ZEN. What does that mean to you ? nt

[babylonsister]

[saltpoint]

1. The Zen poets know what they do not know and are calmed by it.

From Neil Myers, a lesser-known but nevertheless perceptive Zen poet:

- - -

wind runs & clashes at the
house all night. in the morning
it has dropped the bird
feeder to one side, narrowed
the bread left out to tiny
cakes, hollowed the body
molds the kids made in the
snow & called angels. i put
my fist to the window above
their names & thumbs in
breath & feel the cold against
the panes, the dry air between.

later, someone
wants us out & we go to a
house where anyone can ask,
“now if my son was going
to be a poet, what would i
tell him?”

tell him nothing, idiot, i say
slowly to myself & then think better
of it, driving home, trees
shining & flashing,
tell him nothing if you know
what nothing is.

from ALL THAT, SO SIMPLE, Neil Myers, Purdue University Press, 1980


- - -

"Tell him nothing if you know what nothing is."

[saltpoint]

2. Ah, heck. I liked what you had going.

[babylonsister]

5. I deleted it because Zen seems personal. Hell, if I only knew, but

I don't! I'm woefully ignorant of Zen, and lots of other topics, sadly. ;)

[saltpoint]

6. I think it would be great if quite a few of the rest of us were as ignorant

as that, babylonsister, since there's hardly a day goes by on these boards without your elevating the level of discussion.

If you put up a post on crabmeat and walrus music, I'm by god going to read it.


:thumbsup: :hi:

[babylonsister]

7. Aww, you are my hero, thank you for your frank opinion that I

usually agree with.

I think I've tackled crabmeat...:rofl:

[saltpoint]

8. LOL!

If you've already tackled crabmeat, shame on me for missing it.

I promise to catch Crabmeat Revisited, though.

[JeffR]

3. You want Zen? Here's Zen.

[saltpoint]

4. Someone with a camera knows how to take pictures.

I'm like, whoa.

[RagAss]

19. Yes !!

[tavalon]

43. Hmm, see, I would call that joy, great joy, and really, really good photography

I am not led to a calm spot with those pictures, I am led to roll on the ground joyfulness which, come to think of it, is probably the place one would like to go to with zenlike behavior.

Are those all the same puppy and are you blessed to share your life with said puppy?

Beeyutifyul pictures, either way. Thank you!

[JeffR]

47. Same guy, yes.

First one at 6 weeks old, the rest at one year. He's a year and a half now, right here next to the computer being a bug.

[tavalon]

48. JeffR, you are a lucky man

That is clearly a fine addition to your family. And you're a great photographer.

[enigmatic]

9. This is Zen to me

The "Helsinki" scene from Jim Jarmusch's "Night On Earth":

http://recluseshow.blogspot.com/2009/03/helsinki-night-on-earth-1991.html

[Dogmudgeon]

10. Zen -- here?

The Noble Eightfold Path? The Three Jewels? Escaping the endless wheel of Samsara?

Cultivating the compassionate spirit of an Avalokiteshvara or Maitreya?

At DU?

:rofl:

--d!

[babylonsister]

12. OK, so start us slow, because you obviously know more about it

than I do.

Believe it or not, some of us have learned a lot here.

Do tell, or are we impossibly untrainable? Nah!

[wickerwoman]

11. The ability to exist beyond a sense of self.

:shrug:

[Jack Rabbit]

13. Mu!

What did your face look like before your parents were born?

[Hannah Bell]

16. moo.

[Hannah Bell]

14. Rude Awakenings: Zen at War: Buddhist complicity in Japanese militarism

...After many years of declaring that ‘no war has ever been fought in the name of Buddhism’, western Buddhists are having to acknowledge that this is untrue.

The fuse was lit in the West in 1997 with the publication of Zen at War, a careful but implacable account of Japanese Buddhism’s complicity in the country’s fanaticism, militarism and war effort up to 1945...The essence of the charge in Zen at War is that from the end of the 19th century until 1945, almost the entire Japanese Buddhist establishment – not just Zen Buddhists – were vigorous supporters of the war effort and the militaristic society from which it grew...

...Zen teachings played a central role in instilling the military ethos and offering moral support to the military....This was done with the complete and unconditional support of all Japan's Zen leaders.’

