--- Jill H <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> my question is about this idea that "the boundaries
> that delineate
> forms are nothing but the very emptiness that frees
> and liberates us
> from any possibility of pain" portion of your
> statement. could you
> talk about that a bit more?
Unfortunatelly, I can only talk about that a lot more.
There isn't a way for me to be concise about these
things without introducing a very real danger of being
this touchy-feely mumbo-jumbo purveyor. I mean, I
could now easily play 'wise' and utter something
terse, something out of the left field, something
non-intellectual. That would certainly score me big
points with the crowd (honey, not vinegar for the
flies). But, since I'm not in the business of
deceiving people, I'll abstain from throwing dust into
people's eyes.
As you already know, most people today come to the
Buddhist practice (and especially to Zen) because
someone had sold them the bill of goods that states
how in Buddhism not only are you not expected to
think, you are actually activelly prohibited from
thinking. And for most people, who are anyway tired of
thinking and of having all these intellectual,
rational responsibilities, this is like preaching to
the converted. Or, put slightly differently, that
dictum ('thinking is not allowed here') sounds like
music to their ears. Oh, what a relief!
You will have noticed that most people on this forum,
for example, exhibit violent hostility towards any
signs of active, reflective thinking. However, here is
what Edward Conze had to say about that particular
proclivity:
"True realization can only be found if spiritual
insight is married to intellectual ability, and
coupled with a delight in the use of the intellect."
The above is certainly not something that Fudo and his
henchmen on this list would approve. However, say what
you will, Conze is right.
So, the long winded answer to your request is that I
can certainly shed more light on the above issue, but
only providing that it is acceptable to be factual,
intellectual, to pursue the very limits of our
intellectual ability. Otherwise, I'll be just wasting
everyone's time here.
So, if anyone's interested in pursuing the
enlightenment the hard way (i.e. the real way, instead
of sitting like a frog all day long), just let me
know, and we can start the journey.
Sincerely,
Alex ("first two months are free")
No karma was produced during the composition of this letter
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