Hi Joe,
Not sure I read you correctly...
Chan is in everything. in every word and logic of yours and mine. Words
are dangerous, because they are subject to interpretations.
Drop our logic mind. Erase everything that we hold dearly.
Open our heart and let it connect to our True Self.
A bow to you,
JM
On 5/24/2013 3:21 PM, Joe wrote:
JMJM, Donald,
Well, you are "Absolutely" correct.
And that is unfortunately the weakness in speaking as you do.
The Absolute holds no sway when it is people in the relative plane who
we are talking with, and who we, as Bodhisattvas, hope to help.
"Originally enlightened" simply means "endowed will all Human
faculties" (minus the Vexations).
That goes with the territory, and is a tautology. We can just silently
presuppose it, once we know something of Buddhadharma. As we do.
People in the relative plane, who have not opened their Single Eye,
know nothing of this. You might as well be speaking CHINESE! Like my
Shifu! But, he had a great translator (several, at different times).
And we all practiced together, so we could realize our huge life as
ONE ...together. There is no other way.
...Unless you are merely ...an academic, err-r, "Scholar" (not one of
the Family).
This is serious: you wrote "originally" enlightened, and I pointed out
that this makes no practical difference over "already enlightened". I
also pointed out that the enlightenment of "people" is bogus, as you
agree: it is enlightened *Behavior* which is of importance in our
world of inter-being.
There are no "people". ;-)
Are you sure you are practicing Ch'an? It does not sound very
authentic to me. Not at all! I think you incorporate more
folk-religion than is healthy. Changes are coming. Don't be surprised,
there.
Have you ever met my Shifu, Master Sheng Yen? His life was dedicated
to improving the state of understanding and practice of Ch'an Dharma
and practce in China and Taiwan.
His goal was to uproot, well, the bullshit. Or at least to "compost"
it. He was honored by the President of Taiwan as "The Environmental
Monk". But surely you know these facts. Sheng Yen's way was to enable
us to return to the Earth of Golden Brocade (if not the Pure Land).
That is his legacy. He succeeded. His Dharma Drum University in Taiwan
is training the next hundred generations of Bodhisattvas.
With infinite respect for both our Origins in Practice,
and Nine Bows,
(with Buddha and our Teachers and Ancestors in mind),
and you too, Donald ShiXiong,
--Joe
> <chan.jmjm@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Joe,
>
> Thank you. I meant to write "originally enlightened", not "already
> enlightened"..
>
> Thank you for pointed it.
> JM
