Study Buddism?

[edward]

Re: Study Buddism?

Studying and reading about Buddhism from various sources can enrich and deepen your spiritual life as long as you practice what you have read.

Is speaking about "a spiritual life" not a notion of duality? As if there is a spiritual life and also another life.
The life of the body, so to speak.

[Ekai]

Re: Study Buddism?

Edward,
Is speaking about "a spiritual life" not a notion of duality? As if there is a spiritual life and also another life.
The life of the body, so to speak.

Our body and mind are unified and by cultivating our mindfulness to every part of our being and experiences, we become aware of our bodies and how the body responds to our inner and outer lives, to our thoughts, emotions, and our experiences. So "spiritual life" means our entire life and being one with our entire being & experience in this present moment. It is our connectedness with ourselves, others and the world. However, this is much easier said then done, of course. Which is why we study and practice and practice and let go and let go.

Jodi

[Rev R]

Re: Study Buddism?

What is the "right" direction?

Well some people go this way , others go both ways.

[Tb]

Re: Study Buddism?

What is the "right" direction?

Well some people go this way , others go both ways.

Hi.

...and some take the SHORT CUT!

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Mtfbwy
Fugen

[Rev R]

Re: Study Buddism?

When in Wonderland, stay away from vaguely marked bottles.


May the Force be with you Fugen.

[Ankai]

Re: Study Buddism?

Doesn't it simply seem that seeking the wisdom and knowledge of more experienced or knowledgable sources before engaging in something is simply smart?

[Rich]

Re: Study Buddism?

I would like to ask this question:
Is it necessarily to do any further study in Buddhism if one practices Zazen? Al insights should arise naturally out of the sitting practice. To give a simple example, should one read in a book or hear in talk that all things are impermanent if that is not your own insight yet, it will merely be a concept. And when one gets this insight out of practice it is not necessary to hear that from others.
I put it very simple here, but I hope you know what I mean.

It might not be necessary for everyone but in my case my thinking was so contaminated that I needed some thinking that made more sense while i continue to practice. As others have pointed out the words and speech are just pointing you to your true nature. I would say study Buddhism when you feel like it, but practice whether you feel like it or not.

[Risho]

Re: Study Buddism?

I think teaching and learning are part of who we are as humans. I think we are driven by a want to know and understand things. To me, and to echo a lot of what others have said you need a balance of both theoretical and practical knowledge. The problem comes when we fall to one extreme but we need both. If there weren't writings about Buddhism I dont know if I would have found the path. To me study is a part of the path. I mean zazen is the core but you have to ask when is what you are doing not zazen? If it only takes place on the mat then is that real zazen? Ok Im rambling from my ipod but it seems that it starts on te cushion but then blossoms into all aspects of our lives including study eating using the bathroom etc

Further i think labeling something as necessary or unnecessary may be limiting. Maybe the focus should not be so narrow? Its like in martial arts. Are roundhouse kicks to the head really necessary to learn to protect oneself? Probably not but its just fun to do them. Theres a richness in the art that can be lost if we toss away all but the necessaries. I prefer a practice w a lighter step if u know what I mean.

[Taigu]

Re: Study Buddism?

Edward,

Obviously, and that's OK, you are not familiar with shobogenzo. Dogen likes to throw questions like that. He does it very often. So nothing cynical. Not in my teaching anyway.

take great care of yourself and of the ten thousand questions


gassho


Taigu

[Kyonin]

Re: Study Buddism?

To study the Dharma is just a vital part of our training. We need to learn theory and then practice, just like everything we learn in life.

I have found a deep understanding and wisdom in the words of the Buddha that often hit me in the head like a falling anvil, but no right after I read, but when I'm going about my life and talking to people and observing the world.

When we sit zazen we give the mind the room and air it needs to process all what we learn and see.

Just like Taigu-san said in the video, in the case of Zen, the teachings find you, not the other way around. You read, you take notes, you read again. Then you go about your life. Whenever you less expect it the anvil will hit you.

In the meantime, zazen is the way to go.

[Kaishin]

Re: Study Buddism?

I would like to ask this question:
Is it necessarily to do any further study in Buddhism if one practices Zazen?

How does one learn Zazen? When does one "finish" learning Zazen? Everything is Zazen. Everything is study! Everything informs everything. Don't be attached to knowledge. Don't be detached from knowledge. Read your books, then sit on them!


Gassho,
Matt

[Hogen]

Re: Study Buddism?

i tend to think that sitting without the teachings is like telling a blind man what a dog is. the perfection of dog the blind man sees in his mind is there, but is it a dog?

