The 'why' seems to me to be a very important question, esp for beginners like me who are looking for some sort of inspiration (totally not the right word, but don't have a better one) from those who have been practicing a while (along the lines of.........life before zen was sometimes like this, life after zen is mainly like this). Curiously the subject of 'why' seems to be rarely touched on, with real life examples.
Rose --- On Sun, 11/28/10, ED <[email protected]> wrote: From: ED <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Zen] New Member To: [email protected] Date: Sunday, November 28, 2010, 2:41 PM Chris, Do you not believe that there *is* merit in discussing various possible motivations for Zen practice, and what we hope to gain from it for ourelves and/or for humankind (if anything at all?) Thanks, ED --- In [email protected], ChrisAustinLane <ch...@...> wrote: > > Pardon my intrusion into this interchange, but I strongly feel that why is a > question each person must wrestle with for themselves. > > You seem to have an intellect very activated with a lot of questions with a > lot of energy behind them. If you are content with that way of living, and it > seems you are, then you need not undertake a practice of sitting. > > Thanks, > Chris Austin-Lane Bill, That may well be the case. Does it automatically follow that others ought to spend enormous amounts of time and energy attempting to attain the same mind-state, and if so, why? --ED > Ed, > > I am convinced that I have met, interacted with and witnessed several > modern-day zen masters that were able to hold Buddha Mind in their everyday > life: Koyru Roshi, Maezumi Roshi, Dae Soen Sa Nim and Tetsugen (Bernard > Glassman) Roshi before he was a Roshi and was the Senior Monk at ZCLA under > Maezumi Roshi immediately come to mind. This is not to say I believe they > held Buddha Mind 24x7, but certainly could move to that stage pretty much > whenever they chose to do so. > > I have also interacted with many (100's) others that could hold Buddha Mind > in varying degrees of a controlled environment - like performing their > housekeeping jobs in the zen center, or while they are at a supermarket > shopping for groceries. > > ...Bill! > Bill, > How would one recognize a Buddha Mind in the real world? Has there been or > is there any roshi in America who has been an exemplar on how to manifest > Buddha Nature in the real world? > --ED > > Lana, > > > > There are times that quietude and solitude are helpful in zen practice, > > especially in the beginning. But eventually you have to bring your > > practice > > into the 'real world'. Zen is everyday life. You should be able to > > maintain Buddha Mind in the middle of Times Square New York City during > > rush > > hour just as well as in a cave in Tibet. > > > > ...Bill!
