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One word for describing Zen - "Contradiction"
Another thing has hit me about life and zen!!
Everything is a contradiction!!
If feels as if this is the secret to life. Understanding that life is just a contradiction.
Here's some zen quotes that make sense but don't make it sense at the same time!
"If you think zen practice is doing you good - you've missed the point of zen"
"To understand zen is to understand nothing"
"Try and get zen and you won't get it"
"Buddha never said a word"
"Why do you want zen? If you know, then you don't know"
"If you go looking for zen,you'll never find it - but if you dont go looking for it, how you suppose to find it"
"A dog chasing its tail is no more foolish than a person searchin for enlightenment"
"Zen is nothing yet it is everything"
"You cannot feel zen but you touch it everyday"
"How does zen work? A monk asked. "Its doesn't work, said the master
"No one knows zen, not even the enlightened masters have the slightest idea"
"If you think your enlightened, your not. But you need to think your enlightened to realize you are"
(All these make sense but are also full of sh1t..haha
But that's the beauty of it..life is full of crap so we may aswell enjoy the crap. Haha!!
Understanding contradiction is great!!
Everything is a contradiction!!
If feels as if this is the secret to life. Understanding that life is just a contradiction.
Here's some zen quotes that make sense but don't make it sense at the same time!
"If you think zen practice is doing you good - you've missed the point of zen"
"To understand zen is to understand nothing"
"Try and get zen and you won't get it"
"Buddha never said a word"
"Why do you want zen? If you know, then you don't know"
"If you go looking for zen,you'll never find it - but if you dont go looking for it, how you suppose to find it"
"A dog chasing its tail is no more foolish than a person searchin for enlightenment"
"Zen is nothing yet it is everything"
"You cannot feel zen but you touch it everyday"
"How does zen work? A monk asked. "Its doesn't work, said the master
"No one knows zen, not even the enlightened masters have the slightest idea"
"If you think your enlightened, your not. But you need to think your enlightened to realize you are"
(All these make sense but are also full of sh1t..haha
But that's the beauty of it..life is full of crap so we may aswell enjoy the crap. Haha!!
Understanding contradiction is great!!
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Comments
Koans are not a riddles to be solved. They are a means to change the way we think about ourselves and our relationship to the universe around us. When you “get it” you cannot describe it to someone else. Not even to yourself. If you try to “possess” it , it will slip out of your grasp as quickly as it came. “ You can’t take the sea home in a bucket”. If you take a bucket of water from the sea it is no longer the sea, only a bucket of dirty salt water.
Sometimes it is a feeling that may last for only a moment, other times you can feel “enlightened” for a day or more.
I believe it helps to know something about Buddhism before trying to understand Zen Buddhism. Specifically “Transience”, “Emptiness”, “Inter-Being”, Mindfulness and “Dependent Co-Arising”.
Equally important are The Four Noble Truths, especially the 2nd Truth that deals with the origin of suffering. I have been reflecting on this “truth” for over 3 years and will probably do so till I die.
Books I have found to be helpful:
“ The Heart Of Buddha’s Teaching” – author: Thich Nhat Hahn
“ Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind – author: Shunryu Suzuki
“ The Wisdom Of Laotse” – author: Lin Yutang
Gregg
Socrates said it well when he spoke: 'all I know, is that I know nothing..' (This is very zen I feel) not everyone will see it but I've always thought its very zen like. (Someone else mentioned it before aswell on another thread)
There isn't anything special to *figure* out in life. In fact the less we know, the better! No mind - buddha mind.
"In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom.
Keep this philosophy (precept?) in mind the next time you hear or are about to repeat a rumor.
One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance, who ran up to him excitedly and said,
"Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students...?"
"Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me, I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Test of Three."
"Test of Three?"
"That's correct," Socrates continued.
"Before you talk to me about my student let's take a moment to test what you're going to say. The first test is Truth.
Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"
"No," the man replied, "actually I just heard about it."
"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second test, the test of Goodness.
Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?"
"No, on the contrary..."
"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him even though you're not certain it's true?"
The man shrugged, a little embarrassed.
Socrates continued, "You may still pass though because there is a third test - the filter of Usefulness.
Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?"
"No, not really.."
"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"
The man was defeated and ashamed and said no more..
______________
“Socrates was famous in Athens for saying, “Know thyself.” It is said that one of his students said to him, “Socrates, you go around saying “Know thyself,” but do you know yourself?” Socrates was said to have replied, “No, but I understand something about this not knowing”."
Jon Kabat-Zinn
Contradictions are intellectual constructs, a flawed resting place for the uncertain. Not bad or naughty or in one sense wrong. The only problem with intellectual constructs is that they cannot lay uncertainties to rest.
Zen practice, by contrast, is pretty good at settling uncertainties.
You will at times contradict yourself, I will, my boss will. Everything does. This is what zen is saying. If you cannot see that then its ok. No worries. Your opinion. In zen there is no right no wrong! X
Zen is simplicity!! That's the great thing.
Zen is everything.
People shouldn't get confused though between zen buddhism and ZEN..zen buddhism is something completely different.
The mind is full of contradictions because the mind is confused, but reality is clear. Zen is seeing through the illusion of contradiction to the reality of what we are.
There are not two Zens, Buddhist and nonBuddhist, because there are not two realities. Reality is what it is. Zen is not lack of right or wrong, not unfanthomable, not glorification of ignorance or the belief that wisdom cannot be put into words. Koans are not abstract nonsense that mean whatever the student wants them to mean. Koans are riddles that must be understood and chewed on before the mind can comprehend the meaning, that's all.
Zen is only direct pointing to reality.
To say Zen is everything is to already miss the mark, because that also means zen is nothing. Zen is simple: "What am I?" To understand your own mind is to view reality through a clear mind, but reality remains what it is.
So you think you know Zen? Then answer the question, "What am I?"
The smell of baked bread fills the house this morning and makes my mouth water.
I'm typing right now, this is zen! Not dwelling on another thing whilst typing.
After this I go to work. Then go home, and watch some tv.
If I don't end up doing this then...err well I don't know yet.
Zen is awesome!!!!
"Where my feet take me..replied the other
"Where are you going today? Asked the boy
"Where the wind blows me..replied the other
"Where are you going today? Asked the boy
"Today, oh just to the market to buy vegetables..
Replied the other
During the Han dynasty era. "禅" was pronounced as Jhan. Do a bit of homework and you'll find that it literally means Jhana.
Any "enlightened" person who tries to tell you different is just excusing their own wrongdoing.
And Zen without morals is just "everyone doing their own thing", and people need no teaching to do that. That comes naturally.