Dear All,
This is the time of year of gift buying and giving, and often that will include the various Buddhist "things" that we might wish for our houses ... the incense burners and bells, the robes and cushions and statues.
Well, let us keep such purchases in perspective, not be too attached to such things. We really do not need any of that to sit Zazen. For thousands of years, robes and statues and such have served to help create a "sacred space" in the mind and heart. A bit of incense, some Buddhist artwork or beads or bells, can create a bit of a feeling of "special time" for our sitting ... and they are aesthetically pleasing ... but I do not feel that any special bell or robes or the like are really necessary for Zazen. Perhaps they are little reminders that we are putting the world's duties and concerns down for a time ... but really anything that goes "ting-a-ling" or any comfortable clothes will do. Any open space is a space to sit and open the heart, even if it does not look like some sacred temple in Tibet. So, I do not see the particular need for a "genuine" bell or incense burner or "Zen robe".
Maybe the Buddhist magazines are a bit too filled these days with "Asian" stuff that becomes just more decorative items to collect, and we must avoid that.
On the other hand, I live in an old Japanese house filled with old Buddha statues I pick up here and there, and I have a Zendo filled with drums and bells, and I wear robes ... but none of those things are really the point. I like some items as art, but I must remember not to be too attached to any of it. I must remember not to be attached to things. We do not have to have any of this "stuff" to practice Zazen, and really they are just works of art, links to our heritage or mental "reminders" to the heart. You can chuck them all away if you want too. None of it is really necessary.
Gassho, J
STLah
This is the time of year of gift buying and giving, and often that will include the various Buddhist "things" that we might wish for our houses ... the incense burners and bells, the robes and cushions and statues.
Well, let us keep such purchases in perspective, not be too attached to such things. We really do not need any of that to sit Zazen. For thousands of years, robes and statues and such have served to help create a "sacred space" in the mind and heart. A bit of incense, some Buddhist artwork or beads or bells, can create a bit of a feeling of "special time" for our sitting ... and they are aesthetically pleasing ... but I do not feel that any special bell or robes or the like are really necessary for Zazen. Perhaps they are little reminders that we are putting the world's duties and concerns down for a time ... but really anything that goes "ting-a-ling" or any comfortable clothes will do. Any open space is a space to sit and open the heart, even if it does not look like some sacred temple in Tibet. So, I do not see the particular need for a "genuine" bell or incense burner or "Zen robe".
Maybe the Buddhist magazines are a bit too filled these days with "Asian" stuff that becomes just more decorative items to collect, and we must avoid that.
On the other hand, I live in an old Japanese house filled with old Buddha statues I pick up here and there, and I have a Zendo filled with drums and bells, and I wear robes ... but none of those things are really the point. I like some items as art, but I must remember not to be too attached to any of it. I must remember not to be attached to things. We do not have to have any of this "stuff" to practice Zazen, and really they are just works of art, links to our heritage or mental "reminders" to the heart. You can chuck them all away if you want too. None of it is really necessary.
Gassho, J
STLah
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