Hi James,
I appreciate you taking the time to tackle my
frivolous question. Very interesting answer, by the
way. I'll partially comment on it now:
--- James Haines <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Perhaps the problem lies in how you've stated things
> (denial of self). I
> don't think it's really a question of *denial* of
> *self*.
You could be right on that. However, please keep in
mind that I didn't necessarily claim that it really is
a question of denial of self. All I said was that
denial of self is one of the cornerstones of the
Buddhist practice. In case you have any doubts, you
can verify this claim by leafing over any classic
Buddhist textbook. Basically, the first thing all
Buddhist do is reject the self. Anatman is the name of
the Buddhist game.
> Everyone is
> going to be around as an individual and have an
> ego--which can be seen
> nicely by looking at the posts on this list--no
> matter how "enlightened"
> they become. I'd say it's more a question of
> (gradually) exchanging a
> mistaken view of oneself for a more realistic one:
> One moves from thinking
> of oneself as a sort of separate and possibly
> immortal whole to
> discovering that in fact one is simply a very
> changeable and inconsistent
> part of the larger whole of
> humanity/environment/history (or, looked at
> another way, they are a part of oneself). It's
> exchanging a very rigid
> and inflexible view of self for a more flexible and
> porous one (that will
> allow one to live more easily and helpfully in the
> world), at least in my
> limited experience.
This looks more like a specimen of common-sense
wisdom. Something that my grandpa would advise me,
sort of like "take everything in moderation, son,
don't sweat it, make truce with the world", etc.
Absolutely nothing wrong with that, only that it is a
far cry from the radical wisdom expounded by the
Buddha, that's all.
> It dawns on me, by the way, that you (Alex) might
> want to get in touch
> with a Tibetan monk, particularly one trained in the
> Gulagpa tradition
> which places great emphasis on the Prashangika
> Madhyamaka (I think it is,
> something Sanskrit in any event) view of self so
> heavily influenced by the
> thinking of Nagarjuna. Tibetan monks seem quite at
> home discussing and
> debating the fine points of philosophy which underly
> Buddhist thought
How do you think I got to this level in the first
place if not via debating the finer points of
Prasangika vs. Svatantrika with Tibetan dudes? But
thanks for the suggestion, nevertheless -- it's a good
one.
> while Zen priests (and practitioners) seem (to my
> mind, at least) to find
> this sort of intellectual nit-picking a distraction
> from the real work we
> all need to do in the practice of zazen and mindful
> living (which is where
> we encounter our self, if we've got our eyes open
> wide enough to see it in
> action).
If that's true, it would then reveal small-mindedness
of such practitioners. I don't believe this to be the
case even for a second. Real Buddhist practitioners
(Zen or otherwise) never split the world, never divide
things into 'real' and 'irrelevant'. That's heavily
deluded thinking, and if someone claims to be a
genuine Zen practitioner while openly despising
'intelectual nit-picking' that Madhyamika brings
about, I'd say that person needs some more
instructions in his orientation.
Thanks.
Alex
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