Grass Hut - 8 - Who Is This Person

[Jundo]

Dear Ones,

This week is Chapter 5, "Who Is This Person?" ... The Person In The Hut Lives Here Calmly ...

I have a little peccadillo in my writing, when expressing a taste of Emptiness, Wholeness, Non-Self, of switching pronouns from "me, you, she" to "one" and such ...

One gets very far, one finally arrives ... by one's sitting still.

Chinese and Japanese are lovely for much Zen writing, as the personal pronoun is not always needed, and one just knows from context ("I'm Sitting Zazen" in Japanese is often expressed as simply "Sitting Zazen", with the actor implied from context or very subtly not needed).

Here is an experiment that I would like everyone to try for a day or as much of a day as one can: In one's thoughts, replace "I" and "me" as much as possible with "One" or with no personal pronoun at all ... for example, "I am hungry" would become "One is hungry" or "am hungry". "I am going to work" would become "One is going to work" or just "Going to work". "My hair" is now "One's hair" or just "hair". Do this, as much as one can, with all one's thoughts, and report back here whether it softens up the sense of a fixed personal self a bit.

It is just a crazy experiment, but I want to see ... I mean, "One wants to see" ... what happens for every"one".

Gassho, J

[pinoybuddhist]

Can definitely relate with the Japanese doing away with personal pronouns part. This will be an interesting experiment.

Gassho, Raf
This one sat today

[Roland]

Grass Hut - 8 - Who Is This Person

I can relate to the exercise., yet there is another 'me' having deep problems with it. Also, I think formulas such as 'These thoughts are not me, they are not mine, they are not myself' are something very deep, yet again they make me feel afraid. After all, the belief in the importance of 'me' (however impermanent) and of the individual helped us in the West to be creators and innovators, to combat totalitarian regimes, taking personal responsibility and upholding humanistic values. Negating the 'I' and 'me' risks making us part of a culture oriented towards assimilation and obedience to the collective (in reality obedience to some authoritarian persons). Yet again, while sitting, I get it why one should say 'one'. So, 'one' is very confused here.

Gassho
Roland
#SatToday

[RichardH]

I/me can just be a signifier.. This body and mind. I/me in the social sense brings up resonsibilties and dignities. But mostly I/me is about self centered melodrama where "I" am the star. It sneaks up like sleep with the language. It's an addiction. This seems to be what Jundo is talking about.

Gassho
Sat today

[Jundo]

After all, the belief in the importance of 'me' (however impermanent) and of the individual helped us in the West to be creators and innovators, to combat totalitarian regimes, taking personal responsibility and upholding humanistic values. Negating the 'I' and 'me' risks making us part of a culture oriented towards assimilation and obedience to the collective (in reality obedience to some authoritarian persons). Yet again, while sitting, I get it why one should say 'one'. So, 'one' is very confused here.

Gassho
Roland
#SatToday

Perhaps one should stop thinking of this as an "either/or" proposition ... that either there is a "me" or there is not.

This is one of the perspectives perhaps seen one way out of one eye, another way out of the other eye, both together Buddha Eye.

One can be "I" and not at once as one.

Gassho, J

[Mp]

Thank you Jundo ... one will embark on such experiment. =)

Gassho
Shingen

#justsat

[Roland]

Grass Hut - 8 - Who Is This Person

One will look in various ways out of one and the other eye, thank you Jundo.

Gassho
Roland
#SatToday

[Kyonin]

Hi Jundo,

I have done an experiment like this before and it gives a totally new way of seeing things. Instead of thinking "I am hungry", I replaced it with "there is hunger".

I learned that by removing the self from our inner dialog, life becomes bigger in the way that one can see that (for instance) hunger is not mine to feel, but it is felt by all living beings.

This week I'll try your experiment and I'll report back. Oh and of course I'll get back to post about this week's chapter.

Gassho,

Kyonin
#SatToday

[Myosha]

Participating.


Gassho
Myosha sat today

[Jishin]

"hunger"

Gassho, Jishin, _/st\_

[Jishin]

Grass Hut - 8 - Who Is This Person

Ululating yell.

Beat chest.

Me Jishin.

You Cheeta.

Hunger.

Banana?

Gassho, Jishin, _/st\_.

[Risho]

Interesting! One will do and report back.

Gassho

Risho
-sattoday

[Joyo]

Will do, after one has a nap

Gassho,
Joyo
sat today

[Mp]

A quote from a Led Zeppelin classic ...

And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last.
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll.

Gassho
Shingen

#sattoday

[Jishin]

Grass Hut - 8 - Who Is This Person

“All for one and one for all.”

― Alexandre Dumas, The Three Musketeers

Gassho, Jishin
#SatToday