Many years ago, my Zen teacher looked at my messy desk, piled up with papers, and offered only six words: "This desk, your mind - the same." Humble bow to this great teacher, working everyday for all beings, selfless - just asking "how may I help you" in a world filled with ego and attachment. I am grateful.
With a teacher you also learn that there may not be anything wrong with the clutter. It's how you approach and see it that matters. To you it's your natural state, to your teacher it's chaos. Who can really say which which is right or wrong?
@joseph buckley you read one, single sentence and think from that you know someone enough to find fault and demand answers. You didn't need any clarification, nothing at all. You just read that one sentence eh? And that's all you needed, no chance you failed to understand. You are literally a meme.
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Buddhism helps you to relax and helps to empty your mind with everything that exist outside of you or what you are surrounded with. It helps you to find your own nature and existence. I find Buddhism very interesting and very important from Asia. Thanks to Siddhartha Gautama or Gautama Buddha our founder of Buddhism.
I recommend the people who are interested in Zen to join a Sesshin (retreat) you will feel the inner power & peace. (and also the pain of sitting silently) Nice impression of Zen but ofcourse it can never be explained in words.
Interestingly enough, meditation is not a low level of consciousness; it's actually an extremely high level of consciousness because its ends and its means are the same: complete self-awareness and therefore self-realisation. When I was a karateka, we had one session when we all meditated together for fifteen minutes, after which our Sensei told us we had been closer to inner peace then than we ever would have been otherwise. We in the West could learn so much from Zen Buddhism.
Found it kind of cute when the head Zen Monk fixed his students postures. No fighting, no words, just a simple movement with an "oops- okay understood" expression from the student and it's all good. How the world should be one day.
@@redsol3629 No you are wrong. You are against intention. Is not the intention to be against intention also an intention? How can you try not to try, is that not also trying? The lesson to be learned is that there is nothing wrong with trying, but trying to do what? Trying itself cannot a problem, it is only a problem when you try to do bad things.
@@trillionmindfulintentions2132 That was a thought borrowed from Stoicism. I never stated not to try, only to adjust your expectations. You have a lot of energy going around and around.
@@redsol3629 There is nothing wrong with expectations. Expectations are not the cause of suffering, negative emotions like anger and fear that are based off egocentric ideals are. You can have expectations as long as they are for the betterment of things; expectations only become a problem when anger and fear are involved.
Shikantaza's is only tough when you think about what you have to do with Shikantaza. Without thinking what you have to do with Shikantaza, you get Shikantaza. :)
The Buddha himself said that successful work towards liberation is 100% achieved through being part of the sangar. So I guess those who don't have the discipline are the species known as human.
Fun fact: In USMC boot camp (2003) we cleaned the floors the same way as these zen monks. It was called “deck-toweling”. Up and down the squad bay endlessly by way of a “field day” that could happen at any Drill Instructor’s whim. 👍
In the West, people don't usually just show up at a monastery and become monks. They train as laypeople and then become monks. I think it is often very different in the East, where your parents may just send you to the local monastery.
As I live in Yokohama, I'm lucky enough to have been to this temple, Sojiji. A priest showed me round too. If you don't speak Japanese though, I recommend taking a Japanese speaking friend with you.
@BluePittbull666 The diet is actually very tasty and fulfilling :) it leaves your body feeling clean and the taste is very pure. The pickles are generally used after the meal to cleanse the pallet.
I have laughed out loud in meditation. When you realize that the story of yourself, that has been told to you until you tell it to yourself, building it like limescale in a kettle, layer upon layer, is just a bunch of ideas, that's funny.
@tienen23 The monks don't eat that food usually. It's for guests. Monks mostly live on 'genmai' and boiled veggies. In the old days beri beri used to be common, but I think that may not be a problem in most temples these days.
to an untrained mind, form draws in mind, to a zen mind, mind draws in form, perception is perception, it is mind that colors it, and produces anger, happiness, and stupidity, all things that originate are impermanent, to cling to them, is to cling to suffering, thus non-attachment is happiness, letting life bring what it brings, letting it pass by, simply observing, there is peace within, this is the nature of zen.
@Imperitor2 A mop does not make a very good oar for a boat, and is more or less useless as a toothpick or a mode of transport, unless you are a witch. Or perhaps you know the answer and were quizzing? In that case, please tell me: What is wrong with a mop?
But You can still practice Zen as a lay person, I know that with my asperations in life for a career being a Nun would not be the life for me ( though I think I could do it if I could get settled). Although I do agree most people think its all meditation and no Hard work, which it is both and a very hard life indeed.
1. It is better to leave a vessel unfilled, than to attempt to carry it when it is full. If you keep feeling a point that has been sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness. 2. When gold and jade fill the hall, their possessor cannot keep them safe. When wealth and honours lead to arrogancy, this brings its evil on itself. When the work is done, and one's name is becoming distinguished, to withdraw into obscurity is the way of Heaven.
It’s a contradiction in terms to empty one’s mind, but be aware to laugh out loud, or to seek truth by emptying the mind. How does one recognise the basis of life if not aware? Mankind is not made to learn without knowledge, which does not and cannot come from within and which was born unaware.
I think it comes down to that we should see the complexity of the universum, but on the same time accept it as it is, so things are just as the way they are and not complex at all. Or just it is the state of mind that is making things complicated, while all we have to see is the truth... and become one with it. This goes very deep, this is my best try.... :p
Hmm, well, I do know zen a little; I practise zazen once per week in a small group, and several times per week on my own. I think that it has its advantages and disadvantages to, as I do, follow a 'western' individualistic path. It seems like wanting to invent the wheel twice, but on the other hand: I think in the end the truth is that everyone has to invent the wheel for himself :-) On the other hand, in a monastery the possibility to concentrate on your own growth could be much deeper.
i agree, andl also said "the lowest level of consciousness", and i.m.o. it may not be at all that way, but instead: the highest point of awareness of mind...these are just words, but i think is important to choose the correct ones, in order to avoid misunderstandings. Thanks for write the meanning of tenzo.
