joe..what assumptions you make about me..saying i do not practise..how would you know?..
i live on top of a mountain in 4 acres of garden..i see the sun rising..i see the full moon..i see the bamboos blowing in the wind...i hear the frogs croaking and the python resting in the mid day sun... am i awake?...have i awaken?... give me a break..harp harp harp...that's all you are doing.... do what ever you must to get you there however why harp at me?... as for the arts...practise all you like..till you are "blue in the face" however at the end of the day it all must come from YOU as a creative force... all the techniques will be thrown out the window you will be liberated and your soul will finally sing it's own tune and paint YOUR picture... take it easy joe.. maybe the diamond you found was a false gem..and your heart is still frozen... lighten up and breath... take a handful of desert sand in your hand and examine each grain as if it was gold... then tell me i'm not practising zen with my every breath?... happy weekend joe.. merle Merle, Dunno. You brought up the Sutra. I mentioned that I've studied it over some 35 years, and that the 400-character "heart" of the Heart Sutra is a prevalent feature in formal Zen practice at every Zen dojo in the world. I'm sorry if these facts have hurt you, somehow. If you don't yet know how the formal recitation of the Heart Sutra helps us in our practice, then you should attend 7-day sesshin at a zendo, after practicing formally for about a year or so with a teacher and sangha, and daily at home, to get the body and "mind" in a condition to be ready for intensive practice. But even in ordinary daily practice at the zendo, the Heart Sutra is recited ritually by all, in Morning Service, etc., and you would therefore become very well familiar with at least the words of it: you'd recite it by heart and would not need to look at the text. Meanwhile, even if the content or concepts of the Sutra do not engage you, you should know that recitation is for THE BREATH. You see, our practice is a *physical* one. Those who have yet to engage in it do not appreciate, and of course cannot appreciate, this fact, because they have no experience of this, and so do not know. They may wrongly think that chanting is like prayer or invocation, or something. I can't say much about painting, and I don't know what you mean by "rules" of painting, as I am not an Art teacher as you have been. But in Music, I find I am a better Cellist by learning and practicing "etudes". These are nicely musical studies -- not merely technical, exercises -- for the fingers and the ear, and for the bow-arm. Working with them helps a player with repertoire immediately. In painting, if I practice technique and paint-mixing as a beginner, please do not fault me for not yet being an expert or a virtuoso. Do I fault you for knowing so little from either practice or study about the Zen tradition, yet nonetheless (your) always using the word as if it meant something in particular? Yes. Yet, I don't say you can't help yourself and others through Practice. You say you practice already, and that's great. We can all do a little better. '-) Practice brings stamina, health, and life, and can lead to Awakening. I don't urge practice upon you, though. There's a lot to do in life. We choose what's important, and what's possible. And all the rest is thrust upon us, or may seem accidental. In Buddhist practice and Zen practice, we emphasize "Causes and Conditions". It's a way to appreciate our situation, and, in the best cases, to see openings (for change). --Joe > Merle Lester wrote: > > diamonds hearts and all will be revealed! Let's make a more complete list: diamonds hearts spades and clubs (you left out the black suits) > Merle Lester wrote: > > guess what joe... > > you can recite whatever a trillion times but it has to have substance in your > life... > > no i have not read it... > to tell you the truth it just came to me in an insight.. > > how zen is that?... > > the diamond and the heart.. > > so there you go.. > > i'm zen and you are mr. recite it... > > zen is about hitting the nail on the head instantly.. > > where are you coming from as you labour away day and night practising never > really "getting there" > > throw your books and recitations away > > open your heart then see what happens! > diamonds hearts and all will be revealed! > > you cannot paint by rules either joe... > you have to be free to create, explore and visualise.. > otherwise you are just repeating  the same old crap > to be truly YOU you have to let go of the props, the books the mantras > and let loose > now don't tell me that isn't pure zen?
