Zen Stoicism
I love that you brought up your day to day struggles because now I realize the key similarity between Stoicism and Soto Zen (Jundo has mentioned this so many times that I can’t believe I’ve had such a brain fart. It’s my “duh” moment.)
The key similarity between Soto Zen and Stoicism is (drum roll)...
That we have to deal with reality as it is here and now and not some idealized head in the sand version of it.
From the book ‘A Heart to Heart Chat on Buddhism with Old Master Gudo Nishijima’:
“Sekishin: So, which religions do you consider emphasize action? What do you mean by that?
Gudo: This refers to those religions that just call for us to be, to live and act here and now, while simultaneously accepting this world as it is, just as it is here and now, without appealing to some other world that is somehow better, more ideal. Because all such teachings ask of us is to be, to act here and now, in this very world in which we are living here and now, I call such philosophies religions of action. Buddhism is such an existential religion.”
However, Nishijima goes on to say the following and especially the part I emphasize with italics and bold is unique to Buddhism and to Soto Zen specifically (although modern Stoicism has borrowed the phrase “Amor Fati”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amor_fati from Nietzsche, “Amor Fati” is a close cousin to what Nishijima is talking about here, I personally love the Nietzsche quote “all idealism is mendacity in the face of what is necessary”):
“On the other hand, while Buddhism calls upon us to fully accept, to merely observe without judgment this world in which we are living, still, Buddhism need not be a philosophy of passivity. We need not but sit in bliss upon our lotus leaf, watching life pass us by. While fully accepting the world, while fully not wishing that the world were any other way than just the way it is, simultaneously and from yet another perspective, we are most free to act, live and choose as we think best, with wisdom and compassion. We need not be passive, but can live our lives abundantly, moving forward, all the while knowing that we are always just here, that there is no place ultimately to go other than where we are. In this way, it is a religion of action. And, again, equally important is the further perspective that in our acting, in our living, it is but the world which acts and lives as we act and live, for we are each but a facet of the world, an expression of the whole of reality without separation. In this stance, all concepts of subject and object are put aside, and our lives and the functioning of all reality constitute a single great activity, one great functioning. Thus, because we view the world as acting by and through each of us without separation or division, it is a religion of action. So, just being, living and acting is sacred, a sacred act, in and of itself. We can even try to better the world as best we can, while hand-in-hand recognizing the world as perfectly just what it is. Because we can live, must live and act even as we accept, so it is a religion of action.”
Gassho,
Tom
Sat/Lah
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
I love that you brought up your day to day struggles because now I realize the key similarity between Stoicism and Soto Zen (Jundo has mentioned this so many times that I can’t believe I’ve had such a brain fart. It’s my “duh” moment.)
The key similarity between Soto Zen and Stoicism is (drum roll)...
That we have to deal with reality as it is here and now and not some idealized head in the sand version of it.
From the book ‘A Heart to Heart Chat on Buddhism with Old Master Gudo Nishijima’:
“Sekishin: So, which religions do you consider emphasize action? What do you mean by that?
Gudo: This refers to those religions that just call for us to be, to live and act here and now, while simultaneously accepting this world as it is, just as it is here and now, without appealing to some other world that is somehow better, more ideal. Because all such teachings ask of us is to be, to act here and now, in this very world in which we are living here and now, I call such philosophies religions of action. Buddhism is such an existential religion.”
However, Nishijima goes on to say the following and especially the part I emphasize with italics and bold is unique to Buddhism and to Soto Zen specifically (although modern Stoicism has borrowed the phrase “Amor Fati”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amor_fati from Nietzsche, “Amor Fati” is a close cousin to what Nishijima is talking about here, I personally love the Nietzsche quote “all idealism is mendacity in the face of what is necessary”):
“On the other hand, while Buddhism calls upon us to fully accept, to merely observe without judgment this world in which we are living, still, Buddhism need not be a philosophy of passivity. We need not but sit in bliss upon our lotus leaf, watching life pass us by. While fully accepting the world, while fully not wishing that the world were any other way than just the way it is, simultaneously and from yet another perspective, we are most free to act, live and choose as we think best, with wisdom and compassion. We need not be passive, but can live our lives abundantly, moving forward, all the while knowing that we are always just here, that there is no place ultimately to go other than where we are. In this way, it is a religion of action. And, again, equally important is the further perspective that in our acting, in our living, it is but the world which acts and lives as we act and live, for we are each but a facet of the world, an expression of the whole of reality without separation. In this stance, all concepts of subject and object are put aside, and our lives and the functioning of all reality constitute a single great activity, one great functioning. Thus, because we view the world as acting by and through each of us without separation or division, it is a religion of action. So, just being, living and acting is sacred, a sacred act, in and of itself. We can even try to better the world as best we can, while hand-in-hand recognizing the world as perfectly just what it is. Because we can live, must live and act even as we accept, so it is a religion of action.”
Gassho,
Tom
Sat/Lah
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
)
for positive poetry 優婆塞 台 婆
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