i have books on zen...from my early 20's when i commenced the search. .thank you for your information i have books by allan watts... i have timothy leary's books too my all time favourite writer in my 20's was hermane hesse and i devoured all of the writings of carl jung yes artists..e.g. picasso etc...they open the doors of perception
have you read henry miller?...he too has insight.. insight is not confined to the zen masters and their books...insight happens at any time any place being open and ready to accept..that is the key ..many a folk are at the threshold of insight but it appears liken to a rainbow. .too much heaving and sighing and carrying heavy burdens of is "this the way" hampers the experience and it does not occur ...as i say blink and you' ll miss it be prepared...to practise without practising and accept merle..(living in a bamboo grove) Merle, I'm not old enough to know the answer! ;-) But the compassion shown by generous teachers should not be slighted, I think. It helps us to learn from someone who has already accomplished what we want to learn. True of Music, Painting, Archery, Woodworking, and meditation. There is a technology of awakening, and it is ancient. In the millennia past, small communities probably didn't need some of the artifices that we need, because their bodies were in a more natural condition. We can go back to the original, as you say, but maybe not directly. We can UN-COVER the original by using a method, an artifice. Like zazen. Or modified breathing at some point in zazen. Parents would have taught their kids these things, say 50,000 years ago. They had just the Oral tradition. Teachers teach us now, and sometimes they speak to us, sometimes they write. Picasso wrote that, "Art is a lie that reveals the Truth". Methods are like that, too. Not everybody takes to sitting meditation. The ex-Anglican-minister, Alan Watts, writer on religion and Zen, never sat, only walked. Merle, since you have no teacher around, books can carry their teachings to you. Let Doctor Joe prescribe for you: For YOU, some practical books that could be extremely valuable are: Kapleau, THE THREE PILLARS OF ZEN; Sekida, ZEN TRAINING. These are books to live with for years. Anyway, our practice keeps changing, and the books offer what we need at the time, just like a teacher does. You'll be well looked-after. Best wishes!, --Joe > Merle Lester <merlewiitpom@...> wrote: > > .i ask a question..before books...was there zen bamboo breathing? [snip]
