How does one deal with it ? replied by An Eternal Now @ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:15:19 +0800

An Eternal Now — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:15:19 +0800

Originally posted by Thusness:

No AEN, the purpose is just to have a first glimpse of our luminous nature. The maturing of this lucid and vivid non-dual experience will lead us to the Advaita Vedenta sort of realisation -- the 'Self'.

This glimpse is completely different from the experience of anatta that

There is thinking, no thinker
There is sound, no hearer
Suffering exists, no sufferer
Deeds there are, no doer

I have repeatedly told you that Anatta is not just a non-dual experience, it must be regarded as a dharma seal. That all along the dichotomy of a observer and observed duality is an illusion created by due to our deeply rooted inherent and dualistic tendency of seeing things.

It is better understood as a complete sense of 'Oneness' than as 'Everything'.

When we practice not imputing the 'sense of self' on our experiences, we are effectively going through a process of dissolving the 'mental formation' of the five aggregates into direct experiences of the 18 dhatus (the All). You may want to understand why this leads to liberation and how dispassion or total willingness to let go is generated along the practice; and what has that got to do with our nature.

I see...

This is like what you said right,

"To drop the bondage/deep conditionings, the mind MUST realise that another way of 'knowing' is possible; an effortless, total sensing and experience of wholeness. Next the experiences of the joy, bliss and clarity of wholeness. Without the insight into the possiblity and the experience of the positive factors, the mind will not release itself from holding."

"Even open pure and innocent inquiry is a deep conditioning. Makes the mind chatters incessantly. Every what, when, where and why by itself is a distancing from start. Freeing itself from such mode of inquiry aka 'knowing', the mind rests. The joy of this resting must be experienced for the 'willingness' to arise."

It is like entering a mode free from all knowing, just effortless and spontaneous presence.

How does one deal with it ? replied by Thusness @ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 08:49:08 +0800

Thusness — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 08:49:08 +0800

Originally posted by An Eternal Now:

Or as Thusness asked, “Without using any languages, ‘I’, ‘me’ or any signs or symbols, how is ‘I’ experienced?”

No AEN, the purpose is just to have a first glimpse of our luminous nature. The maturing of this lucid and vivid non-dual experience will lead us to the Advaita Vedenta sort of realisation -- the 'Self'.

This glimpse is completely different from the experience of anatta that

There is thinking, no thinker
There is sound, no hearer
Suffering exists, no sufferer
Deeds there are, no doer

I have repeatedly told you that Anatta is not just a non-dual experience, it must be regarded as a dharma seal. That all along the dichotomy of a observer and observed duality is an illusion created by due to our deeply rooted inherent and dualistic tendency of seeing things.

Originally posted by An Eternal Now:

We can 'be' everything because we already are everything, just that we contract into the false sense of an observer due to delusions.

It is better understood as a complete sense of 'Oneness' than as 'Everything'.

When we practice not imputing the 'sense of self' on our experiences, we are effectively going through a process of dissolving the 'mental formation' of the five aggregates into direct experiences of the 18 dhatus (the All). You may want to understand why this leads to liberation and how dispassion or total willingness to let go is generated along the practice; and what has that got to do with our nature.

How does one deal with it ? replied by youyayu @ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:43:06 +0800

youyayu — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:43:06 +0800

when i was young my dad bring me to those monk chating places.. then monk hit my head cos i don't want to sit still..

Now i got phobia of Monks

How does one deal with it ? replied by An Eternal Now @ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:31:35 +0800

An Eternal Now — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:31:35 +0800

Originally posted by _wanderer_:

This is something that my Dharma teachers have mentioned before. The advice given has generally been this: While this is an encouraging sign for us as practitioners, try not to fall victim to a sense of victory as this happens. Because it is easy to get rid of anger and negative thoughts - these are things that we do not like. However, it is harder to get rid of the sense of 'achievement'. That kind of attachment is much more stickier than anger. Our goal is not just to get rid of anger. Our goal is enlightenment, which is beyond all contrived emotions. Continue meditating/watching your mind as your anger disappears. Jia you!! :)

Yes.. and the insight of yesterday is of no value at all. Any insight or understanding can only be of value now, where fresh insights can appear. To try to cling to any achievement or understanding is merely conceptual and leads to no where. Even the Buddha himself had said he had no attainment, ultimately.

Understanding, insight, is alive in the immediacy, as you said, watching your mind... this is an ongoing process that never ends. The idea of having reached a goal or a victory is simply more erroneous concepts. Reality is ever changing, ever becoming. True insight and understanding is an ongoing process of knowing, not a dead "I understand" or "I know".

As Thusness posted before,

...As what Joan Tollifson once asked Toni “if she'd ever had one of those big awakenings where life turns inside out and all identification with the body-mind ceases.

Toni replied, "I can't say I had it," she replied. "It's this moment, right now." ...

How does one deal with it ? replied by An Eternal Now @ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:26:00 +0800

An Eternal Now — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:26:00 +0800

Originally posted by Isis:

Well, a few moments ago, i feel the anger feeling arise in me. Stories begin to run through my mind about this particular thing. Then i realise that the thought that i'm having are just stories. Whatever, i perceive or interpret are really just stories.. what are truth or not in this stories, i don't really know .. However, i have clearly experienced a rush of feeling and thought such as " what the fuck.. i don't even want blah blah blah " that i couldn't almost stay mindful with. I could have acted out with anger and stayed there for a period of time.

Amazingly, when i stand back just now and observe the entire thing, almost instantly, i just figure out that it is really a small thing or nothing to get angry with. I could have thought how silly i could be afew years down the road... getting angry and wasting my energy over it -_-

Yes.. this is a moment of insight, a moment of stepping out of the habitual reaction of thought that is both habitual and hypnotic, and seeing the stories for what it is... more thoughts, clouds arising and passing by in this vast sky but nothing sticks... and that seeing is also known as awareness.

Awareness is ever-present, reflecting, shining on everything without judgement or attempting to push away any experience. Everything just reveals itself in the light of awareness effortlessly, the feeling of anger, the energy that surges throughout the bodymind, is being seen and experienced as it is. But it is not occuring to a 'me', there is no reference point to which there is an experience.

Everything is simply happening on its own, revealed in clarity. Aliveness is shimmering in the bodymind but not confined to this body -- it is in the sound of air con humming, it is shimmering everywhere in this room, the table, the chair, everything. Non-dual Presence becomes obvious when we dissolve into total openness unreservedly.

