Ryan, Your travel experience is indeed your business. My reference to that was in response to your assertion that you 'don't know of any Buddhist refer to Zen Buddhism as a cult'. I hear it all the time.
I don't think it's illegitimate for any organizaton to refuse to recognize another organization as a part of itself. The whole purpose of any organization (such as relgions) is to differentiate itself from others, and maybe especially others that claim to have the similar qualities or characteristics. I practice zen but do not consider myself Buddhist, although I did get my start in zen through traditional Japanese Zen Buddhist training - at least as 'traditional' as was available in the 1960's in California. Zen practice does not REQUIRE sitting (zazen) in groups, or in fact sitting at all; but I could not imagine how you could begin zen practice without sitting. I suppose it is possible, but I do not know how that could be approached. The whole point of beginning zen practice is to lead you towards experienceing (discovering) Buddha Nature. I don't know any other, or at least any better, ways of doing that outside of zazen. After you've experienced (discovered/become aware of) Buddha Nature then zen practice is just a deepening of awareness and an integration of Buddha Nature in your everyday life. I suppose you can do that however you want. Hope this helps...Bill! --- In [email protected], Ryan Mishler <ryan.mishler@...> wrote: > > Bill, > > Regarding my travel experience, that is my business. I simply think it's > illegitimate for Zen to be thought of as a cult. Saying that "I don't know" > of Zen being thought of as a cult is a way of clearing the mind of > pretensions. > > I am interested in exploring the way Zen is practiced. Ideally one could > have a community of "Zen friends" to associate oneself with. I have many > friends, who do yoga, but that is different. I am not a vegetarian. > Personally I don't participate in "sitting groups", I think there is too much > emphasis on sitting in Zen, especially for long periods of time. I don't see > "sitting" for long periods of time, as a good way to still the mind. > I did read what you wrote about Buddism in different countries. > > I would like to see Zen develop and advance in the North America. I think > the pursuit of being a seeker is an adventure many people can enjoy. I see > Zen as a libertairan alternative to the many rules of Buddhism. > > -Ryan- > ------------------------------------ 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/
