Search found 149 matches

by Justmeagain
Mon Oct 12, 2020 9:16 pm
Forum: Soto
Topic: All for what?
Replies: 21
Views: 9990

Re: All for what?

We moved house recently. The stress was untenable. The inadequacy of the whole process in this country left me with no sleep, tense during the day, unable to sit as I was obsessed with finding somewhere for my family to live. It was without doubt an experience I will NEVER willingly partake of agai...
by Justmeagain
Thu Oct 08, 2020 9:51 am
Forum: Soto
Topic: All for what?
Replies: 21
Views: 9990

Re: All for what?

Just meditation won’t get the results you want usually, you need study and reflection, as well as some way of transforming your thoughts in daily life if your goal is to change your reactions. If you over emphasize a given part, you get diminishing returns, and eventually disappointment. :namaste: ...
by Justmeagain
Thu Oct 08, 2020 9:40 am
Forum: Soto
Topic: All for what?
Replies: 21
Views: 9990

Re: All for what?

Have you considered exploring a different Buddhist path? Zen is not for everyone. The pure land traditions, Vajrayana, analyticial sutra study like the Madhyamika and Yogacara traditions? Visionary sutra reading, as with absorption in the Hua Yan Sutra? There is more to Buddhism than "just sit...
by Justmeagain
Thu Oct 08, 2020 9:34 am
Forum: Soto
Topic: All for what?
Replies: 21
Views: 9990

Re: All for what?

:namaste:
by Justmeagain
Thu Oct 08, 2020 8:56 am
Forum: Soto
Topic: All for what?
Replies: 21
Views: 9990

Re: All for what?

Have you considered exploring a different Buddhist path? Zen is not for everyone. The pure land traditions, Vajrayana, analyticial sutra study like the Madhyamika and Yogacara traditions? Visionary sutra reading, as with absorption in the Hua Yan Sutra? There is more to Buddhism than "just sit...
by Justmeagain
Thu Oct 08, 2020 7:05 am
Forum: Soto
Topic: All for what?
Replies: 21
Views: 9990

All for what?

We moved house recently. The stress was untenable. The inadequacy of the whole process in this country left me with no sleep, tense during the day, unable to sit as I was obsessed with finding somewhere for my family to live. It was without doubt an experience I will NEVER willingly partake of again...
by Justmeagain
Thu Oct 08, 2020 7:05 am
Forum: Soto
Topic: This simply doesn't make any sense.....
Replies: 36
Views: 18910

Re: This simply doesn't make any sense.....

I really am not trying to be provocative, but I am finding the lack of a coherent and rationale explanation to this without ambiguity hugely frustrating, to the extent that I am on the verge of abandoning this practice altogether. Thanks for your time all clarification welcomed! :namaste: The probl...
by Justmeagain
Fri Sep 11, 2020 1:31 pm
Forum: Nyingma
Topic: Practice advice please
Replies: 39
Views: 6962

Re: Practice advice please

GrapeLover wrote: Fri Sep 11, 2020 1:23 pm
Justmeagain wrote: Fri Sep 11, 2020 1:06 pm
GrapeLover wrote: Fri Sep 11, 2020 12:14 pm
He is an ecumenical figure

:rolling:
Do you not think so?
No. I don't.
by Justmeagain
Fri Sep 11, 2020 1:06 pm
Forum: Nyingma
Topic: Practice advice please
Replies: 39
Views: 6962

Re: Practice advice please

GrapeLover wrote: Fri Sep 11, 2020 12:14 pm
He is an ecumenical figure

:rolling:
by Justmeagain
Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:15 pm
Forum: Soto
Topic: This simply doesn't make any sense.....
Replies: 36
Views: 18910

Re: This simply doesn't make any sense.....

In case you actually follow through on this, you can skip the first 3 chapters. The material about Buddha Nature really starts witH ch.4. The first 3 chapters are about the 3 Jewels. They are worth reading, but if you’re looking for Buddha Nature teachings you could get disappointed and put the boo...
by Justmeagain
Thu Sep 10, 2020 3:14 pm
Forum: Soto
Topic: This simply doesn't make any sense.....
Replies: 36
Views: 18910

Re: This simply doesn't make any sense.....

