Steve: I started zazen for a selfish reason - for a quiet, mind-relaxing time, all to myself - and shortly afterward, I realized that I had stopped grinding my teeth when I slept. So - I continued, because of direct health benefits. :) I had integrated zazen into my religious practice. I was Asatru then (Asatru is a reconstructionist religion...it attempts to recreate the religion of pre-christian Europe using historical accounts and archaeological evidence). I had been disillusioned with Asatru for some time - it has it's own negative dynamics, most familiar to major religions, but some unique to itself. Ultimately, it was the internal politics of my group that forced me to leave - I was a board member, and I had seen several schisms occur right before my eyes. The experience was ugly, sickening, and wrong - I had no desire to continue the farce that was my involvement in the rituals and board proceedings. After I left, I continued solitary rituals for a couple of weeks, and then gradually, weeks turned to months, and I finally stopped altogether. I just couldn't believe in many gods, one god, or anything anymore. I wanted to be a clean slate for a while - to just learn, absorb, and BE. Throughout this, I kept sitting. Then, I started reading more about zen, and Buddhism in general. That said, I'm still a beginner. I sit because I find peace there - in a religion that is not a religion - peace to experience, to learn, to know myself, to BE. No strings attached. :)
~Audrey --- In [email protected], "SteveW" <eugnostos2000@...> wrote: > > Hello. I am posting this question in response to the on-going back-and-forth > concerning what Zen really is. Simply put, why did you take up Zen? Did you > have an idea in your mind about what you were taking-up and why? Surely, > no-one here just happened to sit down in a rather artificial and > uncomfortable position and start watching his or her > breathing? > Steve > ------------------------------------ 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/
