DUMBEST TOPIC THREAD EVER

[Jundo]

Re: DUMBEST TOPIC THREAD EVER

It's all hooey. Even wise people can have foolish ideas, and you do yourself no favors by honoring the foolishness and the wisdom without any discrimination.

Honor the ancestors, but do not honor stupidity or rigid and unhelpful thinking. To do so is the death of a religion in the guise of the preservation of the religion.

One may be skeptical about some things (I am about many claims which lack evidence) ... but one should not be completely closed minded, and should be respectful. Someday, people in the 23rd century will look back on us and chuckle at many of our quaint beliefs ("Oh, Sally, do you know that folks back in 2010 still believed in gravity!?")

Most of the Zen and Buddhist teachers of the past ... Dogen among them, in centuries passed ... believed in "energy flows" and such (the belief in ki/chi, chakra and such is still common throughout Asia, and not without some acceptance in some parts of the medical community). Dreams, soothsaying, spirits ... you name it, all found in Zen Buddhism throughout its history.

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

So, yes, I am skeptical about claims regarding phenomena about which there is little evidence. Criticize, question, discount or argue against what may be untrue. But do not be closed minded, insulting and too self-sure of your own positions.

I'm sure that if sitting cross-legged were to damage my knees or cause such terrible after effects, he would relent because I don't think that he's really a posture-Nazi - I suspect that he just wants to ensure that my avoidance of the traditional form is really due to necessity and not laziness or egoic preference.

That's right.

Gassho, J

[Hoko]

Re: DUMBEST TOPIC THREAD EVER

I used to think it was high time we took the instructions off of shampoo bottles!
("For God's sake, how stupid are people anyway!?!")
Now I realize it's always new to someone.
If it continues to bother me then the problem lies between my ears, not on the bottle....
(I like to lather, rinse and repeat, personally.)

There are no stupid questions or "dumb threads".
And yet, there are stupid questions and dumb threads.
When questions become stupid or threads become dumb, it's probably better to go somewhere else for a while.
(Maybe sit down on something soft and stare at a wall?)

A woman who has worked for me for 9 years (and who is the godmother to my youngest son) lost her father last night.
She doesn't need instructions on how to feel right now.
I don't need instructions on how to have compassion for her suffering.
And yet, brushing up on my social skills by searching the internet for "grief counseling" might be a good idea before I see her next.

I'm going to take a shower now and wash my hair. Maybe I'll read that damn bottle again...

Gassho,
-K2

[Ryumon]

Re: DUMBEST TOPIC THREAD EVER

I can't sit with my hands in the cosmic mudra anymore; I have a tremor, and my hands shake too much if I do that. I have to put my hands on my thighs. Oh, and I sit on a stool too. I guess my sitting's not kosher...

[Unmon]

Re: DUMBEST TOPIC THREAD EVER

glad to see my post took on a life of its own...you guys are funny.

so, i'm sitting burmese w/ my right leg "under" my left...same w/ the hands. right now i'm using a folded up blanket w/ some towls inside as a zafu (lots of travel for work and i need to pack light - oh yeah, i don't own any "proper" zen accoutrements either). i think it's working out pretty well b/c zazen is still as mundane and boring as ever.

k2,
how did that hair washing go? is your method exactly like the instructions on the bottle? i'm sure it works great for you either way... i know my hair gets clean w/ my method, but it's nice to know that i could consult the "experts" any time i like - even if don't end up taking their advice.

-tim