Wow, sounds like a Zen nightmare! What was your best experience I wonder.. A retarded, exploitative, charleton will certainly get no more pr from me, sorry if it brought up some bad vibes, yikes. Namaste,..
On Sat, 15 Oct 2005 9:55 am, [email protected] wrote: > > There are 4 messages in this issue. > > Topics in this digest: > > 1. Reminder - Book Discussion > From: ZenForum > 2. Reminder - Zatoichi The Blind Samurai! > From: ZenForum > 3. Re: Role of Violence in Zen > From: David Newman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 4. Re: Re: Role of Violence in Zen > From: "unknownstooge" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > ________________________________________________________________________ > ________________________________________________________________________ > > Message: 1 > Date: 14 Oct 2005 16:02:22 -0000 > From: ZenForum > Subject: Reminder - Book Discussion > > > We would like to remind you of this upcoming event. > > Book Discussion > > Date: Saturday, October 15, 2005 > Time: 12:00PM EDT (GMT-04:00) > > Reading and discussing Taizan Maezumi Roshi's Appreciate Your > Life: The Essence of Zen Practice > > > > > > > ________________________________________________________________________ > ________________________________________________________________________ > > Message: 2 > Date: 14 Oct 2005 16:03:24 -0000 > From: ZenForum > Subject: Reminder - Zatoichi The Blind Samurai! > > > We would like to remind you of this upcoming event. > > Zatoichi The Blind Samurai! > > Date: Saturday, October 15, 2005 > Time: All Day > > Zatoichi the Blind Samurai will be on the International Film > Channel Saturday morning at around 8:00 a.m. and then a second > showing at around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday or else early Sunday > mornings (between six and eight in the morning) Every Week, the > IFC shows another Zatoichi film. There are a total of 26 > Zatoichi films by Shintaru Katsu. Check out Zatoichi, and see > what you think. > > > > > > > ________________________________________________________________________ > ________________________________________________________________________ > > Message: 3 > Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005 01:43:49 -0400 > From: David Newman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: Role of Violence in Zen > > Zen Master Guides Others on Elusive Path to Truth:[Home Edition] > EDMUND NEWTON. Los Angeles Times (pre-1997 Fulltext) Los Angeles, > Calif.: > Aug 27, 1989. p. 10 > > A lot of searching goes on out there, Grasshopper. But truth can sneak > up on > you when you least expect it. > > Joshu Sasaki, the Mt. Baldy Zen Center's 82-year-old Roshi, or Zen > Master, > rarely talks to outsiders nowadays. Mostly, the venerable spiritual > leader > spends his days in his little wood-slat cabin in the mountain, > meditating and > teaching his students and acolytes according to the oblique methods of > Zen > Buddhism. > > But there's no predicting the Roshi. His students, in the > monastery-like > compound over which Sasaki presides, a former Boy Scout camp on the > shoulder of > the San Gabriel Mountains' highest peak, are often baffled by the > master. > > "He's difficult to understand sometimes," said one elderly monk during > a > rare > idle moment at the Zen center. > > Today, the Roshi has agreed to meet an outsider. > > Some Apprehension > > This makes administrative director Koyo, who reluctantly leads the > visitor > along a path past towering Douglas firs to the Roshi's cabin, a little > apprehensive. "I don't know how much you've prepared for this," says > Koyo, 42, > formerly Charles Engennach of Trenton, N.J., "but he probably won't > answer a > lot of academic questions on the nature of Buddhism." > > Then Koyo shrugs. "But I don't want to predict what the Roshi will or > will not > say," he says. > > Academically speaking, Zen is a school of Buddhism dating back to the > 12th > Century, when Japanese masters adapted Indian and Chinese meditation > techniques > and moral discipline in the search for transcendental illumination. > From > the > Zen perspective, true wisdom is rarely straightforward or capable of > being > expressed objectively. > > The serious student seeks to escape "the eternal donkey hitching post" > of > objective language, as one Zen saying puts it, to a transcendental > truth > which > can only be expressed in poetry or paradoxical riddles called koans. > (Probably > the most often-repeated koan in the