The flip side of "internet zen"

[Kiri]

I still remember the frustration of trying to argue with ewk and his fans about the simplest of things, and failing even to agree that we disagree! I thought I should stay in that group and be the hands of Jizo, pulling people off the hell of r/zen. But I realized the fires of r/zen affect my mental health too much and I eventually left after one year.

Gassho, Kiri
Sat/Lah

[Ankai]

I suppose, really, the best thing about it is that none of us has to go there, we neither require nor seek their approval, and if they have issues, they're their issues.

Sat.

[Jundo]

I suppose, really, the best thing about it is that none of us has to go there, we neither require nor seek their approval, and if they have issues, they're their issues.

Sat.

My only concern is the newcomers and others who wander there unawares, and receive misinformation about Soto Zen and Zen practice.

Gassho, J

stlah

[Rousei]

This seems to be the case. On the more series reddit r/ZenBuddhism I have seen people comment on how they first went to r/Zen and were turned off by what they found until they found r/ZenBuddhism.

Gassho
Rousei
ST

[Bion]

My only concern is the newcomers and others who wander there unawares, and receive misinformation about Soto Zen and Zen practice.

Gassho, J

stlah

I passed through that place and if anything, it pushed me to dig deeper and learn from accurate sources, since what they were spewing in there did not fit with neither what I knew nor what my practice was revealing to me. It’s been a rite of passage for many of us [emoji1]
[emoji1374] Sat Today

[Eigan]

For those who waded into any discussions on that open sewer r/zen - you are braver than me. . Sat today - Eigan.

[Tai Shi]

I have practical Shikantaza with another group on the internet and they respected Jundo, and invited me to practice again, and then I practiced with Shonen Risa Bear's group, is it Bird Song? and made friends with a man seeking Priesthood there. I let you know that not all is negative on the Internet.
Gassho
sat/lah
Tai Shi

[Guest]

I came to Treeleaf looking for a way to access Soto Zen and find a teacher that I could interact with. I never came solely because it was online, but accessing Soto Zen in my area either means lots of travel or doing it online. So, Treeleaf fit the bill. But, what I like most about Treeleaf is the way we connect live with each other through zazenkai, zazen sessions, teahouse, etc. I do not need to go to other sites. There is enough here to keep me busy for a lifetime. I occasionally comment on the Soto group on FB, just because it shows up on my feed. I am usually not even on FB or any other social media format that much anyway. I find what is here at Treeleaf is enough. And so I keep "enough mind," and usually do not venture to other places much because in my experience they do not have much to offer and because it often turns into the things that many have mentioned in this thread.

Gassho,

Daiman
St/Lah

[Koriki]

In more recent times, my priests and friends here have persuaded me not to go charging into every injustice I see like the Zen Don Quixote dueling with windmills ... so I just walk on by more.

I found out the hard way that I can't directly participate in illness related forums due to the negative impact on myself and almost completely futility of doing so. There really is a great lesson in learning to "walk on by more." Similar to letting thoughts pass by during zazen. At this point I count the things that I don't say as LAH.

Kō
s@ LAH

[Meiun]

This is priceless.... 'At this point I count the things that I don't say as LAH.'

Deep bows

Gassho [emoji120]

Sat today

Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk

[Shonin Risa Bear]

Thank you, Tai Shi. For those interested in tacking/taking on yet more Internet Zen fun we have a link:

https://birdhavenzendo.blogspot.com/

gassho, ds Sat & lah