And everything is experienced fresh and doesn't stay for even a moment -- arising and passing moment to moment, and all our emotions and thoughts eventually dissolve in its own accord into silence when there is just a simple attending/awaring of what's going on, no more further habitual reactions through conditioned thought. But the point is not to push away any experience, even of suffering, but to see it for what it is, allowing it, surrending to what is.

How does one deal with it ? replied by _wanderer_ @ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:07:10 +0800

_wanderer_ — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:07:10 +0800

Originally posted by Isis:

Well, a few moments ago, i feel the anger feeling arise in me. Stories begin to run through my mind about this particular thing. Then i realise that the thought that i'm having are just stories. Whatever, i perceive or interpret are really just stories.. what are truth or not in this stories, i don't really know .. However, i have clearly experienced a rush of feeling and thought such as " what the fuck.. i don't even want blah blah blah " that i couldn't almost stay mindful with. I could have acted out with anger and stayed there for a period of time.

Amazingly, when i stand back just now and observe the entire thing, almost instantly, i just figure out that it is really a small thing or nothing to get angry with. I could have thought how silly i could be afew years down the road... getting angry and wasting my energy over it -_-

This is something that my Dharma teachers have mentioned before. The advice given has generally been this: While this is an encouraging sign for us as practitioners, try not to fall victim to a sense of victory as this happens. Because it is easy to get rid of anger and negative thoughts - these are things that we do not like. However, it is harder to get rid of the sense of 'achievement'. That kind of attachment is much more stickier than anger. Our goal is not just to get rid of anger. Our goal is enlightenment, which is beyond all contrived emotions. Continue meditating/watching your mind as your anger disappears. Jia you!! :)

How does one deal with it ? replied by Isis @ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:18:03 +0800

Isis — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:18:03 +0800

Originally posted by An Eternal Now:

http://www.springwatercenter.org/teachers/packer/articles/anger/

Anger

The following article was adapted from a talk by Toni Packer on Day 5 of the September 1998 retreat.

Let's talk about anger. Everyone experiences it at one time or another. Can something be done about anger?

A retreatant reported experiencing lots of energy during sittings, mostly generated by feeling angry about the sitting itself. Thoughts were running about wasting her time here while there was so much work to do at home. "What should I do with all this energy? At times I feel like screaming! Is it all right to scream?"

We have all agreed to maintain outward silence during retreats. Screams are disturbing. If one really feels like screaming that's OK, but maybe one can find a ravine in the woods where it would not impact others. But it's a good question, what to do with powerful energy like anger. My immediate response to the questioner was, "Let it be awareness! Awareness is energy!"

Years ago a man came to see me before applying for retreat, asking if it would be all right to express anger during a meeting. I said it was all right. So one day he entered the meeting room with a tense, flushed face, asking if he could vent his anger at me right then and there. I nodded, and quietly asked: "Have you ever looked at it directly?" No answer came just a charged silence. We sat wordlessly for what seemed to be an eternity, and then he burst out laughing: "It doesn't have to be expressed!" When a powerfully driving emotion gives way to simple awareness, it is like a miracle. What emerged from awareness wasn't screams, but laughter and insight.

Psychological theories about what to do with anger abound and change with time. I do not know if anger should be expressed or shouldn't be. The fact is that we do get angry, and it expresses itself instantly, verbally as well as non-verbally, throughout the body. So what is this anger? Can we go beyond the question, "What should I do with it?" and beyond answers like, "I should feel it in my body, or I should express it verbally, physically, or I ought to control it."

There is plenty to feel when we're angry. It mobilizes the entire organism, mentally and physically no single cell remains unaffected. Storylines run wildly, keeping the agitation going. Can we feel all these amazing physical and mental manifestations without resistance? If resistance is there, then feel it, look at it. Don't try to shut it down by telling yourself that it is dangerous to experience anger, or try to convince yourself that we are wholly justified in what we are feeling. We really don't know. Every thought, every judgment about it intensifies confusion and agitation! Can simple awareness shed light, create space?

Trace anger as it is happening! Why am I getting angry? What is at the base of it? Can it be irradiated with attention? By looking at it, questioning it, observing it in the light of the question, what reveals itself is that we function in rigid patterns that do not want to be interrupted. Memory structures in the brain and throughout the body about how we are, how things ought to be, what is right and what is wrong keep us functioning fairly smoothly, but when they are interfered with, anger results.

These memory structures are wired into us from day one. Even an infant, who does not yet understand the spoken word, understands judgments conveyed by mother's and father's voice, eyes, and touch. What brings smiles, warmth, and protection is good, is right, is worth repeating over and over again. What brings rejection, hardness, sadness, or pain is bad, wrong, must be avoided. So, from early on, memory structures solidify organismically about what is right and what is wrong to do, to be, to feel, to think, to say. Schools, churches, and daily living together reinforce these structures. What we want and what has given us pleasure becomes the dominating pattern that needs to be maintained, incessantly fulfilled, and defended against disturbance.

When what we want is interfered with or thwarted, or when somebody transgresses what is deeply felt to be right, the energy that keeps the system intact explodes. "What they did was wrong!!! How dare they!" I could see something like this happening in our grandchildren. Our little grandson was quite obedient, having learned through punishment and reward what his parents felt to be right and wrong, what to do and what not to do, and, above all, what not to touch. Several years later when his little sister came toddling along, playing with the buttons on the stereo that he had painfully learned to leave alone, he would get furious with her, slapping her little hands. He could not tolerate seeing her do what for him had become a rigid pattern of "No!" Anger was the result of the disturbance. And so it is with all of us. Observing someone do what the brain has encoded as wrong triggers an eruption of energy that wants to keep the pattern intact. It feels as though we had been personally injured.

I have been wondering about this for a long time: why do we get angry when someone else acts in a "stupid" way? What reveals itself upon examination is that we easily feel irritated toward somebody who "doesn't get it," like a parent or schoolteacher getting exasperated at a child. This sort of anger isn't questioned very much it seems justifiable. We feel righteous anger toward those whose ways are in collision with our own. Can we question this deeply?

I remember feeling uncomfortable at the Zen Center when we recited the precept not to become angry. How could we make this vow, knowing full well that we would become angry again? And then get angry about having transgressed a vow! I also wondered about the teacher's saying that there were appropriate, righteous angers not included in the vow. What is anger? This was my query, tracing it to its very foundation. Why do we get angry? Not making explanations or excuses or accusations, but watching directly what is actually taking place. Why do we keep on being angry, what maintains the agitated mood after the explosion has happened? Does it necessarily have to continue for any length of time?

