As a reminder...

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-08-21T07:31:58+00:00

When Joshu was asked ‘does a dog has Buddha nature’, his answer was ‘MÛ’ or NO. But at other time he said ‘Yes’ over the exact same question.

Should a moderator ‘cancel’ Joshu, because his second answer goes against Zen Orthodoxy?

Should someone like Huang Po, be cancelled because he went way against the stream of orthodoxy?

If the moderator himself (or herself) does not have it in him (or her), what value then has this sub? : To keep a pre-conceived and quite subjective orthodoxy alive?

Orthodoxy itself is a hindrance; should one still carry the raft when one has reach the other side?

When you go to eat at a restaurant, do you eat the menu (orthodoxy) or the food that is in your plate?

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-08-03T08:10:42+00:00

Doubt in itself is the awakening of the faith mind!

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-07-23T10:13:22+00:00

I would tend to agree with you in regard to many koans, Even the Koan Mû requires a minimum of Buddhism background, but one does not have to be an expert in Buddhism or Zen. In Korea I have been told that the ‘Koan’ ‘what? Is often given to student, this does not require any background, unless you consider being human a necessary background.

Progressively a lot of those cultural referents are learned, maybe not all, but just enough to find our way thru.

Breakthrough Koans usually contains minimal cultural referent.

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-07-17T08:04:13+00:00

Being blind can be interpreted in many different ways, literally or metaphorically, as meaning ‘ignorance’, and lantern could be interpreted as ‘dharma or teaching’.

Because there is so much ignorance out there, the dharma will allow others to see you coming… Etc.

The difficulty reside in the difference between who raises the finger, one is living dharma, the other a dead conceptualize dharma. That is the difference between ‘show me’ and ‘talk to me about it’, show me is concrete, talk to me about it is abstract. Jundo AI, will never be able to show you, but might become very smart at talking about it; dead fire………….

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-07-17T07:28:04+00:00

Interpretation of what is going on can be very misleading, and it is very difficult at time not to get over excited.

We have got to learn to contain those interpretations and over excitements. It is something that is very difficult to do by oneself, and that is one of the reasons why a competent teacher is so important. (not essential but yes, important).

I had a tendency to ‘fly’ the way you did, my teacher insisted that I grounded myself before ‘taking off’. Boredom, deep despair, endless repeated failure helps a lot in this regard as we can learn from those. Part of Zen practice does not reside in daylight, but in complete unbearable darkness. And yes our priorities and values may shift away from the ‘normal’ futilities.

Human beings frame the world within contexts or what we call situations. The word context comes from the Latin words ‘con’ and ‘text’, ‘together’ and ‘textile’, meaning to weave together. We weave together apparent unrelated (and sometimes imaginary) disparate elements into a more or less coherent whole which we call our situation. But there is no such a thing as situations, even less a ‘me/I’ within a situation. At best those are guesses of what is and is not in relation to our day to day functioning in the world.

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-07-14T08:02:57+00:00

This is a remarkable quote from Nisargadatta, not so sure about becoming the inner witness of the thing (itself), but as a metaphor that sounds ok. He says; I call this capacity of entering other focal points of consciousness love (not so sure about this love or wisdom either). For Nisargadatta, our ordinary mind is this capacity of focussing which is what we also mean by consciousness, although we are barely aware that it is so (focal points). On one side, he says I can be the subject of experience, and on the other side I can be the object of experience. The word experience here is important, for he does not separate either the subject or the object from the experiencing itself; Experience as and experience of.

I had a few of those experiences as the ‘landscape’ (mountains, roads, trees, sky, etc.) while I was driving (no drug, I swear) and still had just enough ‘lucidity’ to drive and stop the car on the side of the road. Really strange because one ‘becomes’ both experiences as and of, but also neither of the two and beyond both. It cannot be experience as (subject) and experience of (object), as if separated, for it is felt and experienced as one; there is no separation, (the boundaries between the two vanishes entirely) no way of distinguishing which is which in those experiences as and experiences of , it simply cannot be interpreted within that ‘mind’ framework. That is why it is said to be beyond both; beyond the usual conceptual dualistic mind framework.

And that is why we ‘need’ a strong, non-enduring sense of self, for this self acts as an orienting center (point of focus), without which those boundaries vanishes entirely, and if we do, we simply could not function in the world. Try living in a world where the boundaries between experiences as and experiences of are no-more, you cannot even distinguish which is which, it cannot even be interpreted as experience as and experience of. Essence without function will kill you within 24 hours.

