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From: Joe <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, 15 August 2012 10:46 AM
Subject: [Zen] Re: Noah's flood, history of the Near East, etc (Anthony, Bill,
list)
Mel,
Nice to meet you, here.
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MEL: Hello Joe. I'm sorry but I've been rather ill which was why I couldn't get
back to you quickly enough
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Soto is good.
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MEL: It's good but it's not perfect. It is however the closest to what I do.
I've got a collection of Zen literature from Shunryu Suzuki and Taisen
Deshimaru. I read those and then do zazen on my own, and then apply both to my
daily life.. Rinzai never had any appeal for me due to the extensive use of the
koans. Soto has them as well, but not to the same extent. Soto's downfall
however, (as with all things Japanese) is this Confucian obsession with
rituals, titles/names, ceremonies, etc.....which is why my personal Zen
Buddhist beliefs are influenced strongly by Taoist teachings
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I practiced with a teacher who was heir to both Lin Chi and Tsao Tung.
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MEL: Out of choice, I refer to myself as Orthodox Zen, and as with karate
training, I've had massive difficulties in finding the company of Zen purists
let alone teachers
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I came in loving Lin Chi, because of the writings of D.T. Suzuki (really
skewed), but found I did not need the convincing. I felt already that we were
all Buddha. So, that faith made it easy to practice the Soto way. I've had
teeth, etc., into k'ung-ans on retreats, and made mince-meat of them, but chose
to go the Soto way for the long term. Still, if the Doc wants to prescribe a
koan, I'll follow the directions.
But, my teacher teaches (taught: deceased) very much as Lin Chi himself, did;
so, almost every teaching-situation was a k'ung-an. A just remarkable teacher:
Ch'an Master Sheng Yen. RIP: but only for a while; be reborn soon, please, Sir.
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MEL: Well done
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Mel, I'm in Tucson, Arizona, USA these days. How about you?
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MEL: I'm here DownUnder/Australia, in the city of Melbourne
Buddha be praised
Mel
...'My greatest happiness consists precisely in doing nothing whasoever that is
calculated to obtain happiness'....
-Chuang Tzu