The book reveals that in addition to being a skilled communicator of Zen teachings for a western audience, DT Suzuki was an eloquent advocate of Buddhist support for the imperial cause. But the greatest upset was caused by an article in Tricycle magazine, in which Victoria described the wartime record and political views of Yasutani Roshi. Yasutani was the teacher to Philip Kapleau, Robert Aitken, Maezumi Roshi and others, who have been the most important transmitters of Buddhism to white America. Yet Victoria revealed that throughout his life – including the years after the War – Yasutani adhered to an extreme right-wing political agenda, including theories of Japanese racial superiority...

Since the war, a cogent analysis of the reasons underlying Zen’s war responsibility has been developed by Rinzai priest and scholar, Ichikawa Hakugen. Following Japan’s defeat he started to question his previous support for the war, and to consider which of Zen’s cherished doctrines had contributed to it. Zen’s appeal lies partly in its teachings of harmony and tolerance, but Ichikawa posed awkward questions:

‘With what has modern Japanese Buddhism harmonised itself? With state Shinto. With state power and authority. With militarism. Accordingly with war. Of what has modern Japanese Buddhism been tolerant? Of those with whom it harmonises. Of its own responsibility for the war.’


http://vishvapaniswriting.blogspot.com/2007/02/rude-awakenings-zen-at-war.html

[Hannah Bell]

15. state religion:

We know that Buddhism was introduced to Japan from Korea in the 6th Century... that Dogen and transmitted Zen appeared there in the 13th Century; and that it was in fact made the state religion in the Tokugawa period (1600-1867).

In 1868 came the Meiji Restoration. The emperor was favorable to Shinto (the vernacular religion), and opposed (as was the regent Tokugawa) to Christianity and social ideas. At first, probably under the influence of his entourage, he was also opposed to Buddhism itself, and, through charters and edicts, arranged for its disappearance over time.

The Buddhist clergy reacted, moved closer to those in power, and were able to redress the situation at the price of increased dependence.

The context in the beginning and in the first half of the 20th Century is therefore one of an institutional Buddhism conscious of being indebted to the Imperial system, particularly since 1872.
This climate would be accentuated during the wars by the group behavior displayed by a large part of the elite.

We are miles away from the Asoka/Shakyamuni relationship, where the king follows the Buddha.

We consider Zen as being introduced to Japan during the Kamakura Era, when the bushido -- the Way of the Warrior -- influenced those in power. Samurais came closer to Zen, notably because of the ever-present question of life and death.

Did the relationship between monk and samurai, at first authentic and person-to-person, progressively become a parody of itself at the service of the group, at the service of power ?

The question remains open.

http://www.prajna.nl/algemeen/controverse/azi_debate.htm.

[Demeter]

17. Very Useful Scrabble Word, esp. on Triple Score!

[MichellesBFF]

20. Not on the iPhone!

I play Scrabble on my iPhone and zen is not in either dictionary in the game.

[RagAss]

18. Zen cannot mean anything to "me"...Zen implies the elimination of "me"...n/t

[DFW]

21. Different in these parts

It's how the locals pronounce the second half of "now and...."

(I live in Germany)

[TexasObserver]

22. To me, it means the Tao. It means the things in life that exist beyond mere description.

I've long called myself a Zen Christian, a term I invented to describe my beliefs. Because I was raised in Christianity and read the Bible, I learned the teachings of Jesus, some of which I try to follow. However, I reject entirely Christianity as it is practiced. I believe Jesus, the man, was trying to move people toward Zen, toward Eastern philosophies.

I therefore see the teachings of Jesus through the eyes of Zen. I do not see Jesus through the eyes of Christianity.

The Tao, like God, is all that we cannot yet fully understand. My Chi is my relationship with the Tao. I attribute my success in my chosen field of endeavor largely to my ability to see the Zen aspects of that field, an aspect many cannot see.

[Mari333]

23. i think of my body as a transistor radio

and the signal comes in and runs the show. when my body is dissipated, the signal still exists. what i really am is the signal. or whatever name you want to give it. thats my personal zen.

