*bows* to Dave, I haven't been following this thread due to the holidays, but thought I'd share this. Another perspective.. >From Small Boat, Great Mountain by Amaro Bhikkhu > > >And so for about the first two or three weeks of the winter >retreat in 1987, Ajahn Sumedho kept telling people not to meditate: > >Just be awake. >He would say to us over and over again, Stop it, stop meditating! >He stressed this repeatedly and gave two or three >Dharma talks a day on not meditating. He would tell people to >open their eyes and stop trying to concentrate. Sometimes there >would be the plaintive cry, But what are we supposed to do? >For which the person would receive a response in thunderbolts > >saying, do!? Don’t do anything. You already are it. Don’t do > >anything. The methodology was identical to the undistracted >nonmeditation employed in Dzogchen practice. >He was trying to point out that dimension of doingness, busyness, > >that becoming quality that so easily takes over the meditation. >It can permeate the whole effort of spiritual practice. The >becoming tendency takes over and gets legitimized by being called >meditation or me becoming enlightened. Meanwhile, we miss >the fact that we are losing the main point and that what we are >doing has turned into a self-based program. We get caught in the > >illusion, trying to make the self become something other. As a >result, we lose track of the real essence of the practice. Making >the effort to see how this happens made this a very fruitful > >retreat. After about two or three weeks we were beginning to get >a sense of what it means to stay present: Don’t do something >now to become enlightened in the future. Just be awake now.
Be well in the New Year.. Kristy --- On Sat, 1/1/11, Dave P <wookielife...@yahoo.ca> wrote: From: Dave P <wookielife...@yahoo.ca> Subject: [Zen] Re: Mindfulness pt 2 To: Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com Date: Saturday, January 1, 2011, 10:39 AM Here's another dillemma i've had. the idea that everything is under control, and the difference between that and choice. There is the phrase "pain is inevitable, suffering is optional." I think that there is truth in that, but I still feel that choosing to feel one may nmeans that you have to ACT. That your actions have consequences that you cannot control, a notion that paralyzes me. Can mindfulness help with that? If so, how? --- In Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com, Jue Miao Jing Ming - 覺妙精明 <chan.j...@...> wrote: > > Happy New Year Ed, > > Propose another word in place of "mindfulness" is a very challenging > task. Let me explain. > > In the practice and dealing with everyday life, we say "Be aware but not > attached to", "focus but not focusing", "observe but not observing", are > some of the terms we use while we translate from our Chinese text to > English. In other words, "sync to the universal wisdom at every moment, > and not be attached to the meaning of the phenomena." is the phrase we > need to represent with a single word. > > The most common general terms as a verb in the practice, we use are "be > aware", "sense", "feel", etc. i.e. "sense our breathing", "feel the > chakra". They are usually terms applying also to emotions, feelings as > well as our general overall well being, physical and spiritual. We can > not separate our "true feeling" from our body or mind. > > We are very careful not to consistently use the same word. Especially > the practice to "notice" the conditions of our body, mind and spirit, > could require different verb for a similar function. Chan teaching > requires flexibility. > > The purpose of Chan wordings are nothing but to wake up the > practitioner, and not to set a path or a rule to follow. After 5,000 > words, Diamond Sutra said only one thing, "Whatever you think it is, it > is not. It just is." > > Perhaps a lot of times, I am guilty in becoming lazy and just say, > "Shut up, Sit down and Stop thinking." > LOL. > > Be Enlightened In This Life - We ALL Can > http://chanjmjm.blogspot.com > http://www.heartchan.org > > > On 1/1/2011 7:37 AM, ED wrote: > > > > > > JM, > > > > What is your proposed definition of 'mindfulness'? > > > > --ED > > > > --- In Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com, Jue Miao Jing Ming - 覺妙精明 > > <chan.jmjm@> wrote: > > > > > Thank you JDB. Indeed we also teach "emptiness of mind". > > > > Somehow the western Zen is stuck on the label of "mind" and would not > > let go. There is even a seminar about the small mind and big mind. > > Though all journeys lead to the same place. > > > > "Mind" is too close to "thinking". It can be easily misunderstood and > > misinterpreted. > > > > We teach "empty your mind", "enhance your heart". And we continue to > > say "because heart is where we could unify our body, mind and spirit." > > > > Somehow, unify our body to the same physical structure as the universe > > is not emphasized in western Zen. Most of the reading that I have > > encountered with focuses mainly on the mind and its awareness, not on > > the body and little on the spirit. Though we constantly talked about > > body, mind and spirit, but in essence, they are one and inseparable. > > Just like the universe. > > > > In our school, awareness does not reside in the mind. Awareness is a > > function of our spirit, which reside in our heart. "Heart" is not > > the organic heart, but our "total well being", our "center" or > > "ONE". Awareness enhancement helps us to be awakened to the Absolute > > Awareness of the universe. > > > > This brings this post to another question. What does Zen say about our > > spirit? Our spiritual levels, our spiritual being, spiritual karma, > > the sixth, seventh and eighth consciousness? > > > > After several years with this forum, I have read little about these. > > In other words, to be enlightened, we need to surpass karmic hindrance > > of body, mind and spirit. We need to work on all three. > > > > Otherwise, we are just imagining and hoping. > > > > On this New Year Day, I hope this post is not too objectionable to ALL. > > > > Happy New Year and thank you for your patience and understanding for > > all the years. > > JMJM > > Head Teacher > > Order Of Chan > > > > Be Enlightened In This Life - We ALL Can > > http://chanjmjm.blogspot.com > > http://www.heartchan.org > > > > On 12/31/2010 10:12 PM, Rev. Joriki Dat Baker wrote: > >>  > >> Or the emptiness of mind. > >> I wonder if something similar could be said about mindfulness. > >> "Mindful" in the Western sense seems to be directing your attention > >> in one direction, However, maybe a better translation is "mind > >> fullness," as in you experience everything with the fullness of your > >> mind. Or am I way off here? > >> > > > > > > >