We may assume that we continue being angry because of a deep reservoir of rage established within us over time that can only be depleted over time. But I have actually observed that physical agitation dissipates amazingly fast if the personalized picture story about what has happened to us is clearly seen as story, and is understood as the culprit that keeps the anger burning. With ever-fresh insight the brain can actually cease composing agitating scenarios, abstaining wisely from picturing ourselves as sacrificial victims of other peoples' stupidity or meanness. Without clear insight, incendiary storylines keep running, fueling the anger time and time again.

With insight we may realize that there exists a tenacious attachment to our stories and to the resulting anger. We actually feel good in this powerful release, even though remorse may set in when the storyline changes: "After this they won't like me anymore!" But, it is an ever-amazing discovery that emotions can dissipate when the story is seen and ends in the seeing. Some physical sensations may linger for a while, but need not become a problem. Watch the stories and let them go! The body has an amazing ability to establish harmony when left alone.

You may be thinking right now, "Aren't there situations in which we ought to stand up for what is right, feel outrage against exploitation or abuse?" I do not know what we ought to feel, ought to do. Establishing oughts and trying to live by them doesn't lead to insight into what is. What does happen when we are exploited, abused, humiliated, made fun of, or when we see it happening to others?

We have never learned a wise way to deal deeply with this stuff because we are so used to either putting up with it, suffering from it, fighting it, or exploding over it. Either we continue darkly in our conditioned patterns, or there is an awakening of interest in what is going on for all of us, the abuser as well as the abused. This has nothing to do with sanctioning hurtful behavior, excusing it, or allowing it to continue.

Can we simply behold each other as we are from moment to moment? See ourselves, see everyone, as results of millennia old conditioned patterns which have rigidly governed our behavior even though we do not consciously want it to be so? Not just an intellectual understanding of this, but direct insight into the power of our overwhelmingly strong conditioning. Then, maybe, we can begin to question things together and communicate with each other in a new, intelligent, and compassionate way. Anger, with its chemical toxins, is not conducive to clearly examining and investigating. On the contrary, it spells confusion in the mind.

What is needed is unpolluted looking into what is happening for all of us. Out of clear insight comes the energy to act in a clear way. Such action is difficult for us because we are so heavily conditioned in our patterns of reacting that we are not even cognizant of them most of the time. But that is not an immutable state of affairs. There can be ever-increasing awareness of how we react and how others react to us because of our reactions to them. We are all entangled together in chain reactions! Bring them to light! Realize that when you talk to someone with an angry demeanor they are likely to respond in kind, triggering further irritation in you and, then again, you in them, and on and on.

Most of us are scared of people who are angry, shouting, attacking, blaming. Out of fear, we respond angrily ourselves. This immediately touches memories of our childhood, years of helplessness and utter dependence on adults who often exploded in incomprehensible ways. Fear of angry people makes us not want to be near them it is too upsetting, too intimidating. So, turning it around again, can we question, while we are angry, whether we are actually upsetting and intimidating other people? Maybe we don't really want to upset other people. A moment of clarity and insight brings astonishing sensitivity and care.

As a child I was very scared of my mother's anger, particularly when it was vented against my brother or the cook or nanny. I was deeply attached to all of them. My brother was often sullen, moody, obstinate, and did poorly in his schoolwork. I felt excruciating pain every time he was scolded, punished, or humiliated. Later, in my teens, I told my mother that I had been afraid of her anger all my life. She was visibly shocked. She didn't realize at all that I could have felt that way. It obviously did not fit the image she had of herself.

Memories now arise of times when I was not afraid of mother. We would sometimes go together into town to do shopping. We often walked quite a distance, and she would hold my hand, and it was such a wonderfully happy feeling. Sometimes I would arrange my small hand in hers in a special way, and she would go along with it. One time we were walking through a department store, passing through many narrow isles with merchandise tables left and right, and I felt my mother's deep sadness, looking for something she couldn't find.

Just to complete that story, we visited my parents in Switzerland after I was married. One day I saw my mother in the dining room alone, looking toward me, and suddenly there was just this beautiful woman standing there without any images. So much love in this moment without images. No feeling that I had to be anything she may have thought of me. It was completely natural. From that moment on, our relationship changed.

So, can we have infinite patience with our own anger and the anger of others? Can our habitual reactions for or against someone be replaced with a wondering awareness that does not know? Can we try to understand each other on the deepest level, without images? We are the only laboratories for unfolding this understanding anger wells up in all of us. Why? Not that it shouldn't, but just WHY? Let it reveal itself fully in awareness beyond limitation.

Well, a few moments ago, i feel the anger feeling arise in me. Stories begin to run through my mind about this particular thing. Then i realise that the thought that i'm having are just stories. Whatever, i perceive or interpret are really just stories.. what are truth or not in this stories, i don't really know .. However, i have clearly experienced a rush of feeling and thought such as " what the fuck.. i don't even want blah blah blah " that i couldn't almost stay mindful with. I could have acted out with anger and stayed there for a period of time.

Amazingly, when i stand back just now and observe the entire thing, almost instantly, i just figure out that it is really a small thing or nothing to get angry with. I could have thought how silly i could be afew years down the road... getting angry and wasting my energy over it -_-

How does one deal with it ? replied by An Eternal Now @ Sat, 20 Sep 2008 11:33:18 +0800

An Eternal Now — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 11:33:18 +0800

Dai Bai Zan - Cho Bo Zen Ji

Great Plum Mountain - Listening to the Dharma Zen Temple
Genki Roshi's Retirement Teisho

At our 1997 Rohatsu Sesshin (winter retreat), Genki Takabayashi Roshi retired as the active abbot of our Zen community. What follows is his retirement Teisho (Dharma Lecture), that was transcribed for our 1998 winter issue of "Plum Mountain News," Vol. 4.3.

CASE 53 OF THE BLUE CLIFF RECORDS

HYAKUJO AND A WILD DUCK

ENGO'S INTRODUCTION The universe is not veiled; all its activities lie open. Whichever way he [Baso] may go, he meets no obstruction. At all times he behaves independently. His every word is devoid of egocentricity, yet still he has the power to kill others. Tell me, where did the ancient worthy come to rest? See the following...

