scandals

And I am very glad you are here to practice with us! Like you, I am very new to Zen - every day!

I also owe you an apology - my comments were very US-centric - I do not know a lot about Zen practice in Canada - and do not presume they are the same. Perhaps you will share with us what you find...

Keep it up!

Gassho
Yugen

I very much appreciated your thoughts Yugen. Thanks. I am very new to Zen.

"There's nothing hardcore, cool, or rebellious, about Zen. It's a very old, traditional, and demanding practice..."

Why does it have to be one or the other? I would agree with both statements. Zen is a very old and demanding practice. It has migrated across continents through the hundreds and thousands of years.... Shikantaza is also very demanding..... indeed, it gets harder the more time you spend on the cushion..... as far as being rebellious goes, from a historical perspective Chinese emperors and rulers over the centuries alternatively co-opted, bought into, and attempted to eradicate Chan/Zen Buddhism because of its potential to challenge centralized authority. The same was true in Japan in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and I am sure more knowledgeable folks here than me will indicate this was the case much earlier as well.

Shikantaza can be very hardcore as well - it is not new age meditation - to be alone with a zafu and your own thoughts is tough stuff and requires enormous discipline. To sit and face a blank wall for day after day, year after year, when it is easier to watch TV, go shopping, or eat Twinkies is pretty hardcore in my mind.

From a cultural perspective in the United States, the notion of Zen as rebellious and cool is a cultural one - may have started with Gary Snyder and Alan Ginsberg and colleagues of their generation - thought of as counterculture and anti-establishment.... this is somewhat unfortunate as the more I read Snyder's work I like what he has to say. It is thoughtful and he is very close to our own lineage's emphasis on dissolving the boundaries between lay and clerical/monastic practice. He very much advocates practicing "out in the world." Just as Koans have been used to disrupt conventional thought processes there have been practitioners (aren't we all teachers?) who have thought to challenge the status quo by utilising techniques, commentary, and fora that are considered "in your face," "improper" or not conventional (Brad?). The maple tree outside my window is a marvelous teacher to me - it doesn't wear an Okesa - does that delegitimize it? In my mind this is the only way our practice is advanced, and prevents becoming arteriosclerotic. More power to Brad, as far as I am concerned. I may not always agree with what he says, but he challenges our thinking and practice. The truth is that Zen takes on the character of the cultures and society it migrates into - it changed when it migrated from China to Japan, and it is changing as develops in the United States and Europe - it takes on the flavors of the things it is mixed with. We depend on experienced teachers and "good friends" in practice to help us stay on track and determine whether or not our practice is authentic and consistent with the teachings....both from the past and present. I have to be careful with the word tradition because that can become a euphemism for rejecting change or evolution. There are many varieties of Zen practice, and the US is not without those who differ significantly as to what constitutes Zen practice. I find the intramural squabbling in the Zen community - picking and choosing - to be foolish and a waste of time. Sit, live and love. Practice with a sangha. Follow your heart. The rest is beyond our control.

Deep bows,
Yugen

This all strikes me as a bit shady. He's now "disrobing" and claiming he never considered himself a teacher. But he wrote 3 popular Zen books, founded a popular youth movement, and holds regular sittings where he is in charge. Brad. is most certainly human, just as I am so I don't want to assume a punishing and judging mentality

I've encountered this kind of thing in evangelicalism - trying so hard to be cool and relevant that you get to treat people how they would like to be treated. In the process thousands of young "Hardcore Zen" followers are left behind. Marketing gone wrong.

There's nothing hardcore, cool, or rebellious, about Zen. It's a very old, traditional, and demanding practice. It stands on its own merits of imparting joy, happiness, peace, mindfulness, and mental health. That should be enough.

[Jundo]

Thanks Jundo.
I'll be interested in looking these guidelines over. Like any guidelines, they are only of use if followed, of course.
Gassho
Myozan

As a priest-in-training here, you are expected to uphold them and be bound by them. You were, of course, familiar with our ethics guidelines here at Treeleaf before today I hope.

