Hello Bill and all People refer to that Great All out there as 'god', and yet Taoists have come up with TAO...and many involved with Zen in today's world have referred to it as 'buddha'. I suppose it really depends from which religious background the individual comes from. I have not succeeded yet in going through the whole Bible(both Old and New, plus the Apocrypha) but I do believe that Christians at least have enquired(judging from what I had read so far in online scriptural discussions) whether the One and Supreme Creator has hands, wings, feet, etc....in other words, an actual, physical being or make. Being so, the atheist camp would then say things such as,"If so, then Yahweh can't possibly be in more than one place at the same time"....and yet all of the Big 3 Faiths teach their followers that the Holy Father sees all, and knows all. This then brings the question of....how big is God exactly? Huge to the point that he sees and knows all? Is this about size? How is He exactly...everywhere? Buddha. The world knows he was just a man. According to the late Zen teacher Deshimaru-sensei, there are sources to indicate that he died from eating poisoned food, or pork. However, we do not worship(in the religious sense) the man who lived long ago. I personally do not know yet where the idea of 'buddha' being the same as 'god' or 'tao' being all and one...and the same thing. I personally accept it(minus the Yahwe part). Let me first point out however, that my only source for the moment is Zen Mind Beginners Mind...and TaoTeChing(trans., John H McDonald) to a very limited extent. With Buddha, there are no arms, legs, eyes...and so forth...to mention, and yet the late Zen teacher (Shunryu) Suzuki-sensei say that Buddha is everywhere. One may then conclude...does Yahweh rest within Buddha's realm? If Yahweh has an actual physical form, does He then exist within Buddha's embrace? I personally do not know, but I can only speak of what I believe, or what my personal interpretation(s) is I have 2 'buddha'-like statues in my room that I bow to before and after zazen, or when I leave. However, this bowing is no more different to me when I bow to my meal before I eat, and afterwards. With this in mind, there is a parallel here with the Christian and Jewish faiths(I'm lacking on info for the moment with Islam on this one). But, these little 'buddhas' I own are not representative of some Being out there. They are worthy of respect because they represent something much higher and worthy than my own dualistic desires...especially greed and attachment Having said the above so far, is Buddha then made of air that that travels around the planet and therefore sees and knows all, and therefore everywhere? To me personally, Buddha has not got the actual, physical form I had described above...and yet Buddha is everywhere. People new to Zen will not comprehend this easily, nor will it sit easily with them if they understand, because there are no actual descriptions, instructions, directions of faith or worship...and so on In Buddha's grace Mel PS. I have mentioned the need for sincerity when it comes to Zen...or Buddha if one prefers. What this means for the new seekers is....how badly do you want Buddha? For my part as a Karate student, the only way I can get through works such as... - A Book of 5 Rings - Hagakure ...is through Zen/Buddha. No goal, no attainment...if one must die, then one must die. It's all about living this moment, and the next, and the next, and the next....
________________________________ From: Bill! <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, 12 January 2012 6:50 PM Subject: Re: [Zen] New to Group Mel, Just to get you to share a little more with us I'll respond to your post below: 'God' is supposed to be everywhere too, just like you said Buddha was. So, do you think they're both (God and Buddha)in the same place (everywhere) together? Or do you think they are the same thing? Or what? ...Bill!