MAIN SUBJECT When Baso (d. 788) was out walking with Hyakujo (d. 814), he saw a wild duck fly past. Baso said, "What is it?" Hyakujo said, "It is a wild duck." Baso said, "Where is it?" Hyakujo said, "It has flown away." Baso at last gave Hyakujo's nose a sharp pinch. Hyakujo cried out with pain. Baso said, "There, how can it fly away?"

SETCHO'S VERSE:
The wild duck! What, how, and where?
Baso has seen, talked, taught,
and exhausted
The meaning of mountain clouds
and moonlit seas.
But Jo doesn't understand --
"has flown away."
Flown away? No, he is brought back!
Say! Say!

This story is about Hyakujo who became a famous Zen master in his own right, but in this case he is learning from his master Baso. We find them in a natural setting where a wild duck passes by, and Baso uses this environment to illuminate Hyakujo to the true nature of things.

Everything, everywhere is constantly revealing the underlining nature of the universe. When the historical Buddha had his first great awakening upon seeing the morning star Venus on December 8th some 2,500 years ago, he realized that everything, everywhere was always naturally manifesting Buddha Nature Activity.

When our eyes are truly open, we realize how astounding it is for a tree to be a tree, a mountain to be a mountain, an animal to be an animal. A river is water flowing. A duck passing is truly just wild duck now passing.

Zen realization includes the capacity to know ourselves as mountain, river, tree or wild duck. In other words, while sitting here in the form of a human being, we have the capacity to know mountain, river, tree, or duck from the inside. This is possible because on a fundamental level nothing is really separate from anything else.

In this story Baso and his student Hyakujo are most likely walking around the gardens enclosed or adjacent to the temple grounds. While walking, imagine that their steps startle a wild duck in the brush, which bursts forth and flies off. Baso then says, "What was that?" Hyakujo responds, "A wild duck, master." Baso queries, "Where did that duck just go?" Hyakujo looks a little puzzled and points out, "It flew off this way master." Baso is not pleased with this response. Hyakujo by his second descriptive answer reveals that he was trapped within his own rational discriminating consciousness, failing to penetrate through the veil of subject and object thinking. Therefore, Baso seizes this opportunity to push his student's perception to a new level by harshly tweaking Hyakujo's nose, making him squawk with pain.

Baso's teaching was very kind. After making Hyakujo squeal, Baso said, "See that duck has gone nowhere, it is still here before me." Hyakujo surely understood what his teacher was getting at. Even so, Baso probably concluded the encounter with a great "Katsu!" or Zen shout, to illustrate that all things in this singular moment of eternity are subtly yet profoundly united, and that from this fundamental level there can be no coming or going.

When I was a young boy under the tutelage of Gempo Roshi, he would sometimes, when displeased with me for some reason, grab me by the ear and pull me to where he wanted me to go. And, of course, I would be yelping or quacking quite a bit along the way. Sometimes, I would not even know what Roshi was angry about. When Baso tweaked Hyakujo's nose, we must understand it to be like the sharp slap of the keisaku (teaching stick), which is not meant as punishment, but used as a device to wake up the receiver to a broader, non-attached awareness of Reality.

Baso's point is that you and the wild duck are both manifestations of Buddha Nature. Buddha Nature is fundamentally indivisible. There is only one kind of Buddha Nature activity though it reveals itself in myriad ways. When our consciousness is able to open up to the underlining heart/mind we immediately realize that nothing can be lost or found, nothing can really come or go.

Rinzai, the ninth century Zen Master and founder of our lineage of Zen practice, when asked by his students, "What is the essential point of Zen?", would often respond by saying, "You here now listening to this discourse are none other than Buddha." Zen Master Gutei when asked, "What is the essence of Zen?" would not speak at all, but would simply hold up one finger.

Gutei never exhausted his one finger Zen; however, here in America, one finger Zen is insufficient to become a citizen. The Immigration and Naturalization Service wants finger prints of all my fingers. In fact I have had to give them my finger prints four times now. The last time I was sent to a Chinese video store to get my "official" finger prints, because they had misplaced the first three copies. It is my understanding that today the I.N.S. is beginning a whole new system to collect finger prints; they seem to understand that they are having some problems. I am skeptical that even now all my fingers will do.

Baso would have been happy to see Hyakujo reveal some understanding that was not so attached to his ego bounded perception. How could Hyakujo have done this to Baso's satisfaction? How can we reveal that we realize and know in our heart that nothing is separate, yet each thing profoundly unique, each moment singular?

If our Zen practice is limited to the Dokusan (Interview) room, the Zendo (Meditation Hall), or even sesshin (Zen retreat), we are really missing the point. As students of Zen, it is our duty to make every action an opportunity to be fully present, fully aware, fully involved. For Zen practice to be meaningful, everyday actions in our daily life must become a demonstration of our understanding that everything, everywhere reveals the universal.

Do not be fooled; being fully present, fully aware and fully involved in each activity is simple to talk about, but not so easy to do. It takes years of training to move naturally, spontaneously, and compassionately through the real encounters and circumstances of our lives. Zen training, Aikido training and other developmental arts are in some ways just a good start on this process. As complex creatures, it is hard for us to learn how to let go and be natural in a world of such rich and varied possibilities.

Recently, I have heard of a machine that makes sushi (Japanese rice and fish cake). There is very little Japanese culture in Montana. Perhaps Joshin (Leslie) and I could buy a sushi machine and make a good business for ourselves, because no one in Montana knows how sushi is really supposed to taste. Sushi made by hand, with the skill and heart connection of a master will be delicious. It can not possibly compare in taste to sushi that is made as a copy of a chef's work. Even if made well by a robot, how dull it would soon become, without the master's heart/mind.

Someday, there will likely be a computer that will be able to spit out "answers" to koans (Zen parables). What a joke that will be. I would be happy to give you the answers, but they won't do you any good unless your heart/mind sees through them clearly. Without a heart/mind response, a koan "answer" has no meaning and caries no understanding of the true nature of things. At best, a computer one day may be able to make an "intellectual" or "rational" response, and this might count for 10% of the koan's true meaning.

A few years ago when I practiced with Joshu Sasaki Roshi in New Mexico, he related to me that several of his Zen students were giving strange inadequate responses to his koans. I said, "Oh yes, recently I had seen an English publication of koan answers." He said, "Ah, now I understand. I'll just have to make up some new koans." No one can teach you Zen, how much less can you then learn from a book, but with enough effort and guidance you can realize it for yourself.

