This thread has been very interesting, but I have a question for Mike. I am honored that you shared your experience with us, and I hope I can address a question without antagonizing you - it's a real question I have, and I am perfectly willing to hear any honest answer.
As far as I can tell, every time one slows down the rush of thinking a bit, out pops such a lovely universe as these dramatic experiences seem to highlight. But, other than the strong emotions, I don't read anything in these mystical experiences that isn't there each moment, in the quiet still space that attending lets us notice. After each exhalation, perfect stillness, balanced on the burning tip of creation. Something like that. I've not had an enlightenment experience as a part of zen training*, but they don't read as different from my frequent realizing I'm lost in day dreams and returning to attentive zazen - tho that realization is rather dull, it has the full sense of okness and the noticeable lack of distinct boundaries. When I stop crinkling up my mind, and attend to what Bill! calls raw sensory input, living is awfully pretty and crystalline and wonderful; even in the middle of an argument with my wife or kids, here we are; how can I not smile a bit (unless it would upset the companions)? I have a fairly pleasant and orderly life, to be sure, but even crashing on my bike is interesting. That slight shift in perspective happens many times a day, but each time I let go (of *my* thoughts, *my* preferences, *my* expectations), my ass unclenches and I find that the moment is indeed complete and sufficient. So I guess my question is that having now had a great deal more chance to see from the non-dual perspective, do you find that the initial experience you wrote about was really basically ordinary, but so far our of your thinking that you were surprised at its nature? Or do you find it leaves you feeling there is some progression to your practice and liberation, and your ordinary experience before that seeing is not like your ordinary experience now? Thanks, --Chris [email protected] +1-301-270-6524 *I had a couple of "it's ok, all is one" experiences as a child, and occasionally as a parent (being a parent seems to for me to bring out all sorts of states of love and wonder, due I guess to the physical exhaustion, total dedication, and lack of personal wilfulness), that seem sort of like what people describe, tho of course it had nothing to do with zen training as I only started that a few years ago. On Thu, Aug 2, 2012 at 7:12 PM, Joe <[email protected]> wrote: > Ed, > > Hugh bet that zen teachers use the word "samadhi'. Not many talk > about it. Except in dokusan. It's not a secret, but maybe since > about half the folks on sesshin are pretty new, teachers do not make > a big deal about it in public, while the old-timers of course are > just bathed in it, to their eyebrows. Or we can hope, so. > > --Joe > > "ED" <seacrofter001@...> wrote: > > > > Mike, > > > > Samadhi has numerous meanings. What do you mean by 'samadhi'? Joe, > > what do you mean by 'samadhi' ? Do Zen masters ever use the term > > 'samadhi'? > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are > reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links > > > >
