Dave, (just chiming-in now after some years ignoring these fora).
Well, no, there are not. > ARe there any good meditations I can do which helps me deal with my fear of > death? I think that meditations with a "theme" are not zen meditation. But you could try such a thing as a therapeutic device, I suppose. The Tibetans are good in having developed such practices. But the program and progress of their meditation curriculum is not the same as that of Zen practice. And some Vipassana practices are available that address this. ...as well as original Buddhist practices recommended by the Buddha and recorded in several sutras (give a good reading around...). But... successful zen meditation will bring you to a point of awakening, when and where you will "notice" (!) that all fears and puzzlements and other and all mental activity DROP AWAY, and cannot be re-started for weeks or months. You will then have regained your full human inheritance (like it or not...) -- like the rest of us -- and will be free of corrosive sicknesses and worries perpetrated by the "culture". What you think is the your "mind" is really the invalid (sick... ill... ) activity of something else. It is not the mind of the sentient being nor the mind of the buddha. Thus, we have to practice, to become natural, and to become well. You cannot do that on your own! Unless you are one in ten million. And, sorry, but I doubt you are. The odds are against it, I mean. Awakening is a point of departure in zen practice, and it is a *beginning*, not an end! Thirty years afterward, you can talk sense about it, maybe. I'm not a radical, just a zen practitioner with the utmost faith in our teachers's teachings and compassion, and have been blessed to be a part of a strong sangha and a strong teacher's guidance. I hope you have a sangha and a teacher to practice with. If not, go about finding same. It's the best thing to do. We can work on our own, but not very well, because all the advice is half-baked, and, with *YOU* as the only judge as to how things are going, well... you're SUNK. Just ***forgettabout*** it. My advice is to find the real dharma now by finding a teacher. And don't delay. Life is too short. Never mind about death... . It's life that counts. Don't delay, Dave! --Joe / Tucson, AZ / USA --- In [email protected], "DP" <dave.dplat...@...> wrote: > > ARe there any good meditations I can do which helps me deal with my fear of > death? ------------------------------------ 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/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> 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/