To penetrate a koan, or gain Zen understanding, just sit, sit, sit. Here on the cushion, face all the trials of pain, fatigue and mental disquiet, and learn how not to be distracted or disturbed. Then, and only then, will your own gut-cleansed understanding bubble up to your awareness. Learn how to be undisturbed and you will gain direct access to your own powerful, creative, compassionate, core energy.

Life is our teacher, our only teacher. When we learn how to fully face life just as it is, without clinging to our likes or running from our dislikes, then we will realize our human potential to meet life and death, times of confusion or clarity, without flinching.

© Winter1998,"Plum Mtn. News"

This page was created by Rev. Genjo Marinello, genjo@choboji.org

Return to Chobo-ji History Page

How does one deal with it ? replied by An Eternal Now @ Sat, 20 Sep 2008 11:27:49 +0800

An Eternal Now — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 11:27:49 +0800

Originally posted by Isis:

eh what do you mean by we can be everything ?

We can 'be' everything because we already are everything, just that we contract into the false sense of an observer due to delusions.

You can contemplate on:

There is thinking, no thinker
There is sound, no hearer
Suffering exists, no sufferer
Deeds there are, no doer

By contemplating as such, Thusness got a breakthrough insight into Anatta.

But this is not just an intellectual exercise. You have to truly feel and observe that this is so, that there is no observer apart from observed.

Another exercise you can try is this:

(Thusness, from Hi everyone)

A friend came to pass me some cheques to sign and saw me reading this forum...

IT triggered a short conversation and I asked:

"Without the using the thought of I, how do you experience I?"

He closed his eyes for a while...

Open his eyes and said "Everything!"

and his eyes like

Try it!

Or as Thusness asked, “Without using any languages, ‘I’, ‘me’ or any signs or symbols, how is ‘I’ experienced?”

How does one deal with it ? replied by Isis @ Sat, 20 Sep 2008 08:57:25 +0800

Isis — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 08:57:25 +0800

Originally posted by An Eternal Now:

You said 'Don't know mind', and Zen Master Seung Sahn would say, just keep this don't know mind! This don't know mind is at the same time, clear mind. It is not a 'confused' mind. It does not mean you are not aware, in fact 'dont know mind' is clear, and aware. And when we can dissolve that mind completely, that 'me', we can 'be' everything -- table, screen, trees, are just one 'substance'.

Whenever we think we are something, question it and the thought dissolves back into Reality itself. And the thought itself is a manifestation of that Reality.

eh what do you mean by we can be everything ?

How does one deal with it ? replied by cycle @ Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:27:17 +0800

cycle — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:27:17 +0800

Originally posted by knightlll:

I am not afraid of dogs. Animals sometimes do turn wild for no reason. : p

Yah, I do agree. Sometimes human beings also turned wild over no reasons. I always wonder why some perfectly mental healthy ppl, in human forms but would want to purposely behave as if they came fr the animal realms.

How does one deal with it ? replied by An Eternal Now @ Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:55:27 +0800

An Eternal Now — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:55:27 +0800

I said who you are cannot be an object of knowledge, but even so there is an undeniable sense of presence-awareness. It's not something 'out there' separate from you (but it is all-pervasive), you can't objectify it and make it an object of knowledge or observation.... but it is a self-evident, self-shining, self-felt Presence. You cannot observe it from the perspective of a separate observer or self. The Presence just Is.

Is that who you are? In a sense yes but to even form the concept 'I am' is to miss its action. 'I am' sounds like there is a constant being. But that Presence is as much being as it is be-coming, because it is not apart from the transient flow of phenomenality. And it is non-separate, there is no boundary which you can separate the 'you' from the 'not-you' -- it is also the trees, the table, the sounds, the thoughts also. But there is a constant presence-ING. Like the wind blowing, the river flowing, ungraspable, empty, and yet undeniably present.

Trying to grasp 'me' is like trying to grasp the wind, can it be grasped? No, but nevertheless its Presencing flows.

How does one deal with it ? replied by An Eternal Now @ Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:39:02 +0800

An Eternal Now — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:39:02 +0800

Originally posted by Isis:

i'm having this "similar of feeling of who i am" for some time but i know i'm more than just that. Subconciously, i might have choose to believe in it. Sometime, i like to grasp and believe that this conceptual me which i have thought of at there particular time is really me. That conceptual me could be a postive one and one hold onto the idea the idea that.. hey you are so "great", "wonderful" for example but all in all it boils down to a matter of perception. The qualties do not have inherent existence.

ha ha so koan?

I'll try...

In the first place, who are you?

Don't know who am i.

2nd question..

Still the same. Don't know who am i

Yes, in reality you cannot know who you are! Because who you are is not an object that can be grasped (because whatever object grasped or anything that can be observed is by definition not you!), and all belief in a self are simply more thoughts arising about an apparent separate and inherent self... how can it be who you are? How can you be a separate self you believed to be?

You said 'Don't know mind', and Zen Master Seung Sahn would say, just keep this don't know mind! This don't know mind is at the same time, clear mind. It is not a 'confused' mind. It does not mean you are not aware, in fact 'dont know mind' is clear, and aware. And when we can dissolve that mind completely, that 'me', we can 'be' everything -- table, screen, trees, are just one 'substance'.

Whenever we think we are something, question it and the thought dissolves back into Reality itself. And the thought itself is a manifestation of that Reality.

How does one deal with it ? replied by Isis @ Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:13:54 +0800

Isis — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:13:54 +0800

Originally posted by An Eternal Now:

How do you love yourself? Question that... Are you an image of who you think you are? Or is that just an arising thought.

In the first place, who are you?

Before the arising of a thought, who are you?

i'm having this "similar of feeling of who i am" for some time but i know i'm more than just that. Subconciously, i might have choose to believe in it. Sometime, i like to grasp and believe that this conceptual me which i have thought of at there particular time is really me. That conceptual me could be a postive one and one hold onto the idea the idea that.. hey you are so "great", "wonderful" for example but all in all it boils down to a matter of perception. The qualties do not have inherent existence.

ha ha so koan?

I'll try...

In the first place, who are you?

Don't know who am i.

2nd question..

Still the same. Don't know who am i

How does one deal with it ? replied by An Eternal Now @ Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:09:44 +0800

An Eternal Now — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:09:44 +0800

Originally posted by Isis:

The "me" is still strongly. Sometime i will just check myself. Sometime i find myself loving myself too much in the "unhealthy way".

Btw thanks for sharing. Hope it makes a good imprint in my mind.

How do you love yourself? Question that... Are you an image of who you think you are? Or is that just an arising thought.

