Sisyphus

[Jakuden]

Wow, another buried Treeleaf treasure, this thread! Thanks Geoff!

Jundo, a line in one of your posts above is interesting to this beginner: "the Buddha was constantly counseling against what he termed 'nihilism'." Can you elaborate on that with examples?

Gassho,
Jakuden
SatToday

[Matt]

I wanted to add my thanks to Geoff for bringing this teaching up again. I had not read this one before.

"Practice never ends in this life!" Thank you, Jundo, for this teaching.

Gassho,
Matt
#SatToday

[Houzan]

Thank you, Jundo
Posting here so others can discover this old jewel of a post.

Gassho, Hōzan
satlah

[FNJ]

We are Sisyphus.

Some folks think the point of this practice is to get to a place where we can put the stone down for good (perhaps by realizing that the stone is just a dream). Perhaps we might see Sisyphus's (?) pushing that boulder (of ignorance and delusion) as his practice, his striving, to finally be free of the boulder of delusion by reaching (attaining) that place where the boulder will rest at the top of the mountain permanently, his practice accomplished, Sisyphus free once and for all of the burden of delusion and need to practice.


Gassho, Sisyphus

Hmmmm It's funny because the story of Sisyphus starts with the fact that the boulder mountain thing is a punishment due to his having cheated death twice.

If this is being used as an allegory for practice I suppose one could always ask why one would bother rolling the boulder up the mountain in the first place. According to the myth, Sisyphus didn't have a choice. We do.

Just die when you're supposed to!

Sat LAH
Gassho
Niall

[Jundo]

If this is being used as an allegory for practice I suppose one could always ask why one would bother rolling the boulder up the mountain in the first place. According to the myth, Sisyphus didn't have a choice. We do.

Just die when you're supposed to!

Death is always an option. Our Precepts point away from the taking of life, including our own. So wasteful to squander a life that, for some strange reason, has popped up in the middle of time and space with our name on it.

Also, much better to be liberated in this life than to end it.

Gassho, J
stlah

[FNJ]

Death is always an option. Our Precepts point away from the taking of life, including our own. So wasteful to squander a life that, for some strange reason, has popped up in the middle of time and space with our name on it.

Also, much better to be liberated in this life than to end it.

Gassho, J
stlah

Whoa that got dark quickly. I was just seeing for far the allegory could stretch.... BUT I wonder is it possible to squander a life? And who get's to decide?

See you later this evening hopefully.

Sat LAH
Gassho,
Niall

[Jundo]

.... BUT I wonder is it possible to squander a life? And who get's to decide?

Well, if it has been a worthwhile life, there are usually many outside signs, such as the positive effects that someone has had on many other people.

And then there is the feeling that it has been a worthwhile life between one's own ears. I think that we learn in Zen practice that we can have a positive effect on the world in big and small ways, and we learn to appreciate and be content with our lives.

Gassho, J
stlah

[Bion]

Whoa that got dark quickly. I was just seeing for far the allegory could stretch.... BUT I wonder is it possible to squander a life? And who get's to decide?

See you later this evening hopefully.

Sat LAH
Gassho,
Niall

To waste our human potential by living selfishly and by living consumed by suffering is to squander a life. No one needs to decide whether you’re squandering your life. That is for you to experience in your bones, which we do moment by moment.

gassho
sat lah

[Jundo]

To waste our human potential by living selfishly and by living consumed by suffering is to squander a life. No one needs to decide whether you’re squandering your life. That is for you to experience in your bones, which we do moment by moment.

gassho
sat lah

Nicely spoken.

[Meishin]

Whoa that got dark quickly. I was just seeing for far the allegory could stretch.... BUT I wonder is it possible to squander a life? And who get's to decide?

See you later this evening hopefully.

Sat LAH
Gassho,
Niall

In some cases, not all, persons in psychotherapy reach the gut punch place of realizing they have squandered their lives. Since it's not always feasible to make amends (perhaps they harmed someone who is no longer around), they become mired in despair. Again, in some not all cases, the despair, if faced courageously, becomes the ticket to a life that is more expansive. The old self literally drops away. Looking back, folks can readily see how their lives had been squandered, and the picture is not one they wish to paint again.

Gassho
Meishin
stlah