[muriel_volestrangler]

24. When just written on its own, like that, this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_%28Blake%27s_7%29

When used as an adjective, different things. Either a quick way to say "there's a paradox here", or a lazy way to say "I think I know about eastern religions". I don't, but I think rather too many western people think they do.

[Juche]

25. A sublime state of euphoria due to unconditional self compassion

That is probably the opposite of Zen in some ways since Zen is supposed to be the breakdown of barriers between self and non-self. But I greatly prefer compassion meditation over mindfulness meditation.

[rucky]

26. Existing as part of a whole

instead of a self-contained entity.

Two analogies really clicked for me:

First is the concept of negative space. If you're painting a sun in the sky, a kid would draw a circle-line and fill it in, right? There's the sun and the rest is the sky. But a more experienced artist would paint the sky around the sun and change the shades. The sun has a circular shape, but it is part of the sky - there's no REAL line that separates it. Just like there's no real YOU that separates an individual from its environment.

Zen is letting go of that sense of self. It exists mainly in your thoughts. - which leads to the next analogy: Soda Pop.

When most people think of consciousness, it is what they are aware of: The self interacting with a seemingly separate environment. There are thousands (sex) of thoughts (sex) that enter your head - the stream is uncontrollable. Like bubbles in a glass of pop - they rise up and the pop in a matter of seconds. But the thoughts we hold onto - and choose to become "aware of" - is really what we mean when we think *about* something.

The act of meditiation is important because you are resisting that urge to separate your consciousness from your environment, and just letting the bubbles of thought rise to the top of the glass and pop. What that does is produce a heightened awareness and sense of peace - the paradox being it is an unintentional consequence of an intentional action (meditation).

Zen loves paradoxes - the biggest paradox being the existence of the "self".

[nolabels]

28. I don't that much about Zen but i do know ones biggest challenge is to.........

try to fit ones self into reality with as much perspective as one can muster

[H2O Man]

27. Howard.

[hootinholler]

30. I thought that was our father who art in heaven.

You know, Howard be thy name.

-Hoot

[babylonsister]

34. Not Zinn, Zen!

:D

[Jack Rabbit]

39. Howard. Fine, Howard,

PopGeezer

[hootinholler]

29. Everything and nothing

At the same time.

I wish I could find the tapes that the character from Life, Charlie Cruise listens to.

Or it could just be a bad German accent. Zen dere were two.

:shrug:

-Hoot

[Kip Humphrey]

31. ...or is it nothing and everything?

[hootinholler]

35. There is no difference across the equal sign

There is a word for when 1+1=1 that word is love.

-Hoot

[Kip Humphrey]

45. Just thought I'd ask because equality

does not occur in nature.

[conscious evolution]

32. Zen is being in the moment.

Zen is not chopping water,carrying wood.

[Political Heretic]

33. Motercycle maintenance

[tekisui]

36. Zen is

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

37. "True Zen has no stench of Zen about it." Zen parable.

[Deja Q]

38. The ship's computer from "Blake's 7"

[Alexander]

50. Zen, put it on visual!

"Confirmed."

[The Straight Story]

40. Sex

I can't get into it here though.... :rofl:

[blondeatlast]

41. I only know it when I don't experience it. Or do I? IIf it could be described or

imbued meaning to, I don't think it would be Zen--but I might be wrong about that.

This is the kind of question I can really appreciate this Sunday morning while the kid snoozes!

[saltpoint]

42. babylonsister, what a fine thread this has become. Thank you.

[seabeyond]

44. living in place of stillness. no action/reaction. the ultimate bliss. n/t

[skooooo]

46. It means accepting things for what they are...

..and putting your mind at rest from trying to figure life out all the time.

[Kitty Herder]

49. A type of Mahayana Buddhism heavily influenced by Taoism. nt

[LooseWilly]

51. No.

[bridgit]

52. A Drop of Water

A Zen master named Gisan asked a young student to bring him a pail of water to cool his bath.

The student brought the water and, after cooling the bath, threw on to the ground the little that was left over.

"You dunce!" the master scolded him. "Why didn't you give the rest of the water to the plants? What right have you to waste even a drop of water in this temple?"

The young student attained Zen in that instant. He changed his name to Tekisui, which means a drop of water.