In the first place, who are you?

Before the arising of a thought, who are you?

Or as Thusness asked, “Without using any languages, ‘I’, ‘me’ or any signs or symbols, how is ‘I’ experienced?”

How does one deal with it ? replied by Isis @ Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:00:10 +0800

Isis — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:00:10 +0800

Originally posted by An Eternal Now:

It's not easy. Because our karmic propensities of seeing dualistically and inherently are so deeply rooted, our tendency is to grasp on appearances is always there.

So we need to be mindful at all times, and I remember mentioning about a lucid nightmare where 'I' overcome the fear in the nightmare itself (dreamt of some ghost or monster coming towards me and a surge of fear suddenly became very very strong -- more than what I probably ever felt) by suddenly becoming aware that the fear is actually a false projection, and I stopped believing in its reality. And because I was becoming so mindful and aware in the dream, even though there is still this tense feeling I was aware that the dream monster was actually my own projection, and I stopped believing in it.

And I just maintain that awareness in the dream itself and feeeel whatever feelings and emotions are arising, but I do not project a story, and so I stopped projecting the dream -- so everything disappeared into a white light and I woke up.

As I pasted in the other post on fear, "Face only the perception." If we can face only that perception without projecting more stories, believing in the reality of the me-story (someone is going to get me, I'm going to get hurt, etc), then that fear can dissolve in its own accord.

The "me" is still strongly. Sometime i will just check myself. Sometime i find myself loving myself too much in the "unhealthy way".

Btw thanks for sharing. Hope it makes a good imprint in my mind.

How does one deal with it ? replied by An Eternal Now @ Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:55:40 +0800

An Eternal Now — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:55:40 +0800

Originally posted by Isis:

Hmm thanks for insightful posting. I can see you put effort in reading up and listening attentively to dharma talks. And hell, it reminds me of my poor own learning attitude.

There is a conceptual me but in reality, the me is just a mere thought that comes and goes. However, when there is pain or fear, human usually react to the fear with fear in their eyes or tears. Sometime, one can't help it. I'm just wondering... i know the reality does not exist inherently but "i" can't help grasp at fearful feeling for instances.

It's not easy. Because our karmic propensities of seeing dualistically and inherently are so deeply rooted, our tendency is to grasp on appearances is always there.

So we need to be mindful at all times, and I remember mentioning about a lucid nightmare where 'I' overcome the fear in the nightmare itself (dreamt of some ghost or monster coming towards me and a surge of fear suddenly became very very strong -- more than what I probably ever felt) by suddenly becoming aware that the fear is actually a false projection, and I stopped believing in its reality. And because I was becoming so mindful and aware in the dream, even though there is still this tense feeling I was aware that the dream monster was actually my own projection, and I stopped believing in it. I was also aware if I lose my mindfulness and started believing in the seeming reality of the dream, I will return to the nightmare again.

And I just maintain that bright presence-awareness in the dream itself and also feel whatever feelings and emotions are arising, but I do not project a story, and so I stopped projecting the dream -- so everything disappeared into a white light and I woke up.

As I pasted in the other post on fear, "Face only the perception." If we can face only that perception without projecting more stories, believing in the reality of the me-story (someone is going to get me, I'm going to get hurt, etc), then that fear can dissolve in its own accord. But there is no attempt to try to push away that feeling, it dissolves on its own accord in its own time.

Reacting to fear with fear simply perpetuates the belief in the me-story further, and worse, -- now there's 'fear' to fear, or unpleasant feelings that I want to push away -- instead of Facing What Is -- Reality in bare, without mental commentary.

How does one deal with it ? replied by Isis @ Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:43:25 +0800

Isis — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:43:25 +0800

Originally posted by An Eternal Now:

As I see it, any form of self identification is the cause of suffering. As someone once said, "All views are based on the belief of something as inherently existing, and necessarily lead to suffering because not in accord with reality." Similarly as long as you associate yourself with someone believing that the 'self' is inherently existing, it necessarily leads to suffering because it is not in accord with reality.

It is not thinking that is a problem, it is identifying and believing in a story of 'me' and 'things' as having some reality/inherency that is a problem. But upon investigation you realise that the 'self' cannot be found, it is a mirage -- they are merely thoughts, and that thought is made of, and is the miraculous activities (妙用) of Buddha-Nature. Like a mirage, it's just made of the same awareness-intelligence-energy (buddha-nature) vibrating into the various forms as thoughts, words appearing on screen, sound of music, everything. But being a mirage it has no inherent existence.

So, a thought itself is Buddha-Nature. All thoughts and experiences, which are appearances, are the play of Buddha-Nature, but we mistake the mirages/appearances as having some sort of inherent reality. And because we imagine that there is some sort of inherent reality out there, we grasp on them, not realising that all appearances are simply thoughts/experiences arising and vanishing spontaneously according to conditions -- utterly empty of inherent, graspable existence.

As 元音老人 says,

1．一念不生处，了了分明的灵知即当人的佛性。学人果能于此不惊不怖、深信不疑，立定脚跟，安住保护，净尽妄习，圆证佛果，诚非一佛二佛三四五佛所种善根，而是无量佛所种诸善根。

2．观照就是回光返照，向心内看，不是向外看，观这一念不生处（念头未起处）。念头起来就看见，不理睬它，不随之流浪。这一步最要紧。如念头起来看不见，就不行了。证见本性后，要于行、住、坐、卧处观照保护，“外不为境牵，内不随念转”即为最好的保护法。念起不住，不随之流浪不停，即为无念。不是压念不起，亦不是将一念不生的时间拉长为无念。

.

.
4．证见本性后，所有妄心、妄想、妄念皆化为真心的妙用。妙用与妄作的分别即在“有住”与“不住”之间，住即妙用化为妄作，不住即妄作摄为妙用。

It is like falling asleep and entering the dream state, even though you are sleeping and the dream isn't real but there is ongoing identification and belief in a 'you', 'experiencer' and what is happening in the dream is almost hypnotic -- it blinds us and makes us believe in the story as having some inherent reality -- and there being a 'me' who is seeing 'a monster in front of me' -- and as a result you undergo all sorts of samsaric emotions even in dreams -- fear, happiness, anger, sadness, and so on.

It operates on a dualistic basis, that you are a separate self who is experiencing unpleasant states or pleasant states. But in reality, there is simply experience, but no separate experiencer. And the experience is empty, simply being thoughts and sensations arising and vanishing according to conditions.

