Joe, I agree that in the beginning we come to a teacher out of faith. And we follow that teachers guidance out of faith. And faith leads us to realize Buddha Nature. After that however faith is no longer needed. It is replaced with experience.
...Bill! --- In [email protected], "Joe" <desert_woodworker@...> wrote: > > Mike, > > And when we undertake Koan Practice, a Zen teacher will usually explain that > there are three essentials to begin this practice, regarding FAITH: Faith in > the Method; Faith in oneself; and Faith in the teacher. One is usually also > told that one must have: Great Faith; Great Doubt (Great Spirit of > Questioning; or, Great Spirit of Inquiry); and Great Determination. > > This faith is itself a method. But it leads to an awakening, which is a > whole different kettle of fish than faith. Faith is a tool. > > My 1st teacher put these requirements to me as I knelt, and asked if I had > them. I said, "Yes". He then gave me "Wu". The rest is History, > ...Geography, Biology, Chemistry, Botany, Physics, Politics, Astronomy, > Poesy, Nutrition, Forestry, Comedy, and Funerary Science, Caring, Helping, > Laughing, Crying, Gardening. Fisheries Management, Architecture, Acting, > Painting, Music, and Working Crosswords. Cooking, Eating, Dentistry, Police > Work, and Pharmacy. History... did I say History? Cinema. House-Painting. > Tile-Laying. Rebuilding Carburetors (err-r no, we don't have them anymore), > Rebuilding Classic Carburetors, Restoring VWs; and Target Archery, Haiku > Writing, Suiseki, and Bonsai. Walking, Waking, and Sleeping. Cat-Fancy. > T'ai Chi, Yoga, and Teaching. Photography, Audiology, Wood-Gathering, > Optics, Spectroscopy, Philosophy, Mathematics, Computing, Carrying Water. > Tea, Coffee, and She. Engineering. Nano-Science, Cryogenics, Publishing, > Study, Research, Recreation, Entertainment. Stick-Ball. Forgetting. > Leaving-Out; Omitting; Duplicating. Forgetting. Resting. Powering-Down. > > > mike brown <uerusuboyo@> wrote: > > > > Bill!, > > > > I don't think it's as straight forward as that tho. There's really no such > > thing as 'Buddhism', as it comes in so many different forms. I also > > disagree with you that faith is an essential part of what the Buddha > > taught. He taught the Dharma, and that this has to be experienced, not > > believed. > ------------------------------------ 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! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
