone. The best thing would be to find a sangha or sitting group in your area that has a qualified teacher. If there are none in your area I'd encourage you to plan a trip to somewhere that does, and spend a week or so with a good teacher to get you started. After that you should keep in close contact with the teacher to help you work through any difficulties or distractions you encounter. I don't know how good an e-sangha would be for a beginner. It might be okay. I have never participated in one so I just don't know. I did check out the website of the Lotus Meditation Center in Seward, NB, and in spite of my predispostion to skepticism based on their previous postings, was very pleased at the content. I hope your e-experience there will be beneficial to you; but do consider finding a local sangha, or even going to Seward, to get a good start to your journey. A good start is very important because you're going to be traveling for a long, long time - forever, in fact. Bon voyage...Bill! --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED] ps.com, daniel sherwood <desherwood7@ ...> wrote: > > Thanks for the advice. I'm trying to practice Zen myself. > > > ----- Original Message ---- > From: Bill Smart <[EMAIL PROTECTED] ..> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ps.com > Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 5:06:17 AM > Subject: [Zen] Re: beginning again > > --- In [EMAIL PROTECTED] ps.com, "cid830" <summitjags@ ...> wrote: > > > > what are the precepts? > > > cid830, > > Knowledge of Buddhist Precepts, Refuges, etc..., are not a pre- requiste > for practicing zen. In fact in most cases they are, as is all > knowledge, a hindrance. > > The only thing necessary to practice zen, if that is your interest, is > to sit - meaning do zazen. Pacticing zazen clears your mind of all > intellectual and emotional clutter, including concepts such as > precepts, refuges, right:wrong, I:you, beginner:sensei, etc... > > Forget about all the other things you have read or been taught. Just > sit. That's enough. Anything else is too much...Bill! > > > > > ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ __ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail. yahoo.com > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
