Mike, What bullcrap! How the heck do you claim to know what the Buddha did EVERY day until he died? You are projecting your attachment to a savior onto a historical figure about which very little is actually known...
Drop this attachment too and you'll be a lot closer to Zen. If you meet Buddha in your head, KILL HIM! Edgar On Feb 21, 2013, at 2:49 AM, [email protected] wrote: > Joe, > > I'm completely on board with you. Even on the micro-level (say after a few > rounds of sitting zazen) you can feel the space between thoughts shrink if > you don't keep up the intensity. But once thru the gateless gate there's a > kind of 'muscle memory' that makes coming back to the mat easier each time. I > think it was to Edgar that I previously pointed that Buddha maintained daily > meditation until the day he died. > > Mike > > > Sent from Yahoo! Mail for iPhone > > From: Joe <[email protected]>; > To: <[email protected]>; > Subject: Re: [Zen] Fw: peek a boo ... > Sent: Thu, Feb 21, 2013 5:28:43 AM > > > Mike, > > I say Edgar is right, though, that coming back is a hard part. > > Especially coming back from a long practice somewhere, and making your own > (interruptable) schedule, again. It takes balance (retaining it, and, yes, > reGaining it), and grace. Grace toward others and toward oneself. > > And/but, one must keep up practice, too, else what has become clear, and what > is light and healthy in you, becomes dull, and heavy and perturbed. > > One need not even have awakened on the long practice for you to nonetheless > "have to" take these few precautions, and protect and nurture what you have > clarified to some extent. > > Another approach is to practice not at all, and watch, day by day, the > centeredness and poise erode and disappear entirely. This is educational, > i.e., pretty painful. Yet I think it is of value to any practitioner, and > maybe more to anyone who feels they may some day teach other practitioners, > and practice with them: It will help all your "students" for you to know > exactly how it feels to be a beginner again, and see, for yourself, several > or many times, just how one does and *can* make some progress toward cleaning > up the mess, and be patient about it. One makes mental notes as one does > this, and can speak in clear terms with students about how they can do it. In > other words, you're not making up the advice by the seat-of-your-pants each > time a question is asked, or a demonstration must be made, or a suggestion > offered, but you have a rich store of experience of desperately painful times > and weightlessly glowing clear times behind you, not just once, but I won't > say how many. > > Needless to say -- and I don't mind admitting -- I've taken both approaches > many times. At this point in time, I'm in a building-up phase again. Early > days of slim progress. A difficult Yoga! But the field is familiar, and I've > pitched no-hitters and hit home runs here before. > > Spring training in Arizona, > > --Joe > > > uerusuboyo@... wrote: > > > > Edgar, > > < Lose your head and gain the universe. > > >
