Great Post! Whose was that? Oh! It was mine from many years ago! Is this another from 2005? Nice to see that I my experience of Buddha Nature hasn't changed in that time.
...Bill! --- In [email protected], "Bill Smart" <Bill@...> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], Neutral Milk <neutralm@g...> wrote: > > ...Neutral Milk's posting snipped. If you're interested you can see > it in the previous message of this thread... > > From my perspective this thread started as a discussion of the > relative merits of dharma study and zazen. It has degenerated into > a crass debate about the importance of words and their applicability > to zen. In your last posting you warned me about wasting my time. > A discussion on these topics would not be a waste of my time. > Further participation in this type of debate would be. > > We obviously have completely different perspectives on the value of > words, the importance of intellect and their applicability to zen > practice. I'm also certain we have a completely different > perspective not only on how to practice zen, but what zen is itself. > > I assert that intellect is not an important feature in zen practice. > I assert that words and other cognitive features like logic, > reasoning, understanding, etc , are not important features in zen > practice. > I assert that in fact an attachment to these items (which is very > easy to form) are a hindrance to zen practice. > > I'm not saying these items are bad; or that they are of no use, even > in zen practice. I'm saying they are not items that should be > emphasized or relied upon and too often times they are. They are > because they are the easiest and most comfortable way for us to > approach zen intellectually. If we think we understand zen then > we feel we have accomplished something. > > Understanding is not the key to zen. Dissolution of the self is the > key to zen. Zazen helps do that. Personally, I don't think reading > words help do that to any great extent. It doesn't for me. Maybe > it does for you. > > This is the last posting I'll make on this thread unless you (or > anyone else) really want to discuss these assertions. Even then I > think that would be best done in another thread. > > Bill! > ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
