Welcome Jill,
Words words, as flocks of birds... Who even knows what Is, is. Welcome to this crazy if occasionally quarrelsome forum for Zen thinking. I am pretty new too. A lot of great ideas pass by, as well as the debris on the river too.. One thing you'll see quick is that there are a lot of opinions on Zen doctrines, and that there are endless tributaries that people go down. I am of the no doubt simplistic school of Zen people, where mindfulness, or just focussing on.. what is, is really where 'liberation' takes place. To me the dogma sounds like a lot of psychobabble, although interesting at times.. I guess that may change if and when I understand what some or the more schooled members are talking about. dave > Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2005 03:26:21 -0000 > From: "Jill Harrison" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: The nature of the mind > > > >> location of the mind (if there is something, it must >> be located somewhere). > > why is it that we insist on delineating things with boundaries? > isn't the notion of "form is emptyness & emptyness is form" telling us > there are no boundaries? > > this boundary-lessness is not just the interdependence of all physical > form - but also energy (which science tells us is just part of a > continuum with matter anyway), including life energy, which flows thru > everything without boundary. it's not that there is 'nothingness' - > it's just that there is no real delineation of any distinct thing in > particular. > > i've been thinking about religion lately - mostly in relation to our > inability to get along (peace, justice & politics are big problems for > me) & trying to decide what _is_ religion? humans have such a strong > inclination to investigate, understand & build (beautiful) paradigms > to describe the universe & our relationship to it. i guess i'm > imagining "beautiful" here in the sense that einstein might have > experienced when he was striving for a 'unified theory'. > > it seems as if there are 2 distinct ways in which we investigate our > world - 1) the description of phenomena from a distinctly seperate > point of view (scientific examination) & 2) a direct experiential > integration with the world (most religions & even the 12 step programs > all speak of surrendering to that 'higher power' - or allowing god to > manifest thru us - being 'a perfect instrument of thy peace' sort of > experience). > > if the religious experience is this practice of integrative direct > experience of the world - allowing god (or the world) to manifest > through us most perfectly (which i imagine the meditation practice to > be about), then how can we improve our ability to share/teach this > experience (or at the very least not fight over it). we have a strong > desire for community - to love one another & be loved. it seems to me > to be increasingly urgent to be able to speak about & teach (our > children) this ability to be present to the moment & touch that > powerful part of us that is manifested in love. > > i don't have a mature zen practice - but lately i've been imagining > the meditation practice as a time of 'being with an open heart' to > _all_ that is (the good, bad & ugly - i'm sure the atonement gatha at > the beginning of sitting has played a big role in leading me to this > place). so, this brief period when i'm sitting is a time of undoing > the habit energy of my closed heart putting a boundary between myself > & the world & only 'owning' that portion of 'my identity' that i'm > able to accept. > > i'm new to this forum, & have rambled on too much. i have a strong > interest in exploring how this practice can help in fostering peace in > the world. > "It's not what's in front of you that counts, or what's behind, its what's inside of you that matters most. " Thoreau ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> What would our lives be like without music, dance, and theater? Donate or volunteer in the arts today at Network for Good! http://us.click.yahoo.com/WwRTUD/SOnJAA/i1hLAA/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/
