whats my age again?

[Tb]

Hi

I read an blogpost that priest and trainees in the USA are 65 and 58.
http://wildfoxzen.blogspot.com/2010/01/ ... nghas.html

Interesting really, why so old or young?
And does it matter in the long run?
Any thougths in the matter?

Anyway, finished a review of jake fades, so i'm off for a coffeebreak.

Remember to smile as buddha.

Mtfbwy
Fugen

[Taigu]

Re: whats my age again?

There is no real right time to understand that we are all going to die. Everyday this should be your-mine-their understanding. There is no why. One of my greatest friend ans sitter used to say Dogen's Zen is the path of no why anymore. No why.

Then what? Who?

Maybe not even that!

Then how?

Don't know...

What's left?

A few bones crossing and a skull on the top. Ageless. Just like a cloud or a blossom.
Something like that...

gassho

Taigu with Taigu

[scott]

Re: whats my age again?

I can see that. You come to doing it full-time either when you're young and you don't have commitments yet, or when you're old and you can afford the time. Or both.

[Stephanie]

Re: whats my age again?

Well, those numbers should be taken with a grain of salt because we don't know exactly what "research" Dosho Port did to come up with those numbers. There are many younger teachers, trainees, and practitioners in America. When it comes to teachers, it makes sense to me that the average age would be high; it takes many years to ripen practice and understanding to become a good, well-rounded teacher. As for students, Buddhism is growing in popularity among younger folks (20s and 30s) and the average age of practitioners and number of younger practitioners really depends on the center you visit.

[BrianW]

Re: whats my age again?

Well, those numbers should be taken with a grain of salt because we don't know exactly what "research" Dosho Port did to come up with those numbers.

Agreed as I am always a bit skeptical when people start quoting stats, but do not discuss the methodology. Nevertheless, there does seem to be concern in the Buddhist community that as the baby boomers, pass away so will the growth of Buddhism in the west. Buddhist Geeks have had number of interesting discussions on their podcasts and some point to how technology may mitigate the effects of losing the baby boomer generation. There have been a couple of shows in which this topic is addressed one cited below:

http://personallifemedia.com/podcasts/236-buddhist-geeks/episodes/51619-reflections-21st-century

Gassho,

BrianW

[roky]

Re: whats my age again?

i'm attracted to the post title -- i literally have to ask myself this question almost daily, and on the rare occasions that i'm caught by a mirror, "who is that?" -- the age thing is so strange, since the "inner" experience feels the same as when i was 8 -- i guess the difference i've noticed is that now my immediate age-peers are all dropping away, to death -- that happened much less when i was 8 -- unless i was born in the third-world, without the luxury of a healthy childhood

hi steph, gassho, roky

[JohnsonCM]

Re: whats my age again?

One of my most favorite quotes on the subject of age actually comes from the character "Chiun" in Remo Williams. Remo asks Chiun how old he is anyway, and Chun responds:

"For a turnip, I am very old. For a head of lettuce even more so. For a mountain, I am barely begun in years. For a man, I am just right."