She's a good presenter, and makes a good presentation.
I find that cultural influence, and cultural education, and cultural
INCULCATION, comes through different "packaging" of powerful material
at different epochs, or times, or eras.
I mean, it is the packaging which changes.
Millennia ago, it was the oral tradition. In the West, Greek myths
and the bard Homer had a lock on people's ears: you bet he did. Before
Shakespeare -- or somebody else of the same name -- ever lived.
In relative modernity, movies display and exploit a lot of mythic
archetypes, and re-tell the same extremely old stories in seemingly
clothes (costumes). But there is nothing new under the DNA. Joe Campbell
taught this fact, too, as well as the details of the stories.
But of course everything has to be re-cast by every new generation.
JUST as every new generation of Zen practitioners must write -- re-write --
that our tradition is a tradition that is "Not dependent
on words on letters." Those piled-up writings are now taller than a
Himalayan mountain.
Of course filmmakers want to popularize THEIR medium. The motivation
is not entirely selfless, and should thus be held at least a little "suspect".
I'd prefer it, if the kids were asked not only to be SPONGES, but if
they were also encouraged to be sources of JUICE.
When they are mature, let them participate in Zen sesshin, and Ch'an
retreats, at least 7 days in length/duration. This is necessary to
break down -- and allow the kids to break out of -- social
conditioning, so that their own expression of Original Nature may
*shine* from them in a form *OF THEIR CHOICE*.
"Let" them choose any art or medium, for their expression and for their
compassionate salvation of the world. Or just let them paint
the town (but I hate graffitists).
The trappings of societal conditioning and the signs and symbols of
society will not by themselves liberate Original Humanity, nor can
they! Impossible! I don't say this as a Theoretician.
Surely, it's original nature that is to be valued, and not society.
Even the stories, the archetypes, are as chaff compared with the
potential of the True Human Being of No Rank. You do not want to
embody a Story: but have the life of Nature be *your* life, and you
are not doing anything artificial, nor any evil, neither manufactured
nor original.
Yes, I am a radical. I am a zen practitioner.
--Joe
PS I am a Scientist: but my subject is not Science: it is NATURE!
You see the difference. Society taught me Science, but I do not
study Science, you see, nor do I care about it. That is not my
Subject.
> JMJMï¼ <chan.jmjm@...> wrote:
> May I present something a little different from the usual discussion? It
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