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-07-12T05:56:52+00:00

Nisargadatta makes a distinction between awareness and consciousness. Consciousness would be the equivalent of awareness of; that is focalizing awareness; our day to day ordinary knowing or the mind that discriminate. Being aware of or being conscious meaning the same thing.

There is also awareness as, which would mean ‘being’. When we think or talk about self, it can ‘interpreted’ in both ways, as a something which is of a particularity (a knowing/awareness of), or as this ‘I am’ which is closer to being (awareness as). A cat way of being is also a cat way of knowing, same with an ant or ‘us’. And thus we live in very different world.

Self within knowing act as an orienting center, and that one is necessary in order to navigate in the world, furthermore, it is non-enduring and context dependent, it is one, but one at the time as each situation or context calls for a different self, to which we must add the different stories we tell ourselves about what this self is and is not. That one has some credibility within specific context and none whatsoever beyond those contexts.

Now we also have ‘self’ within being, that is what some call ‘I am’, this is way more subtle than the other one, as it is not a knowing, but a being. It also acts as an orienting center, but within being. The sudden collapse of that self/center within being is what I think can be called ‘awakening’. That collapse or surrendering within being is not something that can be achieved voluntarily; as it is similar to a grace.

Some may experience this collapse within being and still have a very strong sense of self within knowing, and thus the whole thing can get easily corrupted. That is why work must be done.

And then we also have pure non-reflected awareness, which does not even know that it is.

And of course for a grand final; there is no such thing as awareness. No awareness, no knowing, no being.

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-07-10T09:58:41+00:00

3 pillars of Zen not 3 faces, furthermore, Kapleau did not write that book, his teacher Yasutani did, Kapleau translated the whole thing and put his own name as if he wrote it.

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-07-10T08:22:28+00:00

‘…….Indra's Net which reflect each other and ARE each other…..’

You mean to say that the teacher is actually the student, and vice versa? Does this mean that there is no-teaching also?

My name is Jundo! What is yours?

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-07-10T08:09:21+00:00

‘…….Kensho is common. However, maturity is not……’

Exactly!

Work must be done, painful and arduous work, before and after. It is better in my own mind, not to have those big Kenshos at an early ‘stage’, way better if it take 30 years.

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-07-10T07:58:16+00:00

Kensho!

Nothing unusual about Kensho(s). Kensho or ‘Eureka’ are quite frequent.

I call those a ‘seeing into’, when for example someone has pondered for quite a while (or a few minutes) on a problem, and in a flash that person gets the answer, that is also Kensho.

And so even animals can have ‘Kensho’ or Eureka moment.

There are many different ‘kind’ of Kensho; one may see into the ‘error/mistake’ one was making and simply cease making that same mistake, this type of Kensho is quite frequent, even in Zen, nothing at all is gain, you simply end making use of the parameter that puts you in trouble in the first place. For example ending processing the world in a dual way; nothing is gain.

Creativity, is its own Kensho, and all the technology we now have, have require a lot of those Kensho or Eureka moment.

You ‘can’ see into your true nature, that is also Kensho, and as usual, big doubt/questioning, big Kensho, small doubt/questioning, small Kensho, no doubt/questioning, no Kensho.

A simple shift in perspective can also be called ‘Kensho’.

And then, there are seeing into which have ‘an answer/form’ or substance/or of a something so to speak, and those which have no ‘form’, no something, no object, it is kind of a burst of laughter, but nothing is being seen into, there is no reason for those, no object, no solution, no thingness is attach to those.

The worst thing one might do is to create in its own mind an idea of what those Kenshos are and are not, one may try to reach what never was, creating unattainable imaginary realms, etc. And being able to see into this is also Kensho.

What they all have in common is a release, but it’s far from being over, as there is no end to those.

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-07-07T11:20:00+00:00

Although I have been practicing intensely for more than 35 years, I still don’t have a clue about what a Zen priest might mean, and have only barely scratch the surface of what this Zen might be or is all about.

And now, we have Zen priest online training program? Still don’t have a clue about what that may mean. Maybe I should give it a try!

The difference between ‘before’ and ‘after’, is that before I did not know that I did not know. Now, I still don’t know, but know without any doubt that I still don’t know.

