Dear all, As devout zen practitioners, I'm sure you are aware that there is no such thing as 'first' or 'last' or 'in-between'. This discussion is, therefore, a bit beside the point.
In the conventional sense, the Buddha was the first one to declare that the only way to reach the truth is to be the first one. But, historically speaking, I doubt if he was actually the first one to get there. Others must have been there before, it is only that we don't see any trace of them. No follower could ever get there. You need to be the one who's blazing the trail. Nevermind the fact that so many have already ben there. They weren't the ones who paved the road for us. They were the ones who taught us that it is possible to pave the road. Each and every one of us must pave our own road. Alex --- fudo <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > AC wrote: > > > > *From:* fudo <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I am > not much impressed with > > being the latest person to figure out how to get > to Old Faithful. >> > > Being the last person there has merit too. Anybody > can be first, but how > > many people can be last? > > > Dear Al, > > Everyone who ever managed to find their way to old > faithful was at one > time the last person to do so, if only for a > moment...even the very > first one. One can never be the very last until > there are no more > people, and I doubt one could know for sure there > are no other people > left (it being impossible to prove a negative). So > no one can pat > themselves on the back for being the last. One can > only be the latest. > Late is better than never, but it is not original, > and when the paths > are paved, and there are tour buses arriving every > 10 mins. it is not > such a great accomplishment. > > > Be Well > > Fudo > > ===== No karma was produced during the composition of this letter __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - 100MB free storage! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/J8kdrA/y20IAA/yQLSAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Livelihood Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZenForum/ <*> 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/
