"Don't just do something, said the Buddha, sit there.
Don't just sit there, said the Buddha, do something." --- In [email protected], "robenzo72" <robenzo72@...> wrote: > I'm here to learn. I'm also here because I believe the collective wisdom/knowledge here can provide answers that would otherwise take me who knows how long to discover. Here's my latest "Zen Perplexity": Suffice to say that I deal with some rather difficult people in my life. One might even say "unnecessarily difficult," or even label it has harassment. No kidding. I'm just a very peace-loving dude, but I'm also like a hate magnet that draws peoples' ire without falter. This I know: I cannot change the behavior of others, I can only alter mine. However, the Universe provides me with endless opportunities to find "Zen" in order to just cope with life. I was actually so upset today (as I say, I lost my Zen) that I phoned my brother about it. He's not a Zen Buddhist, but does subscribe to another Eastern religion (Ananda Marga). Anyways, after I'd told him that my "Zen" was depleted and therefore I had to exit a situation, he suggested that rather than trying to be so "Zen-like," that I needed "assertiveness training." Hmm... Assertiveness is a necessary skill, but it also leads to ego "stuff" and altercations. So, I'm really just in a quandary. Rarely do you see Zen text instructing assertiveness in difficult situations (unless I'm mistaken). I've also thought it conceivable that I just have a low level of it, but that's neither here nor there. Thoughts? ------------------------------------ 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/