Western world: "What is the sound > of > one > hand clapping?") > > Sasaki came from Japan to Mt. Baldy 27 years ago, at the beginning of a > wave of > American interest in Zen Buddhism. College students were studying Alan > Watts' > books on Zen, the "beat" writers were waxing freely about Dharma (the > sum of > Buddhist truth), zazen (the Zen form of meditation) and other exotic > ideas, and > the first Japanese teachers were arriving in the United States. > > "Twenty years ago, it was come one, come all, and all of us hippies > came > bouncing through the door," said Koyo, a tall, angular man, with his > head > shaved and his body wrapped in a black robe. "There was revolution in > the air, > you know?" > > Fading by Mid-1970s > > Not the sort of bedrock on which to build a movement. By the mid-1970s, > despite > the popularity of a television "Kung Fu" character, who spouted ageless > Zen- > like profundities in the American West, Zen was fading into a broad > American > panorama of cults, churches and pop philosophies. > > Those early students, intrigued by Zen thought's challenge to rational > thought, > weren't known for their longevity in the discipline, said Koyo, who has > been > studying Zen since 1971. "Most people get involved for a couple of > years," he > said. > > But the Zen tide of the 1960s left behind some lasting institutions > dedicated > to the promotion of Zen thought. One of these was Rinzai-Ji, a Los > Angeles- > based national organization, the parent body of the Mt. Baldy center. > > The mountain center's faded red, wooden buildings seem to have been > sprinkled > randomly in a hollow 6,000 feet up the mountain, high above the smog > line. > There's a large meditation hall, an eating hall, an office, several > dormitories > and, on a knoll overlooking the camp, the Roshi's cabin. > > With its tree-lined vistas and blue skies, the place produces a feeling > of > almost palpable tranquility, outsiders often note. "Walk through the > compound > and you wonder sometimes if anyone's there," said George Duffy, a > Forest > Service Officer from the Mt. Baldy district, who frequently patrols the > road > past the Zen center. "They do maintain a real peaceful setting there, > with a > sense of some kind of higher association with the world, like going to > a > convent or a religious shrine." > > But there is hard work going on there, too, under a system of rigorous > discipline. The Roshi's students-there are 23 of them, including monks > engaged > in long-term studies and uninitiated novices who are here for the > summer-get up > every morning at 3. Their day is filled with tasks (such as building a > retaining wall, putting a new roof on the shower house or cooking), > meditation, > one-on-one brainstorming with their master and silence. > > "Banter, chatting, wondering what's going to happen tomorrow-that's all > considered a distraction from the reality that's being expressed," Koyo > said. > Bedtime is at 9 p.m. > > Otherworldly Realms > > Koyo shows you the main meditation hall, a long unadorned room, with > benches > along the walls and cushions on which students perch in the > cross-legged > lotus > position. > > In meditation it is easy to "drift into otherworldly kinds of realms," > said > Koyo. The meditation leader, a senior member of the group, sometimes > polices > the hall with a long, flat stick with which he brings dreamers and > fidgeters > back to the task at hand. Transgressions are met with stinging whacks > with the > stick, or keisaka, on the muscle of each shoulder. > > Meditation, a way of heightening awareness, is central to Zen. "It's > not > thought," Koyo said. "In some ways, thought interferes with meditation. > You > need to direct it into its deeper expressions." Ideally, he adds, the > awareness > that comes from meditation carries over to other activities. > > Twice a year, the center holds weeklong sesshins, or retreats, when > students > spend hours at a time in meditation. The mid-year sesshin has recently > ended. > "Don't you notice my glow?" Koyo said. > > A monk knocks two wooden blocks together, summoning the students for a > short > pre-luncheon meditation. They meditate for 10 minutes, then walk single > file, > wordlessly, to the dining hall, where they eat a meal of mashed > potatoes > (with > margarine) and lettuce-and-radish salad. > > After the meal, several have time to speak to the visitor. One > introduces > himself as Dogo, a former teamster and welterweight boxer from New > York. > What > brought him to the Zen Center? "It's a big, long, sloppy story," said > Dogo, 63, > who was known in his earlier life as Pat Scanlon. > > "After I quit boxing (in 1948), everything sort of went sour," said > Dogo, a > bespectacled man who squints in the sun like someone who has just > awakened from > a refreshing sleep. "I started using drugs, my wife got in trouble over > me and > she left me alone with the baby." > > Fruitless Psychoanalysis > > After three years of fruitless psychoanalysis, Dogo read a book by the > Zen > interpreter Shunryu Suzuki and looked up "Zen" in the Manhattan > telephone book. > He wound up at the Zen Institute in New York in 1967. He has been at > the > Mt. > Baldy center for three years, where Roshi Sasaki has brought him > contentment, > he said. > > "He gave me a chance to earn $1 million in gold coins every day," Dogo > said > with twinkling eyes. "But I'm talking too much about myself. . . . " > > What koan is he meditating on now? Dogo hold his eyes shut tight, as if > to make > sure he gets it right. "How do I realize my family 2,700 miles away?" > he > said. > > The Roshi's meeting room is a small sitting area with a table and four > mismatched chairs. Zen writers have referred to meetings with Zen > masters as > entering the lion's den, because of the vigorous exchanges they inspire > with > their students. But Roshi Sasaki, a small, sunny man who smiles > hospitably, is > far from leonine. > > He jokes good-naturedly about his age. "Eating is difficult," he says, > speaking > a thickly accented English. "Sometimes the fork falls down." He says he > sleeps > from three to seven hours a day. "But meditation is a good resting > position," > he said. His students, most of them white Americans, are very serious > about > their studies, he said. > > Where does one begin to learn Zen? "Breathing," he said enigmatically. > Pressed > to talk about deeper issues, Sasaki speaks at length about the paradox > of the > duality of life. (A traditional saying puts it like this: "One moon > shows in > every pool; in every pool the one moon.") > > `True Love' > > "Real God is God nobody knows," Sasaki said. "Father not real father, > mother > not real mother. Real parent is one." He hold his two hands up, then > clasps > them in front of his face. "Father, mother completely become one. It is > true > love. Everything is my brother." > > Reality, he said, is "beyond subject and object, beyond knowing and > expression." How do humans transcend reality? "Practice," he said. > > At times, the Roshi's accent is impenetrable, with extra syllables > rolling out, > like stones falling from an overloaded truck. His voice rises and > fades. > > "There is no objective human," he asserted. > > Afterward, an amused Koyo said the Roshi often intentionally mumbles > and > mispronounces. "There's a lot going on that he's interested in besides > just the > words," said Koyo. "The most poignant moments in our lives are often > silent." > > The Roshi's way of talking-is it a strategy to inspire the student to > think > harder? > > Koyo smiles craftily. "What do you think?" he said. > > > >> >> Do we not all have to conquer the spiritual warrior within? >> Know truly whom we are! Like the cutting of dice inhalf so the >> spiritual sword cuts through many layers to reveal the true warrior >> >> Bill Smart <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> --- In [email protected], "ryhorikawa" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> wrote: >>> >>> --- In [email protected], David Newman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>> wrote: >> <...snip...Just cause violence might be righteous, that doesn't seem >>> copascetic in the zen satori sort of way. Anyone int flower >> arranging. >>> Namaste, >> <...snip...>I think this "line" is attributed to the >>> legendary Zen monk, Takuan Soho (one of the spiritual mentors of >> the famous >>> swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi, who is alleged to have attained >>> enlightenment by following the "Way of the Sword". Musashi is said >> to have >>> once remarked, "Ultimately, the the goal of a warrior is to >> defeat oneself."). >>> There is also another view in the samurai tradition that the >> highest >>> demonstration of swordsmanship is to never draw one's sword... I >> think many >>> Zen practitioners in Japan would agree that the Way of the Sword >> and the >>> Way of Flower Arrangement are identical... >> <...snip...