[Taigu]

Re: Study Buddism?

Hi all,

Zazen is of course complete, nothing lacking, nothing to be added, perfect from the beginless begining and yet, it is always an unfinished journey, a way of constant unlearning, dropping ideas and thoughts about oursleves and the world, entering the stream of I don't know and seing how much still stick to our shoes, our skin, our bones...One could also see studying as a way to invite a beggar home, the activity of studying does empty the treasure chest and make a lot of space on the shelves. Things gradually vanish, thoughts, opinions, attachments and the rest of it... Once the poor guy wakes up because of the sheer cold ( the warm blanket was just stolen), the perfect-brightness-moon fills the whole space. But sure enough the story doesn't end there, he gets up, warms his hands to the flames of a fire and goes about thinking where and how he will sleep next night. Endless journey where even the full blown moon doesn't stop him. One should not dwell even on awakening.

gassho


Taigu

[edward]

Re: Study Buddism?

Peter Schneider a zen-priest from Beginner's Mind Zen Center says about this subject:

Just to sit is enough - part 2

There aren’t many “magic bullets” in our lives, but zazen is one of them.
“If you just sit,” Suzuki Roshi said, “everything changes.”
He said people who knew Zen masters in their earlier lives couldn’t believe how they had changed.
In fact they might have had problems when they were young.
Sometimes I get asked what can be done to bring meditation into ordinary life and find myself having little to say about it.
Then I remember that Suzuki Roshi said again and again that just sitting is enough.
You might think that over time everything will change because you will get enlightened sometime down the road,
and that this is what will change you.
The fact is that whether you get enlightened does not matter in this.
Enlightenment is not enough. It is practice that changes you.
Suzuki Roshi mentioned that someone who has sat for three years or more may begin to worry about how nothing has changed, why their sitting is the same, why their problems are the same.
In fact, we are unlikely to be the first to notice that we‘ve changed.
Someone may comment on it and we may say to ourselves that it may be so.
Those from other schools of Buddhism may advise that we should do this, or do that, but it is not necessary.
Sitting will change us on its own.
Indeed, if we try to change, we will generally find that we cannot.
Our habits are very strong Suzuki Roshi said.
The fact is that we cannot change what we were born as, our karma, as it were.
We will be who we are throughout our lives.
It is our dealings with our small self that changes us.
For one thing we don’t take ourselves as seriously as before, and that gives us more space in our lives.
We see ourselves more clearly, and so are deluded less.
That isn’t to say that the Dharma is not necessary to face self-delusion.
To meditate without sometimes hearing the truth does not work.
For one thing we may be more likely to stop sitting without it.
We like to have some reason to meditate, and the Dharma gives that to us.
It also dampens our doubts.
But the Dharma is more that just a carrot in front of the horse of our lives.
In telling us what life will be like if we continue to practice, it is more a kind of medicine than a candy for our inner babies.
The Dharma can even be comforting when it shows us how screwed up we are.
Whether the Dharma says “It’s ok, it’s ok,” or says, “It’s not ok, it’s not ok,” the message is to be a little serious, and we won’t have to worry.
Just starting to sit and continuing to sit is all that it takes.

the 10/30/10 dharma talk transcript

Gassho, Edward

[Jundo]

Re: Study Buddism?

Peter Schneider a zen-priest from Beginner's Mind Zen Center says about this subject:

Just to sit is enough - part 2

There aren’t many “magic bullets” in our lives, but zazen is one of them.
“If you just sit,” Suzuki Roshi said, “everything changes.”

Sitting is all we need ... all that is ... sitting just sitting sitting. Everything changes, and nothing changes ... and Just Sitting works a revolution that was here all along. In Sitting, there is nothing else or that need be done.

And yet ... we must also breathe, eat, care for our children, learn. Just Sitting is all there is, and all there is ... breathing, eating, children and study ... are Just Sitting too. ONLY seated Zazen is Zazen, and so we sit each day. Yet, all of life is Zazen. (A Koan). All "Things Just As It Is" (to quote Suzuki Roshi).

Suzuki Roshi was also a learned man, very conversant with the philosophy of Buddhism and its traditions. Here is one of his books on the Sandokai, the Harmony of Relative and Absolute, that we read in our bookclub awhile back. An understanding of "Relative and Absolute" and other Teachings ... not only in the mind (but in the mind too), and in the eyes, skin, flesh, bones and marrow ... marrow's marrow ... is necessary for Practice to truly bear fruit.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1409

Gassho, J