You're welcome, and thanks! Ian
>Hi Ian, > >I REALLY like that last paragraph. > >Many thanks! > >DC > > >-----Original Message----- >From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf >Of Ian >Sent: Tuesday 22 November 2005 13:46 >To: [email protected] >Subject: Re: [Zen] Is Existence Suffering? > >Hi Kai, all > >I'm not aware of something offhand that would be like your wife's >view. There's a good chance there is something in the Pali suttas where a >similar view was expressed and the Buddha's response. A good source on the >net for suttas is accesstoinsight.org. > >I would agree that life is a chance or opportunity to improvement, but the >big question is how to understand improvement. Outside the Buddhist view, >improvement is a matter of "becoming" or transitioning to whatever the >person regards as "better". The difficulty there from the Buddhist >perspective is that any "becoming" or we could say "rebirth" (taken >figuratively or literally) is impermanent. Whatsoever is born must >die. So there's no possibility for a linear upward slope process with a >final resting place somewhere. > >So from the Buddhist perspective, it becomes a question of whether there's >anything not governed by the cyclic dynamics of better and worse. So the >Buddha's question was not "what is a better rebirth" but "what is the >deathless?" The answer he discovered was: the end of grasping. > >Ian > > >Dear Members, > >I am new to this group and the reason I joined is that I am having a > >dharma problem I'd like to discuss. > >I am aware of the fact that this may not really be a Zen problem > >because Zen masters do not like theory. I would therefore accept my > >question to be rejected. > > > >I told my wife about the Buddha's teachings and about his basic > >doctrine that all existence is suffering. > > > >She did not agree with this: "Why is all existence suffering? This is > >a negative assumption. You may as well say that the circle of samsara > >is a circle of joy and happiness in which the individual can become > >better and better. From this point of view, the samsara is a chance > >and any wish to end it is absurd." > > > >Well, actually, I do not know about any text that discusses this > >approach. Does anybody know? On the other hand, this objection must > >have come up in the history of Buddhism because at least in Mahayana, > >as far as I know, several schools say "This very world, this is Nirvana". > > > >Of course, the historic Buddha has developed his dharma because he > >started out with this negative view of the world, otherwise he would > >not have become the Buddha but would have stayed a prince. According > >to the legend, the reason for the negative judgement on the world were > >his three excursions and the experience of the orgy at the palace. > >Moreover, I have learned that the perception of a negative circle of > >rebirthings had been part of Indian culture for centuries, and Buddha > >was not the first to seek a way out of it. > > > >Gasshoo, Kai > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi > >Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > >Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi > > > > _____ > >YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS > >* Visit your group "ZenForum ><http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZenForum> " on the web. > >* To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] ><mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >* Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! ><http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> Terms of Service. > > _____ > > > >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > >Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi >Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> 1.2 million kids a year are victims of human trafficking. Stop slavery. http://us.click.yahoo.com/WpTY2A/izNLAA/yQLSAA/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/