> >>> Gassho, >>> Rodney >>> >> I'm thankful of these comments from David and Rodney. The question >> seems to be: Are Samurai movies good examples of zen-inspired >> activities? >> >> I like to watch Samurai movies, both traditional and modern. I >> don't, however, necessarily associate them with zen. I think of >> them as a highly romanticized depiction of a specific Japanese sub- >> culture which thought of itself as being zen-inspired because it >> incorporated some aspects of the highly Japanese-stylized zen in its >> activities. >> >> Arranging flowers, preparing/serving tea and sword-fighting are all >> examples of everyday human activities. (Sword-fighting is a little >> hard-to-swallow as an everyday activity, even historically; but it >> was nonetheless important to the Samurai class.) The Samurai class >> (and perhaps even Japanese Zen – I'm not well-read in this area) >> turned these everyday activities into Special Activities such as The >> Way Of The Flower, The Way Of The Tea Ceremony and The Way Of The >> Sword. This elevation and ritualization of activities is a Japanese- >> specific adaptation and not specifically a zen contribution. >> >> The real question is: What is zen? >> >> Gassho, Bill! >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi >> >> >> >> SPONSORED LINKS >> Zen buddhism Theravada buddhism Tibetan buddhism Zen alarm clock Zen >> garden >> >> --------------------------------- >> YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS >> >> >> Visit your group "ZenForum" on the web. >> >> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of >> Service. >> >> >> --------------------------------- >> >> >> >> >> --------------------------------- >> Yahoo! Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million songs. Try it free. >> >> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >> >> >> >> ________________________________________________________________________ >> ________________________________________________________________________ >> >> >> Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> Yahoo! Groups Links >> >> >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > "It's not the height of the waves, but the motion of the ocean.. " - > Melville > > ________________________________________________________________________ > ________________________________________________________________________ > > Message: 4 > Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005 07:14:28 -0400 > From: "unknownstooge" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: Re: Role of Violence in Zen > > From: "David Newman" <Joshu Sasaki, the Mt. Baldy Zen Center's > 82-year-old > Roshi, or Zen Master,>> > > I was in a sesshin with Joshu Sasaki, back around 1983. He used to > travel to > other cities and hold sesshins at the homes of his sponsors. > > His wife/handler used to make him a pot of white rice. Once the rice > was > cooked, she mixed in a bunch of raw eggs until it was all like a paste > (I > was working in the kitchen). I guess between the two of them they ate > all > that. I can imagine they could fart up a storm together. > > The organizer of the sesshin was an insurance salesman and his lawyer > partner/lover and they were discipline freaks who loved to walk around > in > the "Meditation" shack whacking everyone with the stick. > > For the money we paid, we got generic corn flakes (no milk) twice a > day, and > some other similar crap for dinner (oatmeal cooked with water?). At the > end > of the sesshin, the organizer had a celebration dinner which was sliced > hot-dogs (cooked at least). No buns, no mustard, just sliced hot-dogs > (which > were cold by the time the son of a bitch finished giving his speech > telling > everyone how he and his boyfriend had come to Zen and what a difference > it > had made in their lives). > > Sasaki did one talk every day and it was like listening to a retarded > guy > talking. The personal meetings lasted about ten seconds. What a waste > of > time. > > Nothing against Sasaki personally, I am sure that he helped thousands > of > people and had the best intentions. > > > > ________________________________________________________________________ > ________________________________________________________________________ > > > Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Click here to rescue a little child from a life of poverty. http://us.click.yahoo.com/rAWabB/gYnLAA/i1hLAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi 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/
