--- In [email protected], "ryhorikawa" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], "Bill Smart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > ...snip... > Shikan-taza?! So you're a Soto-Zen dude, huh? :-) > Maybe yes, maybe no ;-). My first teacher was a elderly Japanese Roshi (Zen Master) with Soto lineage. He employed both shikan-taza and koans in his teaching. When he died I moved to a younger Roshi in the same zendo to whom he had given inca (seal of approval/accomplishment giving the recipient the `official' authority to teach). This younger Roshi had already received inca from a Roshi in the Renzai lineage. Since I did not reside full- time at the zen center and could only receive dokusan (private interview) 3 or 4 times a year, my practice was to work on a koan until I believed I was ready to demonstrate my understanding, and then to do shikan-taza until I could return to the center for dukusan. The second Roshi died about 7-8 years ago before I completed my koan studies. I have not tried to find another (or another has not tried to find me? ;-) ). Now I just sit shikan-taza.
> Is a logical mind the realm of the "profane"?/ of phenomenal existence? Is the > empty mind the realm of the "sacred"?/ of emptiness? Is the logical mind in > "opposition" to empty mind? Is an "emptied" logical mind an "empty mind"? Is > it possible to have a logical mind that is empty (but still logical)? What does it > mean to quiet the mind? Can one have a quiet logical mind? These are all very good questions. I certainly don't have absolute answers. In my experience you can have an `empty' mind: empty of the sense of self, of logical discrimination, of conscious picking and choosing. That mind is a quiet mind. I think of that as your `original mind' like a blank background on which all of these other things take place or a mirror in which these other things appear. You're the Japanese language expert! What does `shikan- taza' really mean? I thought it meant `clean sheet [of paper]', or something like that. > The notion of a human teacher in Buddhism is problematic, isn't it? ...snip... Thanks for sharing those. I liked them. I've also heard that having a good teacher is not nearly as important as being a good student. I can't quote the thought word-for-word but the jist of it is: `A sincere student can become enlightened with a false zen master, but even a true zen master can't help enlighten an insincere student.' > Isn't the "mind", then, the teacher? > > What is the function of an external teacher in Zen? An external teacher is theoretically not necessary, but in my opinion one is almost a requirement. It's too easy to deceive yourself into thinking you're on the right track when actually you are not. Zen literature is full of tales of even the most famous zen masters going to an elder to have their enlightenment authenticated. Usually this also entails some period of refinement of their experience, even if that is only a few days of discussion. > I don't know, that's why I'm asking... I can certainly throw out answers I think > are "correct" but in all honesty they'll be parroted answer from the many > books I've read and not anything based on personal experience.:-) I liked the point you made above. There are many times I don't remember if I've read or heard things I think might be original thoughts. Even if I can't remember a source for them they might just be parts of many ideas I've heard before but have now re- combined. Don't know. Don't really care. Gassho...Bill! ------------------------ 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/
