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Re: Buddhist quotes

“Erring and erring, we walk the unerring path.” ~ Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche

person

1

Re: No Buddhist Quotes

“Humanism is the only resistance we have against the inhuman practices and injustices that disfigure human history.”
~Edward Said~

Shoshin1

3

Re: The importance of mudra in zazen

The difficulty in switching up different mudras in Shikantaza, to bring about different experiences of meditation, is that such **deliberateness **detracts from the underpinning foundation of that practice. You could still call it meditation, just not Shikantaza.

It is not that different mudras don’t affect different flavors of meditation, it's that our choosing of one over another will often in later hindsight, be seen to have been more about self indulgence than of selflessness.

This is where a teacher who is familiar with your particular life koan might give some objective guidance on mudra choices that amount to skillful means for you. In that teachers absence, not switching up your mudras at this time will at least offer an ego during formal meditation, less avenues of potential meditative distraction.

how

4

The importance of mudra in zazen

When I started the path, I would sit crossed legged with my hands open covering my knees, then there was no real instruction except putting my hands one on top of the other, palm on palm or clasping them together. When I started to sit in the Zen style, I was told to make this funny shape they call the cosmic mudra (hokkai gyo in Japanese). Now I sit using a zafu, an Ikea stool, straight and adopting the cosmic mudra.

Well, my doubt was: to what point does it matter? What is the importance of mudra? I mean, can one sit zazen without doing the cosmic mudra? Well, I found this article of Uchiyama roshi explaining how this is simply the way this taste of Buddhism reflects or expresses the idea of offering "this body and mind to Buddha for the sake of Buddha".

It also explains how other practices might have other mudras or other ways to express Buddhadharma; and that it is not up to us to decide or critcise what other schools do. In a way, I think he stresses to any Zen practioner the usual: follow the 4NT, 8FNB and our texts if you wish, let others practice the way they seek/wish. In Dogen's Zen, this mudra symbolises this unity of body and mind, this offering and this gateway of connecting with Buddhadharma.

I also found in the text an important reminder of what is lacking or missing in Western mindfulness, which just concentrates on the peacefulness and relaxation derived from these type of practices. Basically, sitting for one's own sake is NOT Buddhadharma.

How to discern this? I think deep down I am sitting for my own benefit. They say this is why Right View is so important. I might re-visit this from a Zen perspective and also revisit Ajahn Sona's Right View video...

Peace!

Kotishka

2

Re: What is my practice? Where is my practice? Who is my teacher?

> A lost meditator here seeking advice once again..

Getting Lost is a directive for finding or re-finding and refining
Meditate as badly as you can, a lot harder than you imagine
Learn to breathe before you crawl, Walk before sitting, Stand in awe before sitting
Do not trust lists of pointers. Rather trust the moon that is not an influencer

Hope that helps (at least me)

meanwhile...
https://laurahargreaves.com/tag/reflections/

lobster

1

Re: Good and Bad People

Hi. I have worked with sociopaths and, unfortunately, they do commit a lot of very unwholesome acts and tend to justify their actions and denigrate other people to the point of dehumanising them completely. Some of them even hold positions of power and have a good economic balance in the sense of properties, income, etc. All of them by the way were extremely unhappy and could not find any pleasure beyond drugging themselves, sex, and other fetishes. There are also psychopaths who are people that are born without the ability of forming any connection whatsoever and, while it is not very common for them to become vicious killers or destructive, some careers and sectors of the world which are not very...clean... have their ranks composed by them.

Going back to sociopaths or people committing bad acts purposely and knowingly do have traumatic childhoods and very adverse/poor upbringings. This, however, does not excuse them from their actions. Have you seen the series Bojack Horseman? Without spoiling it too much, it is about the life of a famous one-hit wonder series actor who deals with depression, substance abuse, and basically being a narcissist and using people (particularly women) for his own advantage. In the following scene which I attach, he is basically admitting his done wrong...but here is where his friend does say something that reminded me of your post: you are also to blame and responsible for the actions. And you need to do something to avoid this pattern of repetitive compulsion. Ah, so hard the latter to break....