I'm reading Cosmic Consciousness, I keep meaning to write about it here, but then I figure I should get more of the way through it before I do. It is an interesting book. I don't really believe in the spooky evolution of humanity stuff (not to say humanity is static) but just reading all the case studies is fascinating. Makes me appreciate Walt Whitman more.
I think you may be factually wrong about the presence of chanting, kinhin-type walking, and samu in the church. Certainly there's not that much difference between the kitchen at a sesshin and at a big church dinner, in my moderate experience of each. The legs folded up right sitting tho, is definitely new to Christianity, tho being taken up with a gasp of recognition. I just found out my diocese has a silent sitting meditation retreat every year. Thanks, --Chris [email protected] +1-301-270-6524 On Mon, Jul 2, 2012 at 11:04 AM, Joe <[email protected]> wrote: > Kris, > > Your post about chronology of spiritual development, etc., reminds me of > the approximate age that is sometimes mentioned in connection with people's > "enlightenment" experiences. I think I recall that the age is about 27 or > 28 (strange: this is the same age as when a lot of famous rock musicians > died, in the past 45 years or so). > > There are many wonderfully drawn accounts of such experiences, usually in > Christian terms, in Wm. James' VARIETIES OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE (1902), > especially in his two chapters on "Conversion". > > These are given in the words of the experiencer himself or herself. > > And Evelyn Underhill evidences and discusses such cases and case- > histories in her book MYSTICISM (1910), and quotes some of the same > authorities who collected the case-histories (especially Professor > Starbuck, of Massachusetts). > > But someone did a wonderful study of the experiences of many figures in > history, ranging from Buddha, to Jesus, to Wm. Blake, Walt Whitman, > Socrates, Spinoza, and some 45 others. This is Richard M. Bucke, COSMIC > CONSCIOUSNESS (1901). The book became popular in the 1960s, but had been > around for a long time before. > > All the cases discussed in the books above are probably spontaneous > instances of awakening, in which zazen was NOT a factor. In some cases, > "revival-meetings" spurred the people to open to a different mentality for > a time. > > The depths of the awakenings differ (as in the wu, mu, kensho, or satori > experience). > > I think that most of the experiences are of what a zen teacher would refer > to as One-mind, and not of no-mind (not of emptiness, or wu, or mu). > > In most cases, the experience of the suddenly-changed mind-state for these > awakened people did not last long. Zen practitioners know that the reason > for this is that the person did not have a regular practice of some sort, > like zazen, which both prepares the body for awakening, and supports the > awakening afterwards. Many of the people had the practice of > Bible-reading, and prayer, but these do not function to affect the body as > zazen does, and our other zen practices such as kinhin, chanting, samu, > Precepts, dokusan, sesshin, oriyoki, etc., do. > > Also, in Christianity, practitioners are not asked or encouraged to have > the experience of the founder; while, in Zen Buddhism, we are. > > --Joe > > > Kristopher Grey <kris@...> wrote: > > > > While generalizing on ages, I am reminded of the rarely spoken of (very > > roughly) seven year cycles of the seven chakras.* > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are > reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links > > > >
