"In 'zen' or 'Zen', it is believed that wisdom, compassion will emerge from the practice of shikantaza itself, and the experiencing of one's true nature."
Read as a claim of empirical fact, I'm not sure if the above is true or not; or where the evidence would be, either way. But, the more I reflect on it, the more I suspect there might not be much of a muchness between what each of us is saying, after all. Does one's time on the cushion cultivating Buddha mind, by itself, naturally result in benevalent, compassionate, and wise action when off the cushion; or does deliberate cultivation of these virtues when off the cushion supplement one's cultivation of Buddha mind when on the cushion? I suspect that here, again, we have a virtuous circle, as regards a theory of causation. But, as regards pragmatic "recommendations" to the student/practitioner, beyond the practice of zazen, itself (the original question, I believe), I think it is often helpful to focus on the cultivation, in every-day life off the cushion, of loving kindness, compassion, wisdom, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, quite apart from one's sitting practice. A sitting practice alone will usually grow stale and arid, at some point. When this happens, I don't fight it, forcing myself to sit despite my lack of enthusiasm for doing so. Instead, I shift my focus to some other practice, bowing, chanting, deliberate cultivation, in every-day life, of the virtues already listed, , etc. When the cushion begins to call to me once again, I know i am ready to shift my practice back again, to include more time on the cushion. Dana ----- Original Message ----- From: "ED" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, February 07, 2011 4:50 PM Subject: [Zen] Re: Spock? --- In [email protected], "Dana S. Leslie" <dsleslie3@...> wrote: > > 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! In 'zen' or 'Zen', it is believed that wisdom, compassion will emerge from the practice of shikantaza itself, and the experiencing of one's true nature. > 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.providencezen.org/> http://www.kwanumzen.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. Yes, and I was interested in knowing if there is any zen center that advocates 'zen' without any mention Buddha's teachings. --ED 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 > 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] </group/Zen_Forum/post?postID=GtwcMxz3sUO_YF0vZpt5B1SebauulVyydQ27Nk94pN\ 2hHoJs0xbdbhASp1AbLRuTQRFpmFnhYFxEDexjsHzyBIYLjg> , 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 5854 (20110207) 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/