So liberation is in seeing through the sense that there is a continuous, separate, or special controller, doer, observer, or centerpoint that is "who they are" in a very direct perceptual way that is not merely an intellectual or conceptual understanding. And the sensations that seemed to imply these to be just more sensations arising and vanishing according to conditions as they always have been. And because this is realised, everything is simply spontaneously arising according to conditions -- and self-liberate immediately! Thoughts have no sticking power, it's only when you believe that there is some essence or inherent reality that you grasp on the thought.

So in this way, in seeing through the reality of a separate self and the inherency/solidity of our experience, the stories of a self are no longer seen to have any reality and so can no longer cause us sufferings. Dispassion arises and there is naturally no more grasping, only spontaneous arising of Dharma.

Hmm thanks for insightful posting. You put effort in reading up and listening attentively to dharma talks.

And hell, it reminds me of my "poor" own learning attitude. Hahaha

There is a conceptual me but in reality, the me is just a mere thought that comes and goes. However, when there is pain or fear, human usually react to the fear with fear in their eyes or tears. Sometime, one can't help it. I'm just wondering... i know the reality does not exist inherently but "i" can't help grasp at fearful feeling for instances.

How does one deal with it ? replied by An Eternal Now @ Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:19:22 +0800

An Eternal Now — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:19:22 +0800

Someone asked me if I coined the term 'intelligence-energy', actually nope.

Bob: That separate entity, the belief in that entity or person, has never done a damn thing! It never can and never will. You must realize that you have been lived. That body-mind that you call 'you' is being lived, and it is being lived quite effortlessly. As Christ said, 'Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit to his stature?' That separate entity can’t do a bloody thing.

Q: What does that mean in terms of choice, conscious free-will, willing choices that people make or don't make? If I'm following you, there isn't anyone who makes the choice.

Bob: No, there isn't. Choices are made, but there is no choice-maker. What seems to be choices are made. Like, you think you will do something, and you turn around doing something else. That is all coming from that pure functioning. But we take delivery of it and believe 'I am the choice-maker' or 'I have got free-will'. But we have just seen that if you look at it closely the thoughts 'I am' or 'I'm this or that' haven't got the power to do any of those things. You haven't even got the power to think that thought, itself. Thinking happens. It is the same with seeing. Seeing is happening right now. What do you have to do to see?

Q: Nothing.

Bob: It is spontaneously happening. Be that presence-awareness that is spontaneously happening of itself. It is effortless. If that 'I thought', that image you have about yourself, were running the show, what would be the most important thing you would do?

Q: I have got no idea!

Bob: Well, I do! The first thing I would do is make sure I take the next breath, or make sure my heart has got another beat in it. But all those things are happening quite effortlessly. We talk about choices. But if you are the choice maker, why would you ever have an unhappy thought, if you could choose your thoughts? Why would you ever be miserable or sad?

Q. So, the intelligence-energy is vibrating into all these different
forms.

Bob: Exactly.

Q: It is appearing as the chair, this life (pointing to someone in the room), this life, this life. What about the life of somebody who is suffering? Why would it do that? Why would it vibrate into the form of a life of a kid in a war-torn country? Do you know what I'm saying?

Bob: Yes.

Q: From my mind, I look at it and I say, 'That is madness'.

Bob: Yes. It is madness. The intelligence-energy vibrates into the mirage, too. The heat shimmering off the road appears to be a pool of water. But what is it in actuality?

Q: Just vibrating energy.

Bob: Yes.

Q: From my mind, I look at it and I say, 'That is madness'.

Bob: Yes. It is madness. The intelligence-energy vibrates into the mirage, too. The heat shimmering off the road appears to be a pool of water. But what is it in actuality?

Q: Just vibrating energy.

Bob: Yes.

Q: But that kid seems to suffer.

Bob: Yes. But, as I say, you have got a million microbes crawling around your face right now.

Q: You do that (wipes hand on his face) and you kill them all.

Bob: You just wiped out a few million of them. Some of
them might be suffering. Some of them might be crippled. But you couldn't care less. We think we are so important, but we are only small in the scheme of things. Looking from out in space down on this earth what would you be? You would be even less than a microbe on someone's face! Yet, because we are here, we give ourselves so much importance. In the scheme of things, life is continually living on life. Life appears in all sorts of forms and shapes. But it is still the same life, the same intelligence-energy. And you are that life.

Q: Does compassion fit into what you are saying?

Bob: Yes, there is a natural compassion that comes up of itself. You don't have to try to be compassionate.

Q: No.

How does one deal with it ? replied by An Eternal Now @ Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:59:18 +0800

An Eternal Now — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:59:18 +0800

What 元音老人 said is rather similar to this:

Essence of Dzogchen Meditation

by Sogyal Rinpoche

The essence of meditation practice in Dzogchen is encapsulated by these four points:

• When one past thought has ceased and a future thought has not yet arisen, in that gap, in between, isn't there a consciousness of the present moment; fresh, virgin, unaltered by even a hair's breadth of concept, a luminous, naked awareness? -- Well that is what Rigpa is!

• Yet it doesn't stay in that state forever, because another thought suddenly arises, doesn't it? This is the self radiance of that Rigpa.

• However if you do not recognize this thought for what it really is, the very instant it arises, then it will turn into just another ordinary thought, as before. This is called the "chain of delusion," and is the root of samsara.

• If you are able to recognize the true nature of the thought as soon as it arises, and leave it alone without any followup, then whatever thoughts that arise all automatically dissolve back into the vast expanse of Rigpa and are liberated.

____________________________________

From The Tibetan Book Of Living And Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche.

How does one deal with it ? replied by An Eternal Now @ Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:28:35 +0800

An Eternal Now — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:28:35 +0800

Originally posted by Isis:

It is like you become the main lead in your mind.

As I see it, any form of self identification is the cause of suffering. As someone once said, "All views are based on the belief of something as inherently existing, and necessarily lead to suffering because not in accord with reality." Similarly as long as you associate yourself with someone believing that the 'self' is inherently existing, it necessarily leads to suffering because it is not in accord with reality.

It is not thinking that is a problem, it is identifying and believing in a story of 'me' and 'things' as having some reality/inherency that is a problem. But upon investigation you realise that the 'self' cannot be found, it is a mirage -- they are merely thoughts, and that thought is made of, and is the miraculous activities (妙用) of Buddha-Nature. Like a mirage, it's just made of the same awareness-intelligence-energy (buddha-nature) vibrating into the various forms as thoughts, words appearing on screen, sound of music, everything. But being a mirage it has no inherent existence. It is in essence that awareness-intelligence-energy that is at the same time empty. Luminous-emptiness.