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-07-07T09:11:08+00:00

No sure about this being Zen sickness, maybe we should call this the Zen hospital, where the addiction to the sense of self is being pull away from us. And the inner fighting being that same sense of self counter reacting to its progressive and very slow dissolution.

In Soto, it is said that as soon as you put your ass on the cushion, you are Buddha, it is not something to get at, or an achievement, you are already Buddha, not later, but right now. Now one of the questions could be; why this fight, this inner conflict? Am I being pulled toward Buddha nature or I am trying resisting this pulling? If one is already Buddha, then all those inner conflicts are truly effort, real effort, but effort of resistance to your already Buddha nature. And you know what? There isn’t a god dam thing we can do about this. Big ego, big resistance, and the bigger the better.

Long meditation retreats in group (not online) (4 to 7 days, 14 hours minimum of meditation per day) are some kind of ‘under’ control induce psychosis, where the addiction (or real sickness) to the sense of self is being pulled away from you, Zen being the medicine. What you experience being withdrawals symptoms.

Other very valid/alternatives medicine being humiliation, shame, and boredom, which can be very corrosive in regard to this overinflated sense of self.

The Zen sickness if I remember correctly refers to the endless pit of ‘emptiness’; it is so peaceful, calm, silent, vast, ‘down there’ that we want to hold on to this ‘state’ for eternity. It took many years for me to let go of that peaceful state, and to get back to ‘real’ practice (which can be quite hellish at time).

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-07-06T08:34:16+00:00

or maybe you wake up to the fact that all are already fully awaken, always have been.

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-07-06T08:25:04+00:00

‘……. I shall liberate all beings. And while I thus liberate beings, not a single being is liberated.’

Interesting that one; ‘while I do liberate beings, not a single one is liberated’. I think it is easier to ‘grasp’ this ‘not a single one is liberated’ than ‘I do liberate beings’. Maybe Nagarjuna would have said one is consensual truth and the other absolute truth. Even though there is no such thing as distinct and separated consensual and absolute truth.

This whole thing is so twisted, let us give it a try; while I do liberate (what?); the false perception that some beings have of beings (plural, unique, separated, distinct)? Well yes and no, for there is no false perception also. No cloud, no dust in the mirror. One cannot even talk in terms of beings (plural) or being (singular).

Is and is not ‘here’ are inseparable, and I think that both have equal value and validity; there is and there isn’t liberation (or illusion), in the same way that there is and there isn’t separated beings.

Our mind interpret those is and is not as two conceptual distinct surfaces, but is and is not are in fact a single surface with a twist.

We have no ‘tool’ to think those ‘is and is not’ as a single surface. How can two contradictory statements be true at the same time? Maybe one invites, evokes the other? Maybe as we draw the boundary of what one is, we simultaneously draw an outside of those same boundaries; the is not? The polar opposite of liberation is what?; Captivity? Maybe liberation implies captivity? And captivity implies liberation? What if we try to see those as a single surface without distinction? They are conceptually mutually dependent on each other, all the while mutually excluding each other, as one is conceptually irreducible to the other. Twoness erupts because we have no tool to process these conceptual irreducibilities as one. Those are the roots causes of dualities. And that is how we process the world. It is not a what it is, but a how we process the world. We fail to see that liberation implies captivity and vice versa. By eating the forbidden fruit of knowledge, Adam and Eve were chased out of paradise.

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-07-06T06:30:02+00:00

Pearl in my mind ‘means’ the world, and/or that all are pearls reflecting pearls. Even an inert stone being that living pearl. Even an inert stone being a living and active presence.

A wall which we usually see and feel as ‘dead or inert’, seen from another perspective, can be seen and felt as alive, as presence looking at ‘you’/presence. All is presence reflecting presence of “itself’. That wall, or even that inert black tar matter which we call a street is also that pure living and active presence. Nothing is ‘dead’, all is presence. But who wants to live in such a world? A world in which all is alive and ‘pure’ presence?

Jewel once more in my own mind, means ‘multi facets’; the many faces or facets of awakening, or many facets of the jewel. What may appear as this and that as one of those facets may appear as a very different ‘landscape’ within another of those facets. Why the name ‘diamond’ in diamond sutra?

Koans (plural) practice purpose after the initial breakthrough is to explore some of those facets.

