Mike; I wouldn't say that ED did an ugly question as you stated. It was just a question coming from someone who tries to make sure that he's having the correct information to rely on. I can understand him here because there is indeed a lot of deceiving information about zen and pretentious teachers, gurus selling zen all over the world and with particular focus in USA. So it's natural that ED has the need to ask for a prove over credibility. I would do the same in his place. I was lucky enough that I found the dharma when it wasn't as commercial as it has become now in Europe. On the other hand, ED is very stubborn and still can't understand that there is nothing to be understood by the intellectual mind in zen but just to work for, to experience with... Mayka
--- On Thu, 24/3/11, mike brown <[email protected]> wrote: From: mike brown <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Zen] Re: Add Nothing Extra To: [email protected] Date: Thursday, 24 March, 2011, 6:20 ED, >Yes, as they so nicely say in Japan: "The nail that sticks out gets hammered >down." I don't know about the US, but in the UK there is something called the 'tall poppy syndrome' where the media relentlessly intrude into a person's life (usually unsolicited, but not always) and then hypocritically proceed to publicly break-down that person for being too prominent. If the analogy here escapes you, then I think you're going to need a bigger hammer. >>Have your claims to realization of Buddha Nature been accredited by authentic >>Zen Masters? Wow, that's a pretty ugly question and the first time in 10 years anyone has ever felt the need to ask me. Kinda reminds me of that that scene in Raging Bull where Jake LaMotta, out of unwarranted paranoia, asks his brother, "Did you fuck my wife?" Of course, his brother (played by Joe Pesci), being a much classier act than me, refused to answer. No, I have never received 'inka' from an "authentic Zen Master" and I have never attended a Zen temple diligently enough to qualify. Rather, have my 'openings', 'break-throughs', 'glimpses' been recognised in dokusan (noone I've ever had dokusan with uses words like 'Buddha Nature'/kensho/satori)? Well, have you ever fucked someone else's wife (Sometimes in Zen we do use *you*)? Mike
