Joe, > I think you are fortunate to live in an area where there is a lot of > Buddhism.
I grew up in a Buddhist family. Someone at Amaravati, UK, called me born Buddhist :D Then again it's not only about having Buddhism available. I searched for it wherever I go and I always find my way to it. So many retreats available around the area where I live, yet I take an hour flight every year for this JK-Vipassana retreat. I can forgive myself for the carbon footprint, it's only an hour :p Siska -----Original Message----- From: "Joe" <[email protected]> Sender: [email protected] Date: Thu, 01 Nov 2012 16:57:37 To: <[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Zen] hallo there YOU..the cheeky one Siska, Yes, I know about Guo Jun Fashi, and I have read about him in CHAN MAGAZINE, the official journal of the CHAN MEDITATION CENTER, in NYC. Shihfu Sheng Yen named Guo Jun, and all others in this generation, with a first name of "Guo"; this is how his lineage keeps track of Dharma heirs. So, monks and nuns named by Shihfu will all begin with "Guo", in this generation. So, for example, I am also one of Shifu's disciples, and named by him: my name in this circles is Guo Xiang. The names come from a particular poem, a Gatha. In this generation, the names proceed from the character "Guo" in the poem, and the second name comes from the next character on the page, moving away from "Guo", until the end of the poem is reached, and then the second names begin again from the top of the poem, skipping "Guo". "Guo" remains as the first name for all disciples named in this generation. If enough disciples are named, then there might be TWO "Guo Jun" disciples, or three, or ten!, and as many "Guo Xiang"s, also. I have read only one or two books by Krishnamurti, but I saw him once in a lecture appearance he gave at Carnegie Hall in New York City. He was then 80 years old. He came onto the stage and talked for two hours. He wore his Western suit, and sat in a simple wood chair in the center of the stage. His appearance and approach were elegant, simple, and very articulate. It was a very moving and stirring experience to see him and hear him. This was in the year 1980, when I was already a Zen student in a formal way with Sheng Yen, and had taken the Three Refuges and the Precepts with him. The editor of HOOFPRINT OF THE OX is Dan Stevenson, my friend. He was a graduate student at Columbia University in Buddhist Studies, and a disciple of Sheng Yen when I was working at Columbia and for NASA in research in Radio Astronomy. Dan introduced me to Sheng Yen, in Feb, 1979, and I therefore owe him a big debt. Dan has now long since been a professor of Buddhist Studies in Ohio. I think you are fortunate to live in an area where there is a lot of Buddhism. It's not so in USA! There's only a little; but also a little more than there used to be. Greetings from the desert, --Joe / Arizona > siska_cen@... wrote: > > Joe, > > There are Buddhist centres where I live, from various traditions, and there > are meditation retreats available, also from various traditions and > techniques, including zen. [snip]