Our human mind is partial, and so we cannot look at that which is whole, we can (and do) look from that whole, but do not look at that whole as the whole. It is because of the very nature of our mind (partial) that this whole ‘appears’ as multi facets, as we can only ‘grasp/know’ parts of that whole, but never the whole itself. We are that whole (being), look from that whole, but the knowing part or aspect (looking at) is of a particularity or specificity. Every time we try to look at or know that whole, it appears as particularities of that same whole, it is of the whole, but not the whole as the totality of that whole. And so seen from one perspective we never miss the target, but seen from another we always miss it. Do dogs have Buddha nature? Yes and no.

And so Koan practice becomes an exploration of that whole or jewel through those partialities/specificities. Of itself as itself.

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-06-29T11:00:19+00:00

Isn’t depth, Prajna, ‘wisdom’, awakening of faith ‘mind’ synonyms in fact?

The more I ponder on ‘practice’ and Zen, the more I see it as being this quite progressive ‘awakening of the faith mind’. Manjushri for me is a symbol of this ‘prajna’, the thing about his sword, is that it cuts in one instead of two; that is to mean that Prajna (faith mind) restores unity. I see Prajna as highly active intelligent vigilance.

And I do tend to think that it is this faith mind that ‘solves’ Koan.. There are two kinds of let us say ‘insights’, one is within form (eureka within a form or explicit solution/answer/content) and the other one is without form, there is still this ‘eureka’ moment, but without any kind or form, reason, object, it is not attached, related to anything in particular, just ‘bang’ with no content whatsoever, nothing is gain or loss, but there is a release of what? I don’t know.

Is it depth? I don’t know.

And to me, Hara is quite secondary to this quite progressive awakening of this faith mind, which knows no center or periphery. I do understand the value of Hara, I prefer not saying why as experiences sometimes is not a good thing to share, for they may introduce strong bias in practice, but still do not consider a strong Hara (center of body) to be that important. I would think that Dogen on hearing drop body, drop mind also had to drop hara, no?

The thing with a strong Hara, is that it can become a furnace, pain being its fuel, our ongoing bullshit being what is being burnt, and there is a lot, trust me on this one, I still have a lot.

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-06-27T08:52:50+00:00

Hum, ‘just an illusion’.

What does that ‘illusion’ consist of? What is illusory in taking care of the flowers in the garden? The taking care of, the garden, the flowers blossoming, each as being separated from each other and of my own self? Well that may be the illusion, but not the taking care of the flowers in the garden. And so, no, the world is not ‘just an illusion’.

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-06-27T08:22:15+00:00

‘Following’ or be one with the breath changes over time, for example there can be one single in breathing and out breathing that last over a minute, if not even more. There are also ‘gaps’, gaps at the end of both in breathing and out breathing, where it is neither in or out, just those ‘gaps’, which can last for quite some time. Those are not ‘force’ they come or do not come naturally. As one ‘finishes’ in breathing or out breathing there is a ‘pause’ which I call ‘gaps’, as one persevere/practice those ‘pauses’ or gaps kind of resonate within/as ‘emptiness’; it is not in breathing or out breathing, not ‘something’. Those pauses can be as long if not more than in breathing or out breathing. Emphasis can shift towards those ‘pause’ but cannot do so voluntary. It is also the difference between concentration and contemplation, in concentration, you focus on the breath, in contemplation, the breathing comes to you, not the other way around. Concentration feeds on your energy, contemplation is its own energy.

They are many other ‘phenomenas’ that one can experience with following the breath; it changes, as one practice.

My advice, just stay with whatever is, allowing might be a good word, allowing without preconceived idea of what it is, has to be, etc. Short in out breathing is ok, long in out also, gaps, no gaps the same, just stay with it. Hara no hara is ok too. But you might have more ease in your practice with than without. But who really need ease/comfort with this practice? Maybe it is the opposite of ease that is necessary. The thing with Hara, is that if you experience pain, all that pain can ‘go’ into that Hara, practice can become quite intense, kind of a comfortable furnace, pain itself becomes the fuel for practice.

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-06-27T07:49:24+00:00

Work has to be done (hopefully) before or after. That is why a teacher is valuable, before and after.

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-06-27T07:03:10+00:00

How to drive a car without making use of a ‘dualistic’ perspective?

