Mike,
Not only one way. Different strokes for different folk.
--ED
--- In [email protected], mike brown <uerusub...@...> wrote:
>
> Bill!,
>
> The thing for me though, is that Zen is (or can be) too cloaked in
arcane and
> esoteric language placing it on the borders of religious/spiritual
thinking -
> something it definitely is *not*. A basic scientific understanding of
the
> process of meditation and what physiologically happens to the brain as
a result
> of zazen grounds a person much more than faith will do.
>
> Mike
> Mike,
>
> I understand what you are saying below, and even support your
sentiments,
> but I worry that an emphasis on understanding just how meditation
affects
> your body might take someone in the wrong direction, or at least down
a
> useless side road in which they could get entirely lost.
No "emphasis", just knowing the truth, rather than floudering in a sea
of 'faith', illusions and delusions.
> As you know I already believe zen is the âart of
livingâ, and have long
> since jettisoned the âreligious mumbo-jumboâ, including
Buddhism. I don't
> want to replace that with 'scientific mumbo-jumbo'. To me there is not
any
> difference.
>
> Bill!
IMHO, 'scientific mumbo-jumbo' is *your* illusion/delusion.
Zen, being a natural phenomenon, is quite amenable to observation,
meaurement and logical scrutiny - like all natural phenomena are.
The degree of "emphasis" on this scientific inquiry is an indivudual's
choice - the one that works best for the temperament of the individual.
Surely, you are not frozen in the stance of "only one way"?
--ED
> 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 aÂ
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
