Tradition versus innovation

[Shokai]

Re: Tradition versus innovation

I mentor a young challenged lad of 19yrs. He confides to me that he lived 5000 yrs ago; one of the pharoahs before Tutt. He and seven of his friends are earth benders, they all lived in the same era (Do you find it strange that they would all pop up here and now at the same time?) He has also told me of his dreams; more than slightly scary stuff. I quite thankful I'm not inside his body. By surfing the same sites that he does I get insight into where the is coming from and a lot of it is out of Harry Potter. Most kids read Harry and take it with a grain of salt but, not my Mentee :lol:
I had an aunt who died last year at the age of 101. She told me years ago in her early nineties, that she expected her death to be a grand and wonderful experience, to which she added, " And If it isn't, no problem, who'd care?" This leaves me to ponder, "will i ever get to find out how it went for her:?:"

gassho, Richard

[JohnsonCM]

Re: Tradition versus innovation

I've been reading alot of the posts here concerning the abuse of power and such, so I thought I'd put my two (non)cents in (pun intended).

I, too, dislike the abuse of power in any position be it material wealth or spiritual. We can see how this happens every day when people begin to believe that the number of green pieces of paper with dead Presidents on them that they can stack one atop another, is in some what proportionate to their worth as human beings. I have more money, so I'm better. Religion, too, is an old stomping ground for abuse. History is riddled with religious wars, that behind the scenes were really fought for political and monetary gain. So in this respect, I'm with Stephanie that the abuse of power is all to easy for most to fall prey to. However, that is part of why we do what we do, isn't it? We are Buddhists because we recognize the delusions within these thoughts. You are not more holy then the next man because you are Pope or Head Priest, you are not a better person than the poor man beside you because you can buy more stuff, which you can't take with you when you die. We should all be careful to see the reality of things, that these ideas are delusive and that they cause us to want, desire, and grasp at objects, and concepts that aren't real. But we also need to make sure that we realize when we may be expecting the worst out of people because we have already pre-judged them. I do not believe that if you give a person power, the next step is his abuse of that power, but I do believe that, as Stephanie said, we as a species are imperfect. I can choose to see that as a sure sign that we are bound to become drunk with whatever power we might have, or I can choose the way of compassion, and when a powerful person falls, I might help them up, dust them off, and remind them to be careful where they walk when the footing is precarious.

[Jundo]

Re: Tradition versus innovation

I am not surprised to find out you believe in psychic powers and miracles -- I've known humans to believe in many contrary things at once ---

...

I've never heard nor seen what I would describe as good rational, reasonable, scientific evidence of psychic powers.

Miracles as you describe them I believe in. But folks have interpreted much to divine intervention that I cannot fathom the reasoning.

Just to be clear ... I do not believe in (or, better said, am skeptical and have seen little if any convincing evidence for) "psychic powers" in the meaning of E.S.P., telekinesis, seeing the future or the like (although I do believe in seeing the past! :shock: ) Nor do I put much stock in Big Foot, the Loch Ness monster or U.F.O's (although I do believe that we are far from alone among sentient life in the vast cosmos).

It is not that I completely discount such things. At the same time, I ALSO believe that science does not have "all the answers", that there is more to this material universe than "meets the eye", and that "there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." It is just that I believe that 99% of the claims for such phenomena, so far, are circumstantial, sometimes outright faked, exaggerated, otherwise explainable, etc. Some smoke, little fire.

The meaning that Dogen and others gave to "psychic powers" is not that. We "walk through mountains" for they are empty and so are you and me! We know others minds for they are just Mind, and just the mind of human beings. We can tell the future ... for what "future"? That kind of ways of interpreting "psychic powers". We can expand to cover the entire cosmos ... and shrink to enter into the smallest atom ... for what is "big" and "small", and where in the cosmos are we not all along?

That kind of view of "psychic powers" I can experience, and is just a matter of seeing and experiencing life in such ways.

I believe in "REAL MAGIC!" Oh, so many people cannot find the magic and miracle of this reality, right before their eye and this eye itself, because they are so busy searching for cheap "magic" and carnival "miracles"! They seek "powers" as they do not know how to be at one with the power of life. They cannot see all, as they try to "see all". They wish to "predict the future", but do not know right here and now holding future and past and everything in between.

Gassho, J

[Shui_Di]

Re: Tradition versus innovation

Hi every body,

Hear is my opinion about tradition vs innovation.

I think, using an old tradition or doing innovation, both is not a problem at all.
The most important thing is the practice. In soto-Zen, the core practice is Zazen.

When I talk about practice, it is not the practice of traditional ceremony or etc. What I mean with practice is to understand the way, drop the body and mind.

Tradition without practice is a dead-thing.

Innovation without practice is lossing the Way.

So, innovation or not innovation, is not a problem.

Practice is more important.


Gassho, Mujo