Hello ED and all ED, that's all well and good. Whether in a temple setting or outside, they don't put that much emphasis on talking. In fact, experience has shown me that some just don't say anything. What Zen beliefs teach and rely on are what the eyes see, and what the ears hear. Mouth and action are not always in co-ordination
I suppose discussions, debates and the like have their places. It's just that the Zen community relies less on noise, and more on silent observation. Unlike someone like myself, the typical Zen follower will observe and hear, and maybe smile if amused. They will not tell you that they follow Zen, or 'zen'. You may get a hint about them if they're wearing Buddha pendants like myself, but most I've come across don't. Some may have tatoos signifying the path, but they're usually covered by clothing...unlike mine, which are pagan and not Buddhist, and out in the open. I'd like to continue below..... --- On Wed, 30/3/11, ED <[email protected]> wrote: Humans are social animals and mostly enjoy communicating with each other. Societies that scrutinize, talk, discuss, debate and argue over everything, tend to be more intelligent, like for intance the Jewish people. ---------------------------------------------------------- MEL: You and others have seen my use of this and that being...'middle eastern', yes? The above to me, is very Middle Eastern. I'm not refering to you personally, ED. Not this time. In fact, forget my attempted humor in refering to you as such Zen(or zen) has none of the above immediate paragraph you've posted, and being intelligent (or seen as one...or worse, trying to appear as so) is going off the mark. There is no point to it. Zen beliefs on one hand, and such things as... -academics -intelligence/wit -high articulation ...have nothing in common. Both sides are totally disconnected, and have nothing to do with each other We who follow Zen would be more grateful to you if you tell us such things as... -which vegetable or fruit to plant on any particular season -how best to get rid of stubborn mould and other stains -how to pick fresh from stale with fresh produce and those that deteriorate quickly(eg. seafood, meat, etc) ...and it's no good telling us that you don't need Zen knowledge or experience to know about such things. This is because our zazen extends to daily life. 70 year old Anthony will rant on about his thoughts on women and sex, ED gets voracious with all things academic and technical...whilst peasant Mel behaves like some fundamentalist(some people will say, even almost evangelical, which is a Zen heresy) and purist Zen native. Different directions, different individuals..but only one of many trying to reach the other shore through actual practise and living, but without getting too obsessed about it(ie, obsessed about Nirvana). We practise, we live...do we get to Nirvana in the end? Who knows? By the end of the day, does it really matter? Will it make ants work hard less, or stop the crickets from singing at night so they can go to sleep? That was Zen talk. It will confuse the intelligent because it doesn't make sense, but that's the way it is. There is no dualistic logic to Zen There is a very easy way to get to kensho/satori/Nirvana...putting a bullet through one's head. Guaranteed, one will certainly attain Buddhahood. Complete emptiness. A return to the Great All. That's my assumption, because I don't remember having died before. Otherwise, why bother with enlightenment when daily life has so much to offer? Life, a precious gift. As (Shunryu)Suzuki-sensei says,"Rare as soil that sticks to your fingernail"...or I think it was something like that..I can't remember(and I'm not going to quote word for word, plus page) ------------------------------------------------------------------- Our society has much freedom to speak out and can attribute its success as a great culture partly to this freedom. And yes, some societies place a greater emphasis on verbal communication than others. Whatever they do, it's all good, IMO. ------------------------------------------------------- MEL: That's fine ED. Talkin' is great, and so is a lot of reading and thinking, but sometimes that's all people do. Another of my assumption(s) Buddha be praised Mel
