joe and troops.. i will pray.. you will not pray.. prayer is offering thanks for the gift of breath prayer is simply the act of meditation whereby we rejoice in life and it's mystery what else did you think/ believe it was? merle
Merle, Bill, et al., My teacher Sheng Yen was pretty clear about "Prayer"! (But please understand that a Zen teacher teaches different ways at different times. This is because there is no fixed "TRUTH" -- no fixed Dharma, they say -- so, a teacher dispenses only what is practical, and what can be effective, UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES. It is always like Medicine. A Zen teacher's job is to cure, not to "educate"). That said, let me say what he said: He sometimes said that Prayer is not *necessary* for a practitioner. We should put our energy into our practice, and not look for energy from the "outside". And -- now, believe this if you will -- if we get energy or assistance from spiritual beings, there is often a price to pay: something to pay BACK. Not all beings are benevolent: we have all heard of "demons". But Sheng Yen would sometimes also teach Pure Land practitioners, mostly Chinese immigrants living in USA, or elsewhere. These people practice recitation of the name of Amida Buddha. They have faith in what they call the power of Amida to help them be reborn in Amida's Pure Land, some day. Sheng Yen would say, however, that Amida really does not have power, and that there may not be such a being. He'd say, however, that Amida *IS* like a REFLECTOR, and can be helpful to us as such. In other words, many millions of people putting faith in Amida result in a certain expenditure of these many humans' energy, and the idea of "Amida" reflects this energy and power and concern directly back, sometimes pretty well focused. So, in other words -- I think! -- this "Amida" is thus like an object of concentration, and the power and life invested in it will manifest in our own lives, or others'. But it merely, passively, REFLECTS the energy that WE give it. That was Sheng Yen's teaching on this. But, don't hold me to this! I was never TOO clear about the Pure Land practices and beliefs, and I did not investigate them, nor lean that way. But it is very common that Ch'an teachers will have some students who are Pure Land people, devoted to the recitation of the name of Amida, as well as people whose practice is Ch'an. This is a legacy from old China; and, now, Taiwan. In the old countries, the Pure Land people FAR outnumber those who will sit still for Ch'an. --Joe > Merle Lester <merlewiitpom@...> wrote: > > Â why not pray? > > compassion universal love and understanding is that not pray? > merle
