To zazen, I would add the cultivation of loving kindness, compassion, and wisdom, as embodied in our lives off the cushion. To be sure, these flow naturally from Buddha mind. But buddha mind evolves out of their cultivation. It's a virtuous circle!
I have never formally been a student at The Providence Zen Center, or the Kwan Um School of Zen: http://www.providencezen.org/ http://www.kwanumzen.org/ But I have practice zazen with, and learned much from teachers, associated with this lineage, on and off,, over many years. Of course, there are MANY, MANY other Zen teachers and training centers in America. Google will lead you to scores of them. ----- Original Message ----- From: "ED" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2011 10:36 AM Subject: [Zen] Re: Spock? Bill, Does 'zen' involve just doing zazen (shikantaza) practice? Are there any other recommendations, whether derived from Buddhism or elsewhere? Is a teacher or guide required? Is there any material on 'zen' on the Internet? Are there currently any 'zen' teachers in the US that you are aware of? Thanks, ED --- In [email protected], "Bill!" <BillSmart@...> wrote: > > Kristy, > > Most of the time when I use the a phrase like 'the zen I practice' it is really just to signal everyone that I'm not claiming I am the official spokesman for traditional Zen Buddhism. I do claim however to be the official spokesman for 'the zen I practice' and do feel very confident in talking about it. > > Put simply I beleive 'the zen I practice' is Zen Buddhsim without the Buddhism. That's why I always distinguish between 'the zen I practice' (lower case 'z') and the proper name Zen Buddhism (with an upper case 'Z'). > > So...if you can think about zen as including practices that are not specific to Buddhism - like zazen; while not including things that are specific to Buddhism - like the Eightfold Path and enlightenment, then that's all it is. > > ...Bill! > --- In [email protected], Kristy McClain healthyplay1@ wrote: > > > > Hi Bill, > > > > You often refer to "the zen you practice", as in the following: > > > > > To answer your question, anything that involves observing does not sound like zen to me. In the zen I practice there are no dualities such as observer/observed (subject/object)...Bill! > > > > > > > Would you be willing to share how you do this, or give an example? > > > > Thanks.. ~K __________ NOD32 5851 (20110206) Information __________ This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. http://www.eset.com ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
