Under New Management!
Foolproof explanation of zen
I posted this to reddit /r/zen but they shadowbanned me.
Based Buddhists. Why can't we have Zen masters like this in the West?
Case 1 - Joshu's Dog
A monk asked Joshu: "Does a dog have buddha-nature?"
Joshu replied: "[Citation missing]"
Neither words nor silence left Joshus lips
as he was never even given the question.
Still we ponder his reply for centuries,
trying to fill imaginary shoes.
Does physical abuse cause enlightenment?
This is a strong subject, and I am strongly opposed to physical abuse when raising a child, but let's put that aside for this examination:
I'm toying with the idea that zen enlightenment is similar to a parent hitting its child, or abuse in general.
Maybe it's not such a coincidence that a lot of zen patriarchs were so violent and abusive toward their students.
Also, it has shown that physical abuse does alter the mind patterns of the recipients. Typically it replaces explanations with violence, causing un-enlightement, but doesn't every blow invoke zen? …as in "stop thinking"?
Contrary to causing un-enlightement, the patriarchs often caused enlightenment through violence.
Maybe it's a matter of skill and precision: Knowing when to hit?
Can you "hit away" unenlightened thoughts?
Zen pics thread?
Soto
I can not get over my distaste for Soto zen. The theory behind it is that if you just mimic Buddhas body during a particular set of days, then you don't even need to understand his mind.
…as it Buddha discovered the art of sitting.
I doubt people can reach much enlightenment in this way. They are wasting their minds.
Defend yourselves!
Please come join me over at >>>/enlighten/ . Hopefully we can all get together and meet a mutual goal.
Stoic here just passing through.
I don't know much about Buddhism other than listening to some Alan Watts but it seems like the philosophy of zen is saying the same things the stoics said.
I feel like a lot can be gained through reading what these schools of thought had to say about the nature of existence and the universe.
Thoughts?
Meditation Aids
Is there any use for them?
I'm talking about anything, music, incense, healing bowls.
I think it is a hindrance if you rely on it to meditate.
If Alan Watts was so enlightened, then why did he die a degenerate, smelly alcoholic?
Pic related
It's Alan Watts
Opinions on Brad Warner?
Personally:
>I think he's hilarious
>He delves too much on enlightenment
>He sucks at bass
zen-gnosticism
discuss
Poor Koan Translations
As there seems to be nobody enlightened enough to understand them, the classical koans are beginning to be translated to death.
First of all, I recommend this old translation of Mumonkan:
http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/awakening101/mumonkan.html
It may not have all the background to the koans, but the koans contain meaning.
I just finished another reading of Mumonkan today. This version I borrowed at the local library, and care was taken to translate it in a way that sought to bring Rinzai and Soto zen together. Most of the koans were correct, but some had their meaning destroyed.
The author sought to bring some background to them in the end, which sometimes brought needed clarity, but if he even stumbled upon the koan meaning, it was by pure chance.
After this, I read The Book of Serenity.
http://www.thezensite.com/ZenTeachings/KoanStudies/Shoyoroku.pdf
These koans were mostly just complete rubbish. I get the feeling that somebody must have used Google Translate.
If I had the time, I would write my own translation of Mumonkan, in an attempt to save zen from meaninglessness.
Is there a endline of mindfullness?
i was browsing randomly and come up with your even less active brother board (8ch.net/buddhism/res/4.html) and some folks mention if you are old and still meditating you did it the wrong way, and that there is a point where you reach enlightendness and youre done… where others say there is no end to meditation/mindfullness, a never ending practique that stll relevant with no end but kinder the flames of the life/mind…
what do you guys think?
Ali Aliabadi - Bodhidharma: The Blue-Eyed, Red-Bearded Barbarian
http://www.redicecreations.com/radio3fourteen/2014/R314-141119.phpHe’ll tell us about Bodhidharma, the blue-eyed, red-bearded barbarian who had tremendous influence over the Orient. We’ll also discuss the link between Europeans and Ancient China as Caucasians roamed China’s Tarim Basin 1000 years before East Asians. Ali talks about how “red bearded barbarian” was a common monikor for foreign monks who proselytized Buddhism among the Chinese. We’ll talk about modern depictions of Buddha as Mongoloid vs. the more ancient sources that depict him with Nordic features. We cover many subjects from the swastika, to Aryans, Nordic warriors, martial arts, Zen meditation and much more.
Padmasana and Siddhasana
Advice and stretching to achieve Padmasana and Siddhasana: http://zenmontpellier.voila.net/eng/lotus/lotuseng.htmlPadmasana is better suited for Zen. Siddhasana's benefits are for yogis (mainly brahmacharis) who want to raise their kundalini.
>By forcing the lower back straight due to the position of the hip joints, the back can finally become completely straight. Padmasana, when perfected, feels as if the Yogi is sitting upon a throne.[…] It allows the yogi to maintain an upright sitting position with no physical effort during deep meditation.
<Extract from: Yoga. It's Method and Practice by Fra Veos>
/psy/
Hello /zen/,I am the new board owner of >>>/psy/. I have rebranded the board to encompass the entire shamanic tradition and the mystical as well as the obvious first topic. I do believe most of the topics covered on this board would be more than welcome on /psy/.
This considered, I was wondering if you'd be interested in a board friendship of sorts. If you ever get a board sticky I would be willing to trade referral links in them.