Merle, Lots of questions! I've embedded my responses below:
> >  bill..i see so you are an atheist?.. > Yes. >  then you tell me there is buddha nature..again i ask what does this mean?... > And I tell you again: "Buddha Nature is a quality of all sentient beings. It is pure, unadulterated, holistic awareness of sensual experience." It is not a god and is not something separate, apart or different from you. >  how does jesus christ fit into the scheme of things?...was he perfection of > buddha nature?.. > >From what I've read about Jesus I think he was an enlightened teacher. I >think he expressed his enlightenment and teachings in the language and terms >of Judaism, much like Buddha expressed his enlightenment and teachings n the >language and terms of Hinduism. > and if so... > he says he was the son of god >  then was he deluded? > No, because I interpret the 'Son of God' to mean he was an instantiation of Buddha Nature. In other words he was enlightened. > how come the western world has been transformed by the power of christianity > since the time it became an  accepted religion > I'm not sure what you mean by 'transformed by the power of Christianity'. I don't see that happening. I do see the Western World has been transformed by the acceptance of logic and science. >  how come atheists are not interested and accept buddhism...especially zen? > I don't know what you mean about 'not interested', but many atheists describe themselves as Buddhist because they see Buddhism as a philosophy and not a religion which worships a deity. Most Buddhists do worship Buddha as a deity, but most Westerners do not see Buddhism that way. I'd think atheists would be drawn to zen because zen is not a religion, does not recognize a deity and focuses on experience rather than belief or understanding. ...Bill! > merle > >  > Merle, > > 'God' is a mental concept, an invention of the human intellect. That makes > it(he/she) an illusion in my book. > > ...Bill! > > --- In [email protected], Merle Lester <merlewiitpom@> wrote: > > > > > > > > àthe greeks and romans had gods...they were not wise nor good...so what > > definition of god do you hold to, bill?...merle > > > > > > à> > Merle, > > > > Another good question. > > > > Here is my working definition of 'Buddha Nature': "Buddha Nature is a > > quality of all sentient beings. It is pure, unadulterated, holistic > > awareness of sensual experience." In other words it's just sight, sound, > > smell, taste and/or touch BEFORE you intellectualize it (perceive) by > > giving it a name, classification, valuation (good/bad), associations, etc... > > > > Here is Merriam-Webster Online's definition of 'God': > > "1: the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is a : the Being > > perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is a : the Being perfect in > > power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshiped as creator and ruler of the > > universe > > 2: a being or object believed to have more than natural attributes and > > powers and to require human worship; specifically : one controlling a > > particular aspect or part of reality as creator and ruler of the universe" > > > > The main differences IMO are that 'Buddha Nature' is natural and holistic > > (not separate from you), and 'God' is supernatural and dualistic (a > > separate being from you). > > > > You EXPERIENCE Buddha Nature, whereas most people would say you WORSHIP God. > > > > ...Bill! > > > > --- In [email protected], Merle Lester <merlewiitpom@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > Ãâàbuddha nature bill... you say no god then you say buddha > > > nature..please clarify..thanks ... merle > > > Ãâà> > > Merle, > > > > > > Good question... > > > > > > The terms 'zen' and 'atheism' are not the same classes of things. > > > > > > My current working definition of 'zen' (not Zen Buddhism) is: "Zen is a > > > human practice that assists in balancing the interplay between Human > > > Nature and Buddha Nature. It does so by employing a variety of teaching > > > techniques that are used to temporarily halt intellectual processes > > > (Human Nature) which can obscure Buddha Nature. After an initial > > > awareness of Buddha Nature zen practice consists of re-integrating Human > > > Nature and balancing it with Buddha Nature." > > > > > > Merriam-Webster Online defines 'atheism' as: > > > "a : a disbelief in the existence of deity > > > b : the doctrine that there is no deity" > > > > > > So...I would say IMO zen practice is atheistic. It would be hard to > > > imagine a deist (someone who believes in a deity)practicing zen as I know > > > it. There is some wiggle room here if you describe the experience of > > > holism (Buddha Nature) as 'God', but most uses of the word 'God' or > > > 'deity' refer to some being separate from yourself. > > > > > > ...Bill! > > > > > > --- In [email protected], Merle Lester <merlewiitpom@> wrote: > > > > > > > > question:...what is the difference Ãâàbetween zen and > > > > atheism?....Ãâà> > > > > > > > is enlightenment Ãâàmerely an illusion? or perhaps even a > > > > delusion? > > > > > > > > Ãâà> > > > Merle > > > > www.wix.com/merlewiitpom/1 > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------ 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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