Mike, I am coming to the defence of JMJM. 'Chi' is not spirit. It is very much physical, though the mechanism has yet to be discovered by science. Anthony
--- On Wed, 20/10/10, mike brown <[email protected]> wrote: From: mike brown <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Zen] Questions, questions, question To: [email protected] Date: Wednesday, 20 October, 2010, 8:59 AM JMJM, Just like to state that I didn't get that info from the Larry King programme! You're right about the need to still "sit through", however to know that we are somehow changing our brain/thoughts for the positive in a concrete, physiological way frees us from a lot of the esoteric and ceremonial nonsense that Zen is clouded in (no offence meant, but 'spirit' and 'chi' could be put into that category). Mike From: Jue Miao Jing Ming - 覺妙精明 <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Wed, 20 October, 2010 9:43:33 Subject: Re: [Zen] Questions, questions, question Yes, as per Larry King program, about 2-3 weeks ago, a bunch of scientists did say that our brain can be changed. Yet even if we accept this discovery, we still need to "sit through". Knowing any of this does not help us with any short cut. Words are forms. Words are in a domain separate from the domain of energy and spirit. :-) Be Enlightened In This Life - We ALL Can http://chanjmjm.blogspot.com http://www.heartchan.org On 10/19/2010 5:23 PM, mike brown wrote: ED, Bill, Mayka et al, If I can just jump in here. There is scientific data to suggest that the brain has a kind of plasticity and so can be neurologically changed according to how it is used. I think this is should hold a huge interest for those of us interested in zen/meditation. Learning to pay attention to the moment and letting go of negative thoughts can be seen as a 'skill' just like learning a language or playing the piano. If one incorporates sitting into their daily lives it'd be possible to change the physiology of the brain to better respond to internal/external stimuli with happier results. Zen, as an art of living, could then jettison all the religious mumbo-jumbo that it's wrapped up in now. Mike
