
Search found 305 matches
- Thu Aug 29, 2019 5:30 pm
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Fruit Flies
- Replies: 56
- Views: 879
Re: Fruit Flies
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
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/aut ... el414.html
- Fri Aug 23, 2019 9:50 pm
- Forum: Zen Buddhism
- Topic: confirmation
- Replies: 14
- Views: 525
Re: confirmation
If confirmation is required for awakening to be awakening, what exactly is being confirmed?
- Tue Aug 20, 2019 4:48 am
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Fruit Flies
- Replies: 56
- Views: 879
Re: Fruit Flies
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...
- Tue Aug 20, 2019 3:18 am
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Fruit Flies
- Replies: 56
- Views: 879
- Mon Aug 19, 2019 8:06 pm
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Fruit Flies
- Replies: 56
- Views: 879
Re: Fruit Flies
"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...
- Mon Aug 12, 2019 4:18 pm
- Forum: Zen Buddhism
- Topic: grace
- Replies: 38
- Views: 1213
Re: grace
"'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
- Wed Aug 07, 2019 11:19 pm
- Forum: Zen Buddhism
- Topic: grace
- Replies: 38
- Views: 1213
Re: grace
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 ...
- Mon Jul 15, 2019 7:59 pm
- Forum: Zen Buddhism
- Topic: The Second Fruit
- Replies: 15
- Views: 1066
Re: The Second Fruit
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...
- Fri Jun 14, 2019 7:05 pm
- Forum: Beginners Space
- Topic: The Essence of Practice
- Replies: 8
- Views: 611
The Essence of Practice
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...
- Thu Jun 13, 2019 5:23 am
- Forum: Zen Buddhism
- Topic: Mumonkan Case 5
- Replies: 93
- Views: 4125
Re: Mumonkan Case 5
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...
- Thu Jun 13, 2019 4:54 am
- Forum: Zen Buddhism
- Topic: Mumonkan Case 5
- Replies: 93
- Views: 4125
Re: Mumonkan Case 5
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.
- Wed Jun 12, 2019 4:00 pm
- Forum: Zen Buddhism
- Topic: Mumonkan Case 5
- Replies: 93
- Views: 4125
Re: Mumonkan Case 5
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 ...
- Wed Jun 12, 2019 1:26 am
- Forum: Zen Buddhism
- Topic: Mumonkan Case 5
- Replies: 93
- Views: 4125
Re: Mumonkan Case 5
Sitting with sangha is nice. I'd also recommend living with sangha. Lots of road for the rubber!
- Tue Jun 04, 2019 6:09 pm
- Forum: Zen Buddhism
- Topic: Mumonkan Case 5
- Replies: 93
- Views: 4125
Re: Mumonkan Case 5
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 ...
- Tue Jun 04, 2019 5:57 am
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Zen Practice
- Replies: 94
- Views: 3590
Re: Zen Practice
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...
- Fri May 31, 2019 7:30 pm
- Forum: Beginners Space
- Topic: For Avisitor...Is Zen thinking of no-thought?
- Replies: 58
- Views: 4238
Re: For Avisitor...Is Zen thinking of no-thought?
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! 

- Fri May 31, 2019 7:14 am
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: The Best Music Ever
- Replies: 38
- Views: 1646
- Fri May 31, 2019 6:29 am
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: The Best Music Ever
- Replies: 38
- Views: 1646
- Wed May 29, 2019 6:29 pm
- Forum: Lounge
- Topic: Zen Practice
- Replies: 94
- Views: 3590
Re: Zen Practice
I'm curious, Enver: what draws you to Zen practice, in particular? What is your motivation?