So, a thought itself is Buddha-Nature. All thoughts and experiences, which are appearances, are the play of Buddha-Nature, but we mistake the mirages/appearances as having some sort of inherent reality. And because we imagine that there is some sort of inherent reality out there, we grasp on them, not realising that all appearances are simply thoughts/experiences arising and vanishing spontaneously according to conditions -- utterly empty of inherent, graspable existence.

So the moment we 着相, that is 妄 and leads to suffering. Means you grasp on appearances, thinking it has some sort of inherent reality.

As Buddha taught, 凡所有相，皆是虛妄。若見諸相非相，則見如來。

As 元音老人 says,

所以开悟之后，妄想、妄念、妄心，都翻成我的佛性的妙用了。今天再给大家下个注解﹕妄心、妄想、妄念，着相就是妄。反过来不着相，所有一切思想都是我们佛性的妙用，所有一切思想都是成就一切事物的妙用，都是我们佛性的妙用。

And as 元音老人 says,

1．一念不生处，了了分明的灵知即当人的佛性。学人果能于此不惊不怖、深信不疑，立定脚跟，安住保护，净尽妄习，圆证佛果，诚非一佛二佛三四五佛所种善根，而是无量佛所种诸善根。

2．观照就是回光返照，向心内看，不是向外看，观这一念不生处（念头未起处）。念头起来就看见，不理睬它，不随之流浪。这一步最要紧。如念头起来看不见，就不行了。证见本性后，要于行、住、坐、卧处观照保护，“外不为境牵，内不随念转”即为最好的保护法。念起不住，不随之流浪不停，即为无念。不是压念不起，亦不是将一念不生的时间拉长为无念。

.
4．证见本性后，所有妄心、妄想、妄念皆化为真心的妙用。妙用与妄作的分别即在“有住”与“不住”之间，住即妙用化为妄作，不住即妄作摄为妙用。

It is like falling asleep and entering the dream state, even though you are sleeping and the dream isn't real but there is ongoing identification and belief in a 'you', 'experiencer' and what is happening in the dream is almost hypnotic -- it blinds us and makes us believe in the story as having some inherent reality -- and there being a 'me' who is seeing 'a monster in front of me' -- and as a result you undergo all sorts of samsaric emotions even in dreams -- fear, happiness, anger, sadness, and so on.

It operates on a dualistic basis, that you are a separate self who is experiencing unpleasant states or pleasant states. But in reality, there is simply experience, but no separate experiencer. And the experience is empty, simply being thoughts and sensations arising and vanishing according to conditions.

So liberation is in seeing through the sense that there is a continuous, separate, or special controller, doer, observer, or centerpoint that is "who they are" in a very direct perceptual way that is not merely an intellectual or conceptual understanding. And the sensations that seemed to imply these to be just more sensations arising and vanishing according to conditions as they always have been. And because this is realised, everything is simply spontaneously arising according to conditions -- and self-liberate immediately! Thoughts have no sticking power, it's only when you believe that there is some essence or inherent reality that you grasp on the thought.

So in this way, in seeing through the reality of a separate self and the inherency/solidity of our experience, the stories of a self are no longer seen to have any reality and so can no longer cause us sufferings. Dispassion arises and there is naturally no more grasping, only spontaneous arising of Dharma.

How does one deal with it ? replied by Isis @ Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:01:05 +0800

Isis — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:01:05 +0800

Originally posted by An Eternal Now:

What do you mean by associating yourself?

It is like you become the main lead in your mind.

How does one deal with it ? replied by An Eternal Now @ Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:38:48 +0800

An Eternal Now — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:38:48 +0800

Originally posted by Isis:

hmm Hey AEN,

I love watching MTV and sometime, i loved to associate myself with the main lead in the MTV. I think the love comes about becos it is a pleasurable thing to do. Similarly, people can get attached to suffering becos it is pleasurable. At the back of my mind, i know it is just a illusion that i'm playing with in my head and like a sort of enterainment. However I'm not sure if it is actually a good thing to indulge in such things often.

On the other hand, there is no bad or no good or true or false about the image that i'm conjuring .. ?

ps: the above posting is just an opinion. Please discern with wisdom.

What do you mean by associating yourself?

How does one deal with it ? replied by Isis @ Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:29:49 +0800

Isis — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:29:49 +0800

Originally posted by knightlll:

I like animals but sometimes when i saw stray dogs along the street , there will be some fear in me. Not sure if they are my karmic debtors in my past lives , scare they suddenly bite me.

lol.

In singapore, there isn't much stray dogs around liao, only plently of stray cats.

One of my meditation teacher encourages people who meditate to practise metta regularly so that when a cobra suddenly come across your path ( in those ulu pandan meditation centre, anything is possible or you meditate in the forest ). You can immediately send strong metta to the cobra.

It is one of the protective meditation and also helps in gaining concentration.

How does one deal with it ? replied by Isis @ Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:22:50 +0800

Isis — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:22:50 +0800

hmm Hey AEN,

I love watching MTV and sometime, i loved to associate myself with the main lead in the MTV. I think the love comes about becos it is a pleasurable thing to do. Similarly, people can get attached to suffering becos it is pleasurable. At the back of my mind, i know it is just a illusion that i'm playing with in my head and like a sort of enterainment. However I'm not sure if it is actually a good thing to indulge in such things often.

On the other hand, there is no bad or no good or true or false about the image that i'm conjuring .. ?

ps: the above posting is just an opinion. Please discern with wisdom.

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http://www.springwatercenter.org/teachers/packer/articles/anger/

Anger

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Dai Bai Zan - Cho Bo Zen Ji

At our 1997 Rohatsu Sesshin (winter retreat), Genki Takabayashi Roshi retired as the active abbot of our Zen community. What follows is his retirement Teisho (Dharma Lecture), that was transcribed for our 1998 winter issue of "Plum Mountain News," Vol. 4.3.

CASE 53 OF THE BLUE CLIFF RECORDS

HYAKUJO AND A WILD DUCK

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How does one deal with it ? replied by An Eternal Now @ Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:59:18 +0800

Essence of Dzogchen Meditation

by Sogyal Rinpoche

How does one deal with it ? replied by An Eternal Now @ Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:28:35 +0800

How does one deal with it ? replied by Isis @ Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:01:05 +0800

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