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For those who practice Zen Buddhism! Apart from meditation, what are your practices?

N2BN2B
edited May 2011 in Sanghas
Am I on the right path here:

Following the 8 fold path
Folling the precepts
Meditating (zazen)
And reading zen books.

Is there anything else I need to know and practice..please help me, thanks!!

What makes a zen buddhist a zen buddhist?

Comments

  • I'll copy and paste some stuff:
    One day a student from Chicago came to the Providence Zen Center and asked Seung Sahn Soen-Sa, "What is Zen?"

    Soen-sa held his Zen stick above his head and said, "Do you understand?"

    The student said, "I don't know."

    Soen-sa said, "This don't know mind is you. Zen is understanding yourself."

    "What do you understand about me? Teach me."

    Soen-sa said, "In a cookie factory, different cookies are baked in the shape of animals, cars, people, and airplanes. They all have different names and forms, but they are all made from the same dough, and they all taste the same.

    "In the same way, all things in the universe - the sun, the moon, the stars, mountains, rivers, people, and so forth - have different names and forms, but they are all made from the same substance. The universe is organized into pairs of opposites: light and darkness, man and woman, sound and silence, good and bad. But all these opposites are mutual, because they are made from the same substance. Their names and their forms are different, but their substance is the same. Names and forms are made by your thinking. If you are not thinking and have no attachment to name and form, then all substance is one. Your don't know mind cuts off all thinking. This is your substance. The substance of this Zen stick and your own substance are the same. You are this stick; this stick is you."

    The student said, "Some philosophers say this substance is energy, or mind, or God, or matter. Which is the truth?"

    Soen-sa said, "Four blind men went to the zoo and visited the elephant. One blind man touched its side and said, 'The elephant is like a wall.' The next blind man touched its trunk and said, 'The elephant is like a snake.' The next blind man touched its leg and said, 'The elephant is like a column.' The last blind man touched its tail and said, 'The elephant is like a broom.' Then the four blind men started to fight, each one believing that his opinion was the right one. Each only understood the part he had touched; none of them understood the whole.

    "Substance has no name and no form. Energy, mind, God, and matter are all name and form. Substance is the Absolute. Having name and form is having opposites. So the whole world is like the blind men fighting among themselves. Not understanding yourself is not understanding the truth. That is why there is fighting among ourselves. If all the people in the world understood themselves, they would attain the Absolute. Then the world would be at peace. World peace is Zen."

    The student said, "How can practicing Zen make world peace?"

    Soen-sa said, "People desire money, fame, sex, food, and rest. All this desire is thinking. Thinking is suffering. Suffering means no world peace. Not thinking is not suffering. Not suffering means world peace. World peace is the Absolute. The Absolute is I."

    The student said, "How can I understand the Absolute?"

    Soen-sa said, "You must first understand yourself."

    "How can I understand myself?"

    Soen-sa held up the Zen stick and said, "Do you see this?"

    He then quickly hit the table with the stick and said, "Do you hear this? This stick, this sound, your mind - are they the same or different?"

    The student said, "The same."

    Soen-sa said, "If you say they are the same, I will hit you thirty times. If you say they are different, I will still hit you thirty times. Why?"

    The student was silent.

    Soen-sa shouted, "KATZ!!!" Then he said, "Spring comes, the grass grows by itself."
  • riverflowriverflow Veteran
    edited May 2011
    Is there anything else I need to know and practice..please help me, thanks!!

    What makes a zen buddhist a zen buddhist?
    Compassion.

    From the Metta Sutta:

    As a mother would risk her life
    to protect her child, her only child,
    even so should one cultivate a limitless heart
    with regard to all beings.
    With good will for the entire cosmos,
    cultivate a limitless heart:
    Above, below, & all around,
    unobstructed, without enmity or hate.
    Whether standing, walking,
    sitting, or lying down,
    as long as one is alert,
    one should be resolved on this mindfulness.
    This is called a sublime abiding
    here & now.
  • - Present moment awareness in daily life.
    - Metta practice
  • MindGateMindGate United States Veteran
    Being here. Thats it. Thats Zen practice. Mission accomplished.
  • taiyakitaiyaki Veteran
    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=218FHYN9

    check this book/pdf out. it is called the compass of zen.
    it runs through the different buddhist schools and then how zen relates to them all.
    i wish i read this book a while ago because it cleared up a lot of nonsense for me.

    good luck.
  • seeker242seeker242 Zen Florida, USA Veteran
    Am I on the right path here:


    Is there anything else I need to know and practice..please help me, thanks!! What makes a zen buddhist a zen buddhist?
    Personal consultation with a Zen teacher, whenever possible. Attendance to a local center or temple, a physical sanga, and temple events especially retreats, whenever possible.