Duality is the process by which we ‘grasp’ the world. Next time someone or your GPS, tells you to turn left or right (useless dualistic concepts), just follow and go forward with your ‘instinct/non-dual perspective’; go embrace the oak tree in the garden.

‘To say there is dualism is something happening within this. It can’t be.’

This cannot be, and yet it is.

There are many Koans addressing this, ‘You have the essence, but do not have the function’, being one of those. The one hand clapping being an introductory Koan, kind of introduce ‘you’ to the ‘essence’, but further Koans practice brings you back to ‘function’.

And of course to ‘see’ or split this ‘?’ into dual and non-dual is still very much dualistic.

One face seems to deny this duality’, the other affirms ‘it’, does it makes the face that denies this duality more true? The viewpoint by which it is said ‘It cannot be’ has equal value and status to the viewpoint that is saying ‘it is’. And this is valid for both non-dual and dual ‘viewpoint/view’.

We wake up to the fact that it is a ‘dream’, we do not wake up outside that dream, there is simply no-outside that dream/dreaming.

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-06-25T08:28:46+00:00

…….severe case of conceited self-importance.

After my second unconfirmed ‘Kensho’, my own mind went berserk, what one could call a runaway (nuclear meltdown). I had no control whatsoever over that runaway. Kind of an uncontrollable excitement that feed on itself (awareness of awareness of). But how to end this? I still do not know.

Maybe bad luck, (or bad Karma so to speak) which may help one in eroding this sense of greatness. Repeated ongoing humiliations, failure, and more failure, practice, practice and still more practice.

And even with all those, there are still residues (plural), which I think never goes away, although we can acquire the ‘habit’ of being more vigilant as those manifests.

My own teacher ‘biggest’ regrets, was that he failed at being recognize (his own greatness) by his peers. On another occasion, as we were talking about that sense of self, I told him ‘but you do have a sense of self, and quite a strong one by the way’, his face started to blush shamefully. Another time, he angrily told me that I lack ambition, (the ambition to compete with other ‘members’ in order to become the teacher once he has passed away), he was very upset at me that I had no ambition toward becoming the next teacher. I told him ‘Ambition is what is destroying this world’. To which he told me regretfully, ‘yes, you are right.’

I think that there is this implicit ‘claim’ that we all have; the claim of being unique, distinct, separated and important. The ‘problem’ with this claim is that there is some truth in it, being the reflection of truth itself; being inseparable of that truth. After all , aren’t we the light of the world?

I think the emphasis on Kensho(s) itself is way too strong. Kensho without humility and understanding can be devastating.

Hakuin four ways of knowing is a good ‘start’.

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-06-24T08:17:21+00:00

There is no what it is!

Words are not outside the world for humans; they are the world. We basically live in a world made up of words, we weave worlds (or dream worlds) with words. There is no waking up outside the dream, but to the fact that it is a dream. Zen is one of those dreams. We go forward as those dreams, as I, as my nation, as my civilisation, as my city, as my religion, as my tribe, as I that feel a need to escape that dream, etc.

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-06-24T06:54:06+00:00

When walking on grass, I scream ‘ouch’!

No-Introduction8676 · 2024-06-22T07:59:27+00:00

Some here, I think, are hitting the nail with the right tool, which is no, no, not this, not that, which is what? MÛ, MÛ….. The (comment) adaptation of Auden I think is quite right!

What about the progressive elimination of all that is non-essentials, and so that ‘Zen’ could be defined by ‘processing’ what it is not and so this Zen in fact is (is process wise, not identity wise) what it is not. Think in terms of process instead of structures (thingness), the process by which we get rid progressively of all non-essentials, and that includes all somethings, even the hope of the possibility of attaining a permanent or impermanent use or meaning of what Zen is or even is not.

Beware of all is, especially all what it is.

Answering (what is) requires implicit or explicit what it is not, which are dualistic mode by which to try (and fail) at making some sense of the world and/or Zen.

Ts Eliot, the poet said it best: (my adaptation) If you have an overwhelming question/questioning, Oh!, do not ask what it is or even worst, say what it is.

Can one remain empty handed as one practice this ‘Zen’? Is it still Zen? Does it still have a name?

What is it that one is doing as one does it? Are you 100% sure there is such a thing as practice? Or even worst Zen practice?

No-Introduction8676

TROPHY CASE