tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5043003269935490917.post1114356529701270110..comments2024-02-14T08:44:41.513+00:00Comments on Progressive Buddhism: Zen: The Boot CampMyeong Jin Eunsahn http://www.blogger.com/profile/10324409234993116264noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5043003269935490917.post-44160578950845389142009-07-18T02:40:12.464+01:002009-07-18T02:40:12.464+01:00Even US sesshins can be rather strict for those wh...Even US sesshins can be rather strict for those who aren't ready or prepared. <br /><br />The thing is that with increased practice and experience some individuals do enjoy the stricter monasteries or regimes.<br /><br />Personally, I know my level of practice and it is pretty well-grounded in the standard "householder" practice of zen. A little daily meditation, kinhin and samu; an annual retreat if I'm lucky and a whole lotta bitchin and moanin'.<br /><br />We are also working on our Zen Buddhist Drinking Club. We call it "Drinking Mindfully".<br /><br />Try it...great way to experience zen.<br /><br />jackAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05764686989342179833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5043003269935490917.post-61466157509741961242009-07-17T13:13:35.693+01:002009-07-17T13:13:35.693+01:00I've never lived in a Japanese Zen monastery. ...I've never lived in a Japanese Zen monastery. The closest I've been to that is attending retreats (sesshins) here in Europe. <br /><br />It does sound quite strict. I wonder how much of that is from Japanese culture ? It would be interesting to compare it with a Chinese or Korean equivalent.<br /><br />Personally I find Zen suits me well because of the emphasis on experiencing awakening for oneself rather than studying books about other people's awakening - although you can certainly do that in Zen too. Also, Zen doesn't make any demands about what I believe. Which is nice.Shoninhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03635409886545725801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5043003269935490917.post-37478550831123121652009-07-17T02:08:24.554+01:002009-07-17T02:08:24.554+01:00I have always admired what I have known about Zen,...<i><br />I have always admired what I have known about Zen, but I have honestly never warmed to it. Rosan’s experience helps me to understand why. <br /></i><br /><br />Why base your opinion on an extreme example of how Zen is practiced in a very different culture? For example, there is a very rich American Zen tradition that is more suited to the mores of that culture. Is it fair to judge an entire spiritual tradition based on one manifestation of it?Ðavîdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10035382306843540492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5043003269935490917.post-3212186671361925292009-07-16T20:21:09.835+01:002009-07-16T20:21:09.835+01:00Zen seduces me and I don’t know why. I have sat Za...Zen seduces me and I don’t know why. I have sat Zazen with a local Zen group. I am drawn to it on an annual basis but once I commit to practice, after a few months, my mind brings me to various conclusions, like: Zen is too focused on attaining enlightenment; I perceive that Zen practitioners have a smugness about themselves, as if to say, “I get it and you don’t”; Zen teachings are used to extol the intellectual superiority of the teacher (I can understand perhaps 20% of what they say). Yes, I understand that Zen is about stripping away the mind so that our thought process is removed from our mundane activities. But, when you sit, just sit, (as long as it is the Zen way, or else) just rubs me the wrong way.<br /><br />I clicked on the link to the book (I’ll probably buy it) and felt that his teachers were indeed torturing the author. Is this not a violation of the Buddha’s admonition about doing harm to others or is the quest for enlightenment excluded? If I did a Buddhist word association test on myself, I would say compassion when responding to Tibetan, lovingkindness in response to Theravada but intellectual in response to Zen. Perhaps that’s all I need to know in order to follow the right path for me.<br /> <br />I would like to hear what others think. Is my ego hard at work driving me to faulty conclusions? Thanks.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15118448598196984646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5043003269935490917.post-63049195843677515702009-07-16T19:40:34.542+01:002009-07-16T19:40:34.542+01:00A "wacky" thought I like to entertain on...A "wacky" thought I like to entertain once in awhile; What if Dogen was the only one to read his monastic rules when he was alive because they were just for him.Ted Bagleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07740863843616685808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5043003269935490917.post-15693942648857787082009-07-16T04:07:34.476+01:002009-07-16T04:07:34.476+01:00I was watching this documentary about how they use...I was watching this documentary about how they used to make swords in feudal Japan after the introduction of Zen. The time and effort and skill that was put into each and ever sword was absolutely incredible.<br /><br /><i>"Most of us agree, though, that its many associations encompass a special kind of discipline of mind, a special kind of formal perfection in all things material, and an acknowledgment of the irreducible enigma of human existence."</i><br /><br />Beautifully said!Kylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14925360776637168540noreply@blogger.com