@boogiebuddy01 Zen is means clearing your mind of wordly things, questions, obsessions, worries, accomplishments, etc. And focusing on relaxing and emptying your mind. It's a little difficult to explain, but it's far from doing nothing.
@BluePittbull666 Yes, becoming a monk usually requires retreating from regular life for extended time, whether it be Buddist, Christian or other faiths. But this is not the only option. There exist several different paths by which it may be possible to achieve enlightnment or a more developed state of exhistance, becoming a monk is just one of these ways.This is sometimes called the "Second Way", it is not siuted for everyone. There are four paths to choose from.
Part-3. So the emptiness is actually misinterpreted version of Sanskrit word in Chinese Bhudhist translation which in turn misinterpreted in Japanese Bhudhist or zen bhudhist . Finally to answer your question Why any God be not be both at once. Confusion here is that God's Fulness or emptiness is not considered a state because he is beyond the universal matter as we know. So when i say God is Full, meaning he is complete and there is nothing amiss in him, meaning he is self dependent. Contd..
@vnxapa The context of this film is Dogen's version of Soto/Caodong which is not without major problems one of which is the belief that zazen is enlightenment and liberation. But prolonged sitting has nothing to do with awakening to our true nature which is pure Mind. Didn't Zen master Huai-jang say: "If you make (yourself) a sitting Buddha this is precisely killing the Buddha. If you adhere to the sitting position, you will not attain the principle of Zen."
I really love to join the monastery but what I’m afraid of most is falling asleep while mediating, which I’m sure 100percent I would. I can’t resist the urge to close my eyes when it comes. No matter how hard I try.
1 - Try getting more sleep 2 - Do a quick sniff breath when you feel yourself getting sleepy in meditation. This diff breath will boost your alertness. It helps to also say “ALERT AWARENESS” or something to that effect while you do the sniff breath.
Please don't take this the wrong way, but it is precisely this kind of close-minded thinking that Zen seeks to transcend. Don't judge what you don't know - in this case, Zen. Of course we are "walking one's own path in life", but we are also walking the universal path. It's not about uniformity. Just because two different people experience the same emotion - i.e. love - doesn't mean love is like a soldier in "uniform"-ity. Why would that be different for Zen? Only externally are monks "uniform".
you invent the wheel the moment you think someone else has invented it for you. remember that you are forever trapped in your own perception; there is no 'you,' only that trappedness. individuality is a farce. you may live your lie, as perhaps we all do, but don't think that by 'doing zazen' or doing anything you really understand that thing, or zen.
@CommentsSurvey They probably didn't, so to speak. Many of them became monks having little or no choice. The family inheritance always passing to the first born son, alternatives were few. One of them was to become a monk. Which wasn't a romantic life at all Eiheiji still has it's 'unsui' (novice monks) signing a waver in case they should die. Life in a monastery here in Japan was / is very different from what many 'new-age tourists' people have imagine. Still, a lot better theses days, mostly
SolSkye is right that there is no "sh" without the "i" sound in Japanese, but when a word is spoken in Japanese some sounds get lost in the accent, and "i" on the end of "shi" is one of them. So in reality, it is pronounced closer to "shkantaza," but it's better to pronounce the "i" if you're not a native speaker of Japanese.
well said, well said... 「with naked eyes and there is no differentiation. you see your own true nature and it is the nature of the Universe」 once the eyes are open one can see clearly that nothing is hidden, that there is nowhere to go and there is nothing to achieve. it is when the eyes are closed masters and disciples start appearing.
I wish they all knew that "They already have a Buddha nature and don't need to do anything to attain it" "This mind is the Buddha mind, there is mind other then the Buddha mind" 🤗🙏❤
Whether mediation is helpful or non-helpful (and can be even damaging) totally depends how one lives his life. If someone uses meditation as a form of escapism and fear to face daily life without the "help" of meditation, then it goes totally wrong. Meditation is meant to be to strenghten already strength mind, not strenghten weak mind with meditation, because if you strenghten really weak mind with meditation it all just comes back to the starting point after you stop mediation daily.
please comment me i wanna study and become in other words a zen and i like to dedicate may hole life to Zen study. but i fear 1 things and it is to get reject cos im not japanese. and other question do they live their like all days and how long do they have to leave the monasteries ore is like wean ever you like. and really sorry for may bad english. i am 16 years o is age important in Zen?
"All living beings, whether born from eggs, from the womb, from moisture, or spontaneously; whether they have form or do not have form; whether they are aware or unaware, whether they are not aware or not unaware, all living beings will eventually be led by me to the final Nirvana, the final ending of the cycle of birth and death. And when this unfathomable, infinite number of living beings have all been liberated, in truth not even a single being has actually been liberated."
I wish I could take a year and just study and be a "monk" just live as tho do. Do as they do. Achieve that state of mind as they do. I live in the U.S.A even if I was 100% on doing something like this how would I even go about it?
@CommentsSurvey Japan isn't very religious anymore. Maybe it once was but these days most people approach religion the same way we do in norther europe. If you want to read more I'd recommend. 'the three pillars of zen', 'Zen mind beginners mind' and Eat Sleep Sit: My Year at Japan's Most Rigorous Zen Temple. All three books are very different as they are from three different temples. Eat sleep sit is a bit shocking so maybe read that last or you'll think all temples r like that. : )