  • ZaylZayl Veteran
    Taking it easy for the most part. I'll spend a lot of time contemplating anything I can come up with. I also spend my time enjoying myself and life. Nothing like the simple pleasure of a few beers with friends or going to dinner with your girl.
  • FoibleFullFoibleFull Canada Veteran
    You find a teacher. Find a sangha. As much as possible.

    Both Tibetan Buddhism and Zen Buddhism stress the extreme importance of having a qualified teacher.
  • You find a teacher. Find a sangha. As much as possible.

    Both Tibetan Buddhism and Zen Buddhism stress the extreme importance of having a qualified teacher.
    i dont like it when people say this..'qualified' as if they have set an exam or something. even the buddha himself wasnt a qualified anything never mind qualified in meditation. i have recently spoken to buddhist who have been practising for 10 years some 20 years and they also dislike this kind of talk. they say all answers are within us already. there is no right or wrong way to meditate. In fact they say that even if a teacher explains what to do, some people still cant control their thoughts after years of practice UNTIL they learn thier 'own' way of meditating. Of course a teacher would help giving dharma talks but thee isnt such thing as a qualified buddhist teacher. Thats just non-sense, you've really disapointed me tonight after reading that. sorry!
  • Please explain why you 'think' they are qualified?
    Or worse, why they themselves would them qualified?

    Have they reached enlightenment like Buddha?
    Even if they had they still are ''qualified'' coz who says so?????

    Makes me laugh so much. anyone who says they are a qualified buddhist teacher, stay well clear..
  • Tryin ta be moe tolerant to da other homeboys! Probably hardest part! Especially on da internet!
  • seeker242seeker242 Zen Florida, USA Veteran
    You find a teacher. Find a sangha. As much as possible.

    Both Tibetan Buddhism and Zen Buddhism stress the extreme importance of having a qualified teacher.
    i dont like it when people say this..'qualified' as if they have set an exam or something. even the buddha himself wasnt a qualified anything never mind qualified in meditation. i have recently spoken to buddhist who have been practising for 10 years some 20 years and they also dislike this kind of talk. they say all answers are within us already. there is no right or wrong way to meditate. In fact they say that even if a teacher explains what to do, some people still cant control their thoughts after years of practice UNTIL they learn thier 'own' way of meditating. Of course a teacher would help giving dharma talks but thee isnt such thing as a qualified buddhist teacher. Thats just non-sense, you've really disapointed me tonight after reading that. sorry!
    There actually are "exams" in Zen Buddhism. But they are not called exams, it is called "Koan Practice". People say a teacher is important in Zen because Koan practice is an important practice in Zen and koan practice can not be done properly without a teacher. Which is essentially someone who has already passed all the koans themselves.

    >n fact they say that even if a teacher explains what to do, some people still cant control their thoughts after years of practice UNTIL they learn thier 'own' way

    Yes! That is quite accurate!

    :)
  • CloudCloud Veteran
    Actually there's more than one form of Zen. Rinzai Zen uses koans, Soto Zen does not.
  • Am I on the right path here:

    Following the 8 fold path
    Folling the precepts
    Meditating (zazen)
    And reading zen books.

    Is there anything else I need to know and practice..please help me, thanks!!

    What makes a zen buddhist a zen buddhist?
    Reading books is good, especially when they inspire investigation.

    I'm not sure what makes a student 'zen' but I find bowing to be a cornerstone of my practice.

    Not slogging through initiation rites and bowing with only the next hundred or so bows in mind but bowing once, fully, to life and it's blazing 'here-ness'.

    Good luck with your practice.
  • DaltheJigsawDaltheJigsaw Mountain View Veteran
    Great thread!
  • CinorjerCinorjer Veteran
    Am I on the right path here:

    Following the 8 fold path
    Folling the precepts
    Meditating (zazen)
    And reading zen books.

    Is there anything else I need to know and practice..please help me, thanks!!

    What makes a zen buddhist a zen buddhist?
    N2B, I'd like to ask a question in return, and the question will help in giving an opinion of what practice might be best.

    What are you looking for?

    In other words, what part of your life are you unsatisfied with, that you think Buddhism might help? Something in Buddhism and Zen in particular seems to appeal to you.


  • Im just interested in the whole 'just sitting' thing in Zen. Thats how i was drawn to it. But after a good talk with my teacher (a theravada buddhist) i realize that i can still practice Zen at home. And still attend his talks weekly. Its always nice to listen to dharma talks and meditate with others. But then when im at home i will in fact practice Zen meditation. And i have so many books on zen now that i can really get stuck in. Thanks everyone. all the best to all. x
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