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Zen
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| Jackson |
Hey.
I Love Zen quotes...like the one in my sig.
Anyone else here like zen? or follow zen beliefs or have quotes?
Jackson |
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| subuddha |
i like zen but i am not a zen buddhist. i practice meditation and increasing my awareness. zen quotes and stories are very good. they are often very beautiful.
http://www.rider.edu/~suler/zenstory/zenstory.html
for stories.
otherwise i enjoy Koans, riddles created to open your mind. once you start to understand them and their purpose they are very good.
I also wanna recommend Osho.
this is one of his stories
| quote: | The young man said, “I’ve searched for God in thousands of lifetimes. Sometimes he was far away. I’d rush to catch up to him, but by the time I got there, he had always gone on ahead. So I went on and on, following, until I finally arrived at a simple house. Stairs lead up to a door, and by the door was a sign that said, GOD’S HOUSE.”
The young man explained, “Upon discovering God’s house, I became worried for the first time. But I overcame my fear and trembling, I walked up the stairs and was just about to knock on the door.
“Then suddenly, I understood. If I knocked and God opened the door ... then what? All would be finished. My journeys, my great adventures, my great loves, my philosophy, my poetry, all the longings of my heart ... all would be finished for I would stay with God forever.
Upon realizing this, the young man said, “I removed my shoes, so as not to make any noise. If I made noise, God might have opened the door. Silently, I tip-toed down the stairs and ran away without looking back. And I’ve been running for thousands of years. I still search for God, although now I know where he lives.
“But I have to avoid his house. That way, I can go on searching for him everywhere else. There is no fear, but I have to avoid that house. The house haunts me. If I were to enter the house and meet God, all is finished.” |
the story can be interpreted in many ways. to me it means that if you were to let go of all problems and all worries, all struggles, then there would be no ego, no sense of "me" or "I". you would invent problems just to keep the ego, the mind, going. |
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| Jackson |
| i meditate daily but i dont use mantras, i just uwse my breathing. I'm thinking of starting buddhism or toaism. I know that Lira follows buddhism so im sure he has some good koans. |
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| subuddha |
i am impressed that you have the discipline to meditate daily. i just do it now and then when i feel that i need it.
i find that cathartic meditations is the best for me. most of time. otherwise i just use breathing meditations.
the cathartic ones really helps me to empty my mind so that i can meditate more easily.
also,weird as it may sound, gibberish works great. relieves tensions and empties the mind. |
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| Lira |
Zen/Chan is not really one of the things I study the most on Buddhism, and amongst the things I don't know much about Zen, there are the koans. In order to meditate, I've always practised other kinds of meditation (such as the Loving-kindness meditation). The concept of koan sounds very interesting though (to think and analyse something that seems illogical), and I shall look further. I've found this collection of stories, by the way:
http://www.ashidakim.com/zenkoans/zenindex.html
Unless I got something wrong, these don't sound like proper koans, but some of the stories are quite interesting and you can often learn something from them anyway :)
| quote: | Originally posted by Jackson
I know that Lira follows buddhism so im sure he has some good koans. |
Well, actually, I'm not a proper follower...
Once there was a man called Upali. He was the follower of another religion and he went to the Buddha in order to argue with him and try to convert him. But after talking to the Buddha, he was so impressed that he decided to become a follower of the Buddha. But the Buddha said:
"Make a proper investigation first. Proper investigation is good for a well-known person like yourself."
"Now I am even more pleased and satisfied when the Lord says to me: 'Make a proper investigation first.' For if members of another religion had secured me as a disciple they would have paraded a banner all around the town saying: 'Upali has joined our religion.' But the Lord says to me: 'Make a proper investigation first. Proper investigation is good for a well known person like yourself."
... This is what I've been doing. I'm studying, getting to know it and I believe I've just taken my first step, but I've got plenty more steps to go. I'm thinking of joining a Sangha near my house in a few weeks, but till then, I'm just an apprentice ;) |
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| subuddha |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
... I'm thinking of joining a Sangha near my house in a few weeks, but till then, I'm just an apprentice ;) |
what is a Sangha? |
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| GelatinPufF |
| quote: | Originally posted by subuddha
the story can be interpreted in many ways. to me it means that if you were to let go of all problems and all worries, all struggles, then there would be no ego, no sense of "me" or "I". you would invent problems just to keep the ego, the mind, going. |
Speaking of "ego" here's one of my favourite stories:
http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~nunrg...(partial.1).mp3
I didn't feel like typing it up, so I thought, "meh, I'll just upload the mp3"
Thoughts?:) |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by subuddha
what is a Sangha? |
Practically, a group. There's a temple near my house from a Pure Land School, and, although it's not the school I'm more fond of, it's quite important to hear other people's experiences. |
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| Omegasox |
Meditation comes in many forms, not just sitting meditation. As long as when eating, you just eat, and walk when walking, and don't let your mind become distracted, that is all considered meditation.
Sitting meditation seems too forced to me, as if you're setting aside a time of day to "meditate" when it should be in practice throughout the day. Much like people who go to church on sunday, but do not practice their beliefs the rest of the week.
I also don't see Buddhism as a religion, more so a way of life, a philosophy of living if you will. You can integrate its principles into your life without following some sort of deity, or having to proclaim the fact that you're a Buddhist.
If you enjoy stories and koans, I suggest you pick up anything by D.T. Suzuki. He is considered the foremost authority on Zen Buddhism who has published works in english. |
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| plumeria |
I've been going to practice off and on for the past couple months (my roommate is a zen buddhist). I've noticed that on the days I feel the worst, I least want to go sit and meditate. Sometimes I drag myself there, other times I find something else to do. Anyone else notice this? Last Sunday I was in a wonderful mood and practice was a breeze. I also agree that mediation can come in many forms. I'm a crappy guitar player but when I sit down and practice playing, I find myself clearing out everything else. So even though I may not be playing well, I do enjoy that sense of focus.
As far as reading, I like Pema Chodron (though she's in the Tibetan buddhist camp if you're going to be picky). One of her books (I think it's "Start Where You Are") has a nice chapter called "Pulling out the Rug." I found it very appropriate with all the crap that's been going on in my life over the past several months. |
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| Seventil |
I've studied a few eastern religions, but I have been most impressed with Taoism.
I meditate regularly. For me it involves putting on some of my most chill trance tracks and just letting loose. A few times I've sat there for an hour or two pretty much tranced out. People always ask me how I can be happy and laid back all the time. That's how. If I didn't do this I'd probably freak out like everyone else I know. |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by Omegasox
I also don't see Buddhism as a religion, more so a way of life, a philosophy of living if you will. You can integrate its principles into your life without following some sort of deity, or having to proclaim the fact that you're a Buddhist. |
That's true, but you can always learn more if you're with others, reason why I mentioned that I'm thinking of going to the temple near my house :)
And I suck terribly at walking meditation :p |
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