Zen Space

Guo Gu has been answering questions on Reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/ ... ounder_of/

RE: meaning and noise: "noise" is already a concept with a meaning.

Devas (gods/angels) are also able to practice, though they may not be as motivated as human beings.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/aut ... el414.html

If confirmation is required for awakening to be awakening, what exactly is being confirmed?

Honest response: I don't owe you or anyone else an explanation of what I practice. Did I say that you owe me an explanation? Was I wrong to ask you a question? I am not a hard-ass conservative who takes all "rules" literally and without my own human interpretation. Who here has presented an inhuman...

Spike wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 20, 2019 2:18 am

No one else here would be a soldier.

Thank goodness.

Do you practice Buddhism (honest question)? Or more of a Zen without the Buddhism part? Just wondering; I think it would help to clarify your position on these and other matters.

"Monks, even if bandits were to savagely sever you, limb by limb, with a double-handled saw, even then, whoever of you harbors ill will at heart would not be upholding my Teaching. Monks, even in such a situation you should train yourselves thus: 'Neither shall our minds be affected by this, nor for...

"'If you do not give birth to the mind, the ten thousand dharmas are not transgressed.' Just sit and go into [this matter] for twenty or thirty years. If you do not come to an understanding, you can cut off my head." - Joshu

How does the concept of grace fit with the Buddhadharma, a teaching based on karma (actions and results)? Practicing diligently without expectations or frustration with minimal results is a wonderful mindset. But I believe there is also a place for getting dirty with the mechanics of practice. That ...

It's embarrassing to bring this thread back up, but I feel the need to say this: I know it's probably obvious, but my posts in this thread (as well as "yunmen's dried shit stick" and "the true human body - how does it move its arms?" and elsewhere) came from a place of delusion, not awakening. I apo...

Enver wrote: I have an advice for all forum members : Put the practice summarize for in a few words in your mind.And just focus on that in every action. I have done mine. I think this could be an interesting thread. What, for you, is the essence of practice? Can you condense it into a few words? For...

Thanks, that's helpful. Still seems to me like studying and discussing scripture would be at least as relevant as discussing the history of koans. It sounds to me like that Lin-chi's toilet paper remark was spoken in a certain social and historical context, not as a promotion of anti-intellectualis...

Thanks, that's helpful. The idea of set answers to koans (I've heard of books with these "answers" circling around in Japan once) still irks me. If one has a qualified teacher, such nonsense would be a non-issue IMO.

If the scriptures are equivalent to toilet paper and koans are esoteric and ineffable, what kinds of discussion would be appropriate for a Zen forum? Also, I never made it past Mu, so I don't know too much about koans. But I've always wondered about the concern of saying too much about a koan or in ...

Sitting with sangha is nice. I'd also recommend living with sangha. Lots of road for the rubber!

Question: Does anyone who say I understand zen understand zen? I don't know about the phrase "I understand Zen," but in my experience it's not uncommon for a teacher or student to indicate, in one way or another, that they have seen the true nature. That is one kind of understanding. There is also ...

Spike, could you expand on what you mean by "psychological perspective?" In my experience, Zen is not a form of therapy. Though it has many benefits, it can also open up terrain which could be very difficult to process for some people, especially within a strictly psychotherapeutic context. Or perha...

IMO it's more of a video game than a cartoon movie. Action and effort are necessary, but there will also be times when cutscenes happen by themselves. Use your body, your speech (inward and outward), and your mind (how you perceive/interpret things) as your controller and make the right moves!