Not Zen (although he had some Zen influence), and perhaps controversial, but Trungpa used to say that meditation is experiencing "the ape ego" as it is, which accords with the above explanation. The main point of any spiritual practice is to step out of the bureaucracy of ego. This means ...
by Justmeagain
Thu Sep 10, 2020 1:15 pm
Forum: Soto
Topic: This simply doesn't make any sense.....
Replies: 36
Views: 18910

Re: This simply doesn't make any sense.....

clyde wrote: Thu Sep 10, 2020 5:39 am He has more to say about zazen and I encourage you to read it. I think it’s worthwhile and you may too.
Thanks.....just downloaded
by Justmeagain
Wed Sep 09, 2020 8:03 pm
Forum: Soto
Topic: This simply doesn't make any sense.....
Replies: 36
Views: 18910

Re: This simply doesn't make any sense.....

Thanks for your our replies everyone. Sometimes, just sometimes it's really clear. There's nothing separate from anything else....no duality, so striving for something outside of 'just this' is futile and delusional. It feels like Enlightenment is here.....right now, but hidden, like looking for wat...
by Justmeagain
Wed Sep 09, 2020 7:57 pm
Forum: Soto
Topic: This simply doesn't make any sense.....
Replies: 36
Views: 18910

Re: This simply doesn't make any sense.....

So--what is it that's missing? Clarity and an unambiguous rationale for sitting on the cushion if there's nothing to gain and nowhere to go. Regarding this concern about rationale and destination, What is your motivation? It can be helpful, before doing any practice, to remind oneself of the purpos...
by Justmeagain
Wed Sep 09, 2020 6:49 am
Forum: Soto
Topic: This simply doesn't make any sense.....
Replies: 36
Views: 18910

Re: This simply doesn't make any sense.....

Genjo Conan wrote: Tue Sep 08, 2020 11:06 pm So--what is it that's missing?
Clarity and an unambiguous rationale for sitting on the cushion if there's nothing to gain and nowhere to go.
by Justmeagain
Wed Sep 09, 2020 6:45 am
Forum: Soto
Topic: This simply doesn't make any sense.....
Replies: 36
Views: 18910

Re: This simply doesn't make any sense.....

Enlightenment is retroactive. Once achieved you can look back and see it was there the entire time. Until then it is present, but inaccessible. It’s frustrating to hear the following: "...you are already enlightened but just ignorant to the fact. There is nowhere to go and nothing to do but eq...
by Justmeagain
Tue Sep 08, 2020 7:12 pm
Forum: Soto
Topic: This simply doesn't make any sense.....
Replies: 36
Views: 18910

Re: This simply doesn't make any sense.....

PadmaVonSamba wrote: Tue Sep 08, 2020 4:47 pm Are you asking,
“Why hasn’t enlightenment happened to ME yet?”
Do YOU expect ME to answer that?
by Justmeagain
Tue Sep 08, 2020 3:11 pm
Forum: Soto
Topic: This simply doesn't make any sense.....
Replies: 36
Views: 18910

Re: This simply doesn't make any sense.....

Plus, drinking heavily, or taking drugs and anti-depressants can also make some people feel better.....they could 'resonate' with that - doesn't mean its right or helpful?
by Justmeagain
Tue Sep 08, 2020 12:47 pm
Forum: Soto
Topic: This simply doesn't make any sense.....
Replies: 36
Views: 18910

Re: This simply doesn't make any sense.....

I would avoid tying myself in knots. If the teaching doesn't resonate with you, why do you keep hacking at it? Thanks Dan, because if he is right then I am missing something fundamental that means I need help reconciling it....Aeons before another opportunity (or so I am told?) provokes an anxiety ...
by Justmeagain
Tue Sep 08, 2020 12:29 pm
Forum: Soto
Topic: This simply doesn't make any sense.....
Replies: 36
Views: 18910

This simply doesn't make any sense.....

The fact remains that no matter what Dogen says or anyone else propagating original enlightenment, I experience the banality, normal anxieties and concerns that someone who had never even come across the word Buddha does, even when on the Zafu. So whats the difference between me (unenlightened) and ...

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