Bob, Thanks for sharing your interesting poem!
Edgar On May 1, 2013, at 12:47 AM, bobthomas564 wrote: > I used to meditate everyday, these days it is closer to 3, but often in the > car I slip into the concept of being in touch with the working surfaces of > the tyres on the road. > > We meet once a week to meditate in our local hall. > > That is about it guys, like Joe? said, meditation is a part of it, an > important part to my mind, but a part all the same. > > My concern with meditation is the speed at which I get swept away by it and > samadhi takes over, from that point 'I' start to disappear and the immensity > becomes evident. From there it seems to point to a monastery. Luckily I am > not at that point again and I can write this rubbish. If I am at that point > again you will most probably not hear from me. > > Unfortunately or fortunately, the red thread holds me here. > > Regarding meditation in the zen tradition Bodhidharma was primarily a > meditation teacher. > > If you look for it, it is not there. If you don't look for it, it doesn't > exist. This is where meditation comes in and the rest starts to move out. The > only thing moving is the mind (to quote the well worn flag story). > > Bob > > This is poem I wrote about it: > > Stars in my Head like Rocks in a Pool > > I'm digging down so deep, in life's walk of sleep. > To get to the end of a lost road, descend. > > Staring ahead is opaque at best. > Dodging barbed wire, the odd screeching tyre. > > Suddenly nothing, fear grabs my heart. > Teetering life on a black painted cliff. > > No road behind me, I cannot go back. > Nothing before me, just death at one step. > > My hearts beating so fast, no thoughts what to do. > Step over the cliff edge, my god! What a view. > > Into deaths clutches, I enter myself. > All of a sudden, life slows right down. > > Explosions in my head, "have I hit the ground". > The stars all before me completely confound. > > The rock pool of life, points and laughs at the sound, > of the stars in my cranium banging around. > > My eyes see the sky, my heart feels the light. > The stars in my head are just perfect tonight. > > Bob Thomas 24-8-05 > > > > > --- In [email protected], "Bill!" wrote: > > > > Joe, Edgar and Everyone, > > > > I sit (zazen) almost every day. I actually intend to sit every day but some > > days that schedule is interrupted. When I sit it is usually in the morning > > shortly after I wake and take a shower but BEFORE breakfast or any > > stimulants like a cup of tea. When I sit I sit for 20 minutes and then get > > up and walk around about 5 minutes to stretch my legs. I like to repeat > > this two more times for a total of 3 sessions of sitting. Sometimes I > > substitute bowing or chanting for sitting or for one of the sessions. > > Sometimes I only sit 1 or 2 sessions, and sometimes like I said not at all. > > > > What are your practices vis-a-vis zazen or some other form of meditation? > > > > ...Bill! > > > > --- In [email protected], "Joe" desert_woodworker@ wrote: > > > > > > Edgar, > > > > > > When I sit, I sit in the world of forms. Granted, I stay with my method > > > of meditation. Except when I don't. And then I come back to it. This is > > > Practice, and keeping and putting-in-a-foundation. It's not to be > > > neglected, and neither has it ever been deprecated by the Old Masters, > > > nor even our quite young, recent, master teachers. > > > > > > To my mind, Zazen is the indispensable 1/13th part of Zen practice. > > > > > > We all know too how little Bill! needs to sit, because he revealed it > > > here. Howdy!, and kudos, Bill!(!). > > > > > > So, Edgar: Start a point, please, because ...so far you have none. > > > > > > --Joe > > > > > > PS If you were ever really one of their students, you'd have done more > > > than *hear* about sitting from those traditional Zen masters you don't > > > name. And you would definitely have heard about it, and not "almost > > > never". Neither Dogen nor Hongzi mentioned it? Well, it's in their > > > writings: As contemporaries, they were both 13th Century C.E. figures; > > > their vocalizations have faded. > > > > > > > Edgar Owen wrote: > > > > > > > > Joe and Bill, > > > > > > > > It is true that sitting is almost never mentioned in the words of the > > > > traditional Zen masters. Enlightenment Zen experience is almost always > > > > the result of actions IN THE WORLD OF FORMS and consists of seeing the > > > > true nature of the world of forms. > > > > > > > > You two are totally outside of and go against Zen tradition by the > > > > exclusive emphasis you put on sitting.... > > > > > >
