Bill,
I hear you, understand you and appreciate the clear way in which you explain the matter. I would not have made the statement had I not out of the blue, whilst leading a normal and ordinary life, without any zazen or meditation or spiritual practices or medications or thoughts of enlightenment, experienced a non-ordinary state that lasted six days. This experience, which I prefer not to discuss, was never repeated, and is the basis of any 'faith' I may possess in the potential for realization of Buddha nature. --ED --- In [email protected], <billsm...@...> wrote: > > I want to expand a little on one of my answers below to avoid > misunderstandingÂ… > The posting exchange was: > [Anthony] But we can try to use our finger to point to the Moon. > [Ed] In the final analysis one must just have faith in the reality of 'Buddha mind', yes? > [Bill!] Yes! > My answer Yes!, that you do have to have faith in Buddha Mind is meant for > the period BEFORE you experience Buddha Mind/Nature for yourself. AFTER > that it is experience, not faith. > > I often use the word 'zen' as short for 'zen practice', and when I do I > don't distinguish between the phases of zen practice. There are 2 distinct > phases: one before experiencing Buddha Nature and one after. There is also > an 'transition phase', especially in Rinzai (See, I spelled it right this > time!) Zen Buddhism koan study, where the experience of Buddha Nature is > often so sudden that it takes a period of follow-on training to successfully > reconcile and integrate that experience into your everyday life. > > It is not unheard of to divide zen practice into phases like this. Take for > example the 10 (or 8) Ox Herding phases. These are an excellent depiction > of the phases one may go through from first wanting a change in your life > and having FAITH that you can somehow do that (#1 Seeking the Ox), to full > enlightenment, complete integration (#10 Entering the Marketplace With Arms > Hanging Loose) - no faith involved here. > > You can find this set all over the web. One such place is at > http://www.terebess.hu/english/oxherding.html <http://www.terebess.hu/english/oxherding.html> > > Â…Bill!
