Siska, I didn't mean you HAVE to have a teacher to realize Buddha Nature. What I meant was if you wanted to work on the koan Mu you should do that with a teacher.
I actually do recommend a teacher. I don't know how anyone could realize Buddha Nature without one. I know it's certainly possible, but I think you need a teacher if for nothing else to keep you from mistaking something else for Buddha Nature. By the way your teacher doesn't serve an an authority on the Truth (Buddha Nature). He/she serves as an example and a guide. YOU have to discover/uncover Buddha Nature for yourself. Your teacher can not do that for you. He/she can just help guide you there. It's like a swimming teacher can help you learn to swim, but cannot actually swim for you. So if in Vipassana you don't have a teacher, how do you know what to do? ...Bill! --- In [email protected], siska_cen@... wrote: > > Hi Bill, > > Yes, to some in vipassana tradition, mindfulness would go hand in hand with > concentration, or focused mind, instead of clear mind. > > Even in clear mind, I'd say sometimes there is still this sense of I, > separated from what is not I. But that's because I'm not 'there' yet. > > > If you're truly interested seek out a zen teacher and ask him/her. > This is one of things in Zen that I've not been able to embrace. With > J.Krishnamurti approach, JK is 'against' teacher role, a role which serves as > our authority in practice, source of truth. Not that I don't need teacher or > something like that and I believe people can always learn from other people > all the time. It's just that in the tradition where I am right now, we don't > take teacher as authoritative figure, which seems to be so in zen. > > > Cheers, > Sisks > -----Original Message----- > From: "Bill!" <BillSmart@...> > Sender: [email protected] > Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2012 14:13:17 > To: <[email protected]> > Reply-To: [email protected] > Subject: [Zen] Re: Mu - Graphically Illustrated... > > Siska, > > I would define 'mindfulness' as 'clear mind' the same as you did. I think > some people though define it as more 'focused mind'. I think the only > difference is in 'clear mind' there is no dualism, no sense of self. In > 'focused mind' there still is dualism, subject/object and a sense of self. > > The koan Mu is no difference then all 'breakthrough' koans. A skilled > teacher can use it to lead you to discover/uncover Buddha Nature. That's all > I care to say about it here. If you're truly interested seek out a zen > teacher and ask him/her. > > The questions I asked Edgar were all variations on one question: 'What role > does intelligence have in experiencing Buddha Nature?'. > > ...Bill! > > --- In [email protected], siska_cen@ wrote: > > > > Hi Bill, > > > > I had to google on the koan because I don't know what it says. If I got the > > right koan, I don't get the connection to mindfulness. > > > > I agree with you that the picture can be described as clear mind, reflects > > the real world around it. That is, mindfulness to me. > > > > Would you describe mindfulness differently? > > > > How does mu help to discover Buddha Nature? > > > > Sorry, I can't remember your questions to Edgar. I remember you asked them > > so many times, but I just can't remember what it is exactly. Do you mind > > repeating the question? > > > > Siska > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: "Bill!" <BillSmart@> > > Sender: [email protected] > > Date: Fri, 09 Nov 2012 11:55:16 > > To: <[email protected]> > > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Subject: [Zen] Re: Mu - Graphically Illustrated... > > > > Siska, > > For some reason I wasn't able to REPLY to your post. I'm going to try > > to reply from a NEW TOPIC post. You asked: > > [Siska] Would you describe Mu as mindful? > > I actually would not. I would however equate Buddha Nature with > > 'mindfulness', at least in the way I understand that term. I don't > > really like the term 'mindful' for just what is indicated in this > > cartoon. It's not 'mind full' at all. I'd rather see that desribed as > > 'empty mind' or 'clear mind'. It's like the difference between a movie > > screen which is full of images that are projected on it and a mirror > > which is essentially empty and only reflects the real world around it. > > Mu is just a tool to help you to discover/uncover Buddha Nature - a kind > > of trick really. Mu in and of itself has no meaning. > > I thought using Mu in the title of this post was appropriate in this > > case though because the cartoon used a dog as an example of > > 'mindfulness' so it kind of relates to the koan about Joshu's Mu. > > I didn't elaborate on it in my first post but this cartoon (which I've > > copied again here below) is a good answer to my series of questions I > > asked of Edgar (remember him?) about the relationship between > > intelligence and Buddha Nature. > > > > ...Bill! > > > ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! 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