Steve, Yes, I also made sure in my post that I separated free will and determinism (as opposed to predestination). I also hope you haven't read into my posts that I am somehow an advocate of Advaita Vedanta? I certainly owe a debt of gratitude to that philosophy for helping to let the penny drop on one or two sticking points, but I certainly don't share all its tenets (Universal Self etc.). I could say the same thing with Zen (as opposed to zen) as I tend to be too eclectic for the orthodox practioners (for example, going on Vipassana retreats, interest in Dzogchen, elements of Hinduism). Alan Watts reads to me much more where I am than say, Dogen. The one reason I will always come back to Zen tho, is its simpleness and dropping of techniques to live the Realised life.
Mike ________________________________ From: SteveW <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Mon, 4 April, 2011 2:52:51 Subject: Re: [Zen] Why bother with Zazen? Better a Roulette --- In [email protected], mike brown <uerusuboyo@...> wrote: > > Steve, > > I'm not so sure that science has proven false the idea that all phenomena are > strictly determined. I think the jury is still out on that one. It's true > that > what happens in the micro, quantum world is random and unpredictable, but not >so > > in the macro-universe. Determinism seems to play a major role in life. Take a > look at environmental determinism. The cultural life of mountain people, > being > shaped by the mountains, is different from the culture of fishing villages, > being shaped by close proximity to the sea. Culture itself plays a key role > in > determining the social and psychological life of an individual. Likewise, > being > > 6ft 2 and 200lbs it is highly unlikely I'll ever be a horse jockey. Also, > isn't > > it one of the core tenents of Zen/emptiness that there is no object or >phenomena > > that is self-created and independent - everything is interdependent? > Speaking > > for myself, I have no fixed position on these questions. I do believe, >however, > > there is a difference in determinism and self-determinism (as opposed to > predestination) and we do make choices (freewill) that can influence the >future. > > Mike > > Hi again, Mike. One other thing which I forgot to mention is that free-will > is >a different topic entirely, and I have not addressed that subject. BTW, the >reason I chose those two articles for you is that they are actually written by >an advocate of Advaita Vedanta who differs in significant ways from other >advocates of Advaita Vedanta. On the topic of free-will, I agree with the Kashmir Shaivites. You may have noticed that I care not one whit whether or not I am a Member In Good Standing in the Zen Club or any other Club. Steve > >
