fyi just a note .. w. was a famously tortured soul as any philosophy major knows.. he was desperately depresses and b (bertrand russell) often had to talk him out of suicide apparently.. dvnyc "if you meet the buddha.."
On Mon, 5 Dec 2005 1:19 pm, [email protected] wrote: > > There are 3 messages in this issue. > > Topics in this digest: > > 1. Book Discussion: The Art of Just Sitting - John Daido Loori > From: "dkotschessa" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 2. Re: Is Philosophy Neurosis? > From: "epsilon717" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > 3. Re: Is Philosophy Neurosis? > From: JONATHAN KELLY <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > ________________________________________________________________________ > ________________________________________________________________________ > > Message: 1 > Date: Sun, 04 Dec 2005 15:28:42 -0000 > From: "dkotschessa" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Book Discussion: The Art of Just Sitting - John Daido Loori > > I saw there was something on the calendar regarding book discussions, > so I thought as my introduction I would bring this book to your > attention. > > I have been practicing Buddhism "seriously" for the past 2 or 3 > years. It seems that all discussion, all text, all sutras, point ot > the same place. "Practice." It's the same with other pursuits; > music, running, computers. "just do it!" > > Compiled and edited by John Daido Loori, "The Art of Just Sitting" is > kind of a "Greatest Hits" compilation of writings and Sutras. There > is a good amount of Dogen. Also, Hongzhi Zhengjue, Shunryu Suzuki, > Bodhidharma, and numerous others contribute. Some of the > contributors are other monastics at Zen Mountain Monastery of which > John Daido Loori is abbot. > > What warrants an entire book about "Just sitting?" > > "The volume of ancient and modern Zen literature is staggering, yet > the works that address meditation are few and far between. Is this > because zazen is so simple and direct that all that can be said about > it has already been said? Or is it becuase there is a profundity > within the realm of zazen that is essentially ineffable? I am > inclined to believe the latter...Zen practitioners, as they progress > beyond the beginning stages of zazen, encounter a unique landscape > that reflects their own personality and individual life experiences. > There is no map for this terrain, so an experienced guide is > required. Shikantaza, tha zazen of "just sitting," is a continuous > process of discovery that is aided by face-to-face encounters with an > experienced teacher. yet even teachers are limited in what they can > do. Ultimately, the practitioners themselves must write their own > rule book. They must go deep within themselves to find the > foundations of Zazen." > > For me this book provides something I'm almost hesitant to admit I > need. "Inspiration" to just sit. We don't find the > word "inspiration" in dicussions of Zen very much, but isn't that > what all study is? It all points to practice. Really, what else can > you do other than practice? If you have found your practice getting > stale or mechanical I definately recommend this book. > > While this book is inspiring it's also very grounding. It's tempting > to want to read it all in one sitting. But I think this is one of > those books you need to digest bit by bit. Pick it up when you need > it, refer back to it when something comes up. Dogen's writings of > course, are the kind that not only CAN be read again and again, but > SHOULD be. I don't think I grasp anything Dogen has said until I've > read it at least 20 times! > > If anybody else here has any questions about it let me know. I'm > barely 1/5th of the way through which hardly qualifies me as an > expert on it or even capable of a "review." I really just wanted to > give my impressions of it so far, as I've been paging through this > book long before I finally decided to purchase it. > > -Dave K > > > > > > ________________________________________________________________________ > ________________________________________________________________________ > > Message: 2 > Date: Sun, 04 Dec 2005 16:47:09 -0000 > From: "epsilon717" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: Is Philosophy Neurosis? > > --- In [email protected], "Bill Smart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > [snip] > >> What does Wittgenstein mean by 'problems'. Does he refer only to > problems about philosophical concepts, or does he include all > problems? And how does clearing up linguistic confusions make them > 'go away'? >> > > Philosophical problems. > > I can't answer that. W worked on that for years, up to his death. He > left an unfinished manuscript published posthumously as _Philosophical > Investigations_. > > W's philosphy takes a lot of study and requires background in the > analytic movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Russell > thought W was a genius. In fact, W was awarded a professorship based > on his sole publication - Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus - written in > the trenches during WW I. > > > --Michael > > > > > > > > > ________________________________________________________________________ > ________________________________________________________________________ > > Message: 3 > Date: Sun, 4 Dec 2005 21:29:59 +0000 (GMT) > From: JONATHAN KELLY <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: Is Philosophy Neurosis? > > A characteristic Wittgensteinian response to philosophical problems, > one that goes back to the Tractatus is that philosophical problems > "rest on the misunderstanding of the logic of our language" this > persists in his later work. > > epsilon717 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: --- In > [email protected], "Bill Smart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > [snip] > >> What does Wittgenstein mean by 'problems'. Does he refer only to > problems about philosophical concepts, or does he include all > problems? And how does clearing up linguistic confusions make them > 'go away'? >> > > > > > > > > > > Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi > > > > SPONSORED LINKS > Zen buddhism Zen practice 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. > > > --------------------------------- > > > > > > > [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 ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/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/
