The lineage i sat with in Maryland is mmostly Catholic nuns and Jesuit monks, via the Morning Star zendo, ultimately a Maezumi lineage. It was very nice because it was clear that zen is a.practise not a belief system. On Jul 14, 2012 7:36 PM, "Joe" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Merton, yes. > > I attended a church in NYC in college-years dedicated to Merton's ways of > practice, led by renegade young Jesuits of Woodstock Seminary, New York. > They could do no wrong, in my eyes. Totally deconstructed and destroyed > the conservative Italian Catholicism of my adolescent youth -- which I knew > needed doing -- enabling an opening into Spirituality, instead (what a > concept!) -- and basic human nature -- instead. Eternally grateful. Big > debt. > > (Joe Campbell helped me a good deal, too, the American Mythologist,early > on) > > I converted to Chan Buddhism in a formal way 5 years later, if not sooner. > ;-) > > Never seen a church, since. When it comes to weddings and funerals, I > only go to my OWN. > > Shihfu Sheng Yen was just the right person. I suppose we had a > connection, from the past. That's the only way that even a hard-headed > scientist such as myself can explain it. But we are both Natural > Philosophers. We have that in common, and it is fundamental. He is "The > Environmental Monk of Taiwan", according to Taiwan's president, too boot. > But, as a monk, he always wore sandals, even in Winter in NYC. As I did! > Funny. Or the Adidas SL-72 running shoe (which I still wear: down to 20 > miles per week, nowadays, training-wise). > > I've always been a mystic... until zen practice erased the need for that. > I am again an empiricist, as all mystics are. And all zen practitioners > are. Nonetheless spiritual, in the strongest sense. Just as Buddha taught. > > Practice never runs-out, never ends. "The Three Poisons rise endlessly: I > vow to put an end to them." Different translations for different folks, > and different places. > > You are not into the formal stuff at all, are you!! > > Hail! > > --Joe > > > Merle Lester <merlewiitpom@...> wrote: > > > > yes yes joe..herman hesse...my all time favourite writer... and with a > part estonian heritage...brilliant...love him...and have you read thomas > merton? > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are > reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links > > > >
