On Tuesday, March 8, 2011, mike brown <[email protected]> wrote:
> Chris, > > My apologys if I've got my wires crossed. I thought your original post was > referring to compassion when you said that, "sit, allow your body/mind to > stop twisting itself up, see that we are all one, all changing, and > fundamentally ok, and allow that belief to soak into you body so that your > body/mind components are confident and able to see when action is > appropriate", then perhaps that is more acceptable. That paragraph was in contrast to the one above it, a straw man statement "just get enlightened and all the worlds problems disappear." That paragraphis my attempt at the marketing of no-marketing. > > And also: > >>Many Zen groups do sponsor outward facing activity; many more individuals who >>undertake training also perform actions of benefit to others; >however the >>zen model is to make no more fuss about that than a hand adjusting the pillow >>for the head; of course that's what the hand does, no big >deal. > > I took the above as talking about compassionate 'action' and my point was > referring to how that action was performed - by thought or 'thoughtless' > intuition. The point about Red Cross parcels being sent to orphans wasn't > really being addressed to what you said, but rather that compassion arises in > every action of the awakened rather than just the obvious ones (which anyone > can do - even cynically). Yes, that paragraph was responding to ED's saying that his local zen center visits the imprisoned. As for how the action is performed, action is action, how can it be performed by thought? I rather find this dogged desire to split things into thought filled vs intuitive to be tedious. People do what they can. Certainly blindness to my own beliefs and my own nature makes it easier to piss off my neighbors when I thought i was being helpful, but to postpone responding to the people around you until you climb some mountain of enlightenment seems like another form of placing an idea above your actual life. Acting as we can as we are, with that little openness to the chance that we may be missing something quite important, is something we can do right now. Note: by my own nature, I do not mean no-self, I mean the stuff that all my friends and acquaintances well know about me which I do not like to see at all. Cheers, --Chris > > Mike > > > > > > From: Chris Austin-Lane <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Tue, 8 March, 2011 23:17:13 > Subject: Re: [Zen] Re: Two Potent Quotes > > > > > It is just clear. My original post wasn't about sending food to the hungry > orphans, I am not sure where you got that; or compassion either. > --Chris > > On Mar 8, 2011 3:38 AM, "mike brown" <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Chris, > > >>At the time, in the moment, it is clear. > > Do you mean it is consciously clear (as in an active judgement) > or intuitively clear, without thought? For me, I still see compassion arising > from any > action performed in the awakened 'state'- sending Red Cross parcels to > children in Eithiopia is beside the point. > > Mike > > > > From: Chris Austin-Lane <[email protected]> > > To: [email protected]: Tue, 8 March, 2011 13:54:13 > Subject: Re: [Zen] Re: Two Potent Quotes > > > > > At the time, in the moment, it is clear. I did not mean something which would > be labelled approp... > > > > > Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are > reading! Talk about it tod... > > > > > > ------------------------------------ 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/
