Street Fighting Zen are words that describe a desire to protect oneself against the harsh realities of life. You say that you dont want cave zen. I can understand that.
All zen starts with understanding your mind. What is a thought? A thought is a bio chemical electrical exchange in the brain. It is caused by external stimuli. When the brain thinks then the body reacts. Wanting to protect yourself from the harsness of the world is the body reacting. A very very large muscular man with a mean look and command of appearance does not have to fear much or give a second thought to certain situations. His mind is quiet whereas a smaller person with a nervous temperment might react to all kinds of threats because of his weak appearance. The mind of these two are similar in that they are conditioned bio chemical electrical machines. Teach the smaller guy deadly martial arts and he will be calm and quiet where before he was afraid. The reason he is calm is because of his ability but the confidence is a conditioned brain response. The mind is very powerful and can be shaped to perform to your will. The best state of mind is the natural unconditioned state. This is a good state of mind because it does not react to appearances. Before your next thought there is a place of being that is tranquil and alert. In that place you can observe the world just as it is and not react to it. In otherwords the bio chemicals are observed and realized and you can objectively deal with things one at a time. When some one is yelling at you and shouting and cursing all you see the the appearance but the appearance is not causing mental formations and reactions. Then you are free from the persons power. Their power can only come from a reaction from you. When they are observed as what they are...a shouting human...then you can just reflect the situation and deal with things objectively. This of course takes practice... But this is true street fighting zen. David Barclay http://www.christianzen.com ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/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/
