No trouble. It is much harder to keep track of individuals on list servs than in real life. I am actually never sure of the difference between you and Steve. You both like martial arts and the idea of no-self, but one claims to have achieved mystic union pre Zen and the other is climbing a mountain range?
Thanks, Chris Austin-Lane Sent from a cell phone On Mar 8, 2011, at 21:28, mike brown <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Chris, > > Fair enough, I see what you're driving at. I created my own confusion by > trying to juggle to posts (from you and ED) at the same time, but now I can > see they were quite different animals (my point to ED was about compassion > and compassionate action just arising, and doesn't have to such a well > thought out process behind it re the Red Cross parcel bit). My bad. > > Mike > > From: Chris Austin-Lane <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Cc: mike brown <[email protected]> > Sent: Wed, 9 March, 2011 10:46:39 > Subject: Re: [Zen] Two Potent Quotes > > > > On Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 8:20 AM, mike brown <[email protected]> wrote: > > >Well, of course an action can't be performed by thought (Uri Geller proved > >that point), but it > > usually has its genesis in that thought, and the thought process continues > > making > > observations and judgements during and after the particular action. > > I don't think that's really true. I think people may retroactively make up > some story about this or that thought leading to some action, but generally > the action arises. And judgements are totally separate, really if you > believe the judgment, it is a separate action. > > I certainly empathise with the 'everyday lifeness' (I think that's a new > phrase) sentiment of your point, but I find the opposite to be true. When I > equivocate or second guess myself in a situation where an immediate response > would be preferrable, I usually end up making a mess, or regreting, a > situation that might have been better dealt with spontaneously and > intuitively. This is not to suggest, however, that some decisions shouldn't > be made thru careful consideration of the facts, it's just that we often do > this quite needlessly. > > Whoa! I'm sure I never wrote about equivocate, second guessing, or avoiding > the spontaneous action (personally, I find "intuitive" to be a word tightly > linked to thoughts - a flash of intuitive insight is something I stake my > professional life on, and it is always a thought, never an action. Careful > consideration of the facts? Eh, sometimes I guess. Certainly not in the > example I used of catching an ice cream scoop as it falls to the floor. I > suppose when you are trying to decide on what house to buy with your spouse, > some planning activity is useful, but I try not to get carried away with it > or too attached. > > --Chris > > > > > >
