Zen - worthless practice due to a dramatic misunderstanding?

[Kubba]

[Jadespear]

Ah Zen........................ what is, is what is.............. what is not, is not what is................

 

...............   the more we accum, the more we lose of the essence that IS...........

[thelerner]

There are saints whose bodies become incorruptibles after death.

Philosophy--> God preserves their body from mortal corruption to resurrect them at the end of days.

 

There are saints whose bodies rapidly disappear after death.

Philosophy--> Their Mind has realized enlightenment and it managed to dissolve the aggregates.

 

There are saints whose bodies suddenly release a bunch of shit after death.

Philosophy--> Their Higher Selves is ONE with the universe. No longer in this body.

 

In my opinion, if only you could stand in front of reality without besmirching its purity with your unfounded explanations and philosophies, you'll get a taste of what Zen really is.

(IMO) The key word here is saint.   I get the feelin becoming a holy man is not easy.  No tricks, steps or formula for it, just surrendering your life to .. idk, something that'll flip you inside out and wash away many human distractions and foibles. 

Edited June 9, 2016 by thelerner

[Kubba]

Zen has plenty of heart. There are scores of worthwhile biographies available attesting to this. 

Maybe you will like to study some of them. An example would be 'Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind' by Maura O'Halloran. There are numerous others, and works by the Zen patriachs are replete with inspiring anecdotes, poems, rituals, and the like, that speaks of finding the transcendental and sacred in the mundane. No other Buddhist tradition does a better job at this, imo. 

 

You talk about ancestors or dead teachers - "it's easy to have a dead teacher". What I mentioned in my comments is NOWADAYS alive tradition - . How much of this heart is there? Zen monks gently touching themselves with a stick, not to injure anyone. Convincing that one should meditate with open eyes only. But who knows what happends in some old temples behind the closed doors?

[C T]

Kubba. If we are both discussing the same topic, then you would be at least aware of the close connection between heart and inspiration in Buddhist practice, therefore, if one is finding difficulty in drawing inspiration from lineage masters, be they dead or alive, one might as well lay the practice aside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(late edit to align the space)

Edited June 11, 2016 by C T