edgar..
many cling and clutch to their yam leaf diploma ... that is their way of knowing they have somehow made it... it happens in all human activities..the clutching and clinging...and bloody preaching!.. merle Joe, I lived in Japan 3 years. During that time I sought out and studied with a number of masters, including yamabushi on the sacred Mt. Tsurugi-san near where I lived for half that time in the wilds of Shikoku (only 11 other gaijins on the entire island at that time in the mid 60's, the others all Christian missionaries). I also sat in temples there, and also studied Sho Rinji Kempo, Japanese for Shao Lin style Kendo... Much of the other half the time I spent hitchhiking through the mountains and sleeping in temple yards or in nearby fields, or in nearby homes when invited, or sometimes wandering ancient mountain trails in the deep mountains and sleeping on mountain tops... But more importantly all my life I've studied with the one TRUE master. And that is Reality itself, the Buddha Nature that manifests in all things to those who have eyes to see. All teachings ultimately come from reality itself. The best any teacher can do is just point at it.... I've had enough of other people pointing. Now I'm seeing for myself! Your notion of Zen being like some college course from which you might graduate with a grade and a yam leaf diploma is frankly ludicrous and childish.... Reality is the ONLY teacher. Just drop your ego and look in the direction I'm pointing! Edgar On Mar 31, 2013, at 5:03 PM, Joe wrote: >Edgar, > >OK, because when I asked you if you had practiced formally, you never replied. > This seemed a fig-leaf for failure or prevarication. You might still make >good, and you have the floor. > >--Joe > >> Edgar Owen <edgarowen@...> wrote: >> >> Joe, >> >> True I never joined the yam leaf sect of Zen, but certainly never flunked or >> dropped out of any. That's a delusion your mind seems to have created as a >> desperate crutch for your ego. Far far from Zen I fear.... >> >> So no I don't have an inscribed yam leaf diploma hanging on my wall as I'm >> sure you do to 'prove' you're enlightened! > >