Gassho, Jundo

[Myozan Kodo]

Thanks Jundo.
I'll be interested in looking these guidelines over. Like any guidelines, they are only of use if followed, of course.
Gassho
Myozan

[Jundo]

Hi Myozan,

They ask and encourage all their members to have ethics policies in place, including on issues of abuse, and have various committees charged with advising on good ethical standards for Soto Zen Clergy and developing "model" ethics policies.

http://szba.org/wp-content/uploads/SZBA_Ethics_Statement_Sept_2011.pdf

Ours here at Treeleaf is modeled on that ...

http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?7607-Treeleaf-Ethics-Committee-%28-Complaint-Box-%29

Gassho, J

[Myozan Kodo]

Hello,
Does anyone know if the SZBA have clear guidelines on dealing with sexual and physical abuse issues?
Gassho,
Myozan

[Nengyo]

Glanced at the title and thought this thread was about sandals. It's nice to get out of hot, stuffy, shoes when the warm weather comes.... let the toes hang out. But no. Never mind.

.. have no insight on scandals.. Gassho, kojip

And this has made my morning! Thank you

[Omoi Otoshi]

If Brad really gives away his stuff, then it is a perfect example for non-attachment.

Yes, non-attachment. But in my experience, non-attachment for the sake of non-attachment can also be a sign of aversion (one of the three poisons).

I'm not saying this is true for Brad!
Just wanted to point that out.
I kinda like the way he sometimes challenges my ideas in his unique way.

Gassho,
Pontus

[RichardH]

Glanced at the title and thought this thread was about sandals. It's nice to get out of hot, stuffy, shoes when the warm weather comes.... let the toes hang out. But no. Never mind.

.. have no insight on scandals.. Gassho, kojip

[Jundo]

In the end, all it just pointers. nothing more. No teachings, no teachers. Nothing to impart. Nothing

And mastering such Way of Something-Nothing is greatly aided by having experienced Teachers and Sangha companions to help one along the way.

Gassho, J

[Seiryu]

What is a teacher of Zen anyway? Zen being seen as a direct pointing to the mind, outside of words and letters, actively being a Zen teacher or rejecting that "title" doesn't matter. Brad, helps a lot, in his own way. Whether he knows about it or not. It is very easy to project our ideas on how we want our teachers to be, especially if someone has transmission. (oooo big word).

I met Brad once. He just like his books and writings.

In the end, all it just pointers. nothing more. No teachings, no teachers. Nothing to impart. Nothing to take.
See where all this is pointing to, and simply drop everything and go...

[Jundo]

Reminds me a bit of the famous story of the Zen master who burnt wooden Buddha statues to make some fire in winter.
The teaching of non-attachment is IMHO one of the most important Zen has to offer.

I feel so.

Of course, I usually bow down to Buddha Statues endless times more than I burn them. However, sometimes it is fine to burn them, and one should never be attached. A Buddha Statue is also a piece of wood, nothing special. However, a Buddha Statue is also a reMINDer and symbol and embodiment of these Teachings. So, while not attached, I bow down and do embrace fully and honor the meaning in my heart. So it is with wearing Robes.

If there is / was a scandal I think everyone is late. I mean the guy is 105.

As to Sasaki Roshi, although 105 he appears to have continued this even these days, not to mention the past decades.

Neither is sex itself the issue. Japanese monks started having girlfriends and marrying a 150 years ago (actually many from centuries earlier, but not officially), and though many disagree, I find it a healthy thing … bringing this Way out into life. So long as we avoid the truly harmful, predatory, abusive, then sex is good, sex is fun, sex is beautiful.

And that’s the issue … not sex. Zen Priests in the modern world can date, have sexual relationships, marry if they choose (or be celibate if they choose, a beautiful path for some. Different strokes … or the lack thereof … for different folks!). The real issue is the misuse of power, using the cloak of bestowing a “Special Teaching” as a pick-up line, saying that crawling into bed with the “Roshi” or being fondled is a necessary spiritual practice and that the seducee is somehow unworthy if she refuses, confusing the aura of “spiritual friend or guide” with the role of lover … something that can be very damaging to folks who are often (not always) at a very sensitive, fragile, searching time in their lives where they are absolutely trusting and easily (not always) damaged and disillusioned when the fires of sex are misused. A further question is the culture of cover-up the allowed it to continue, or explained it away, for decades.

The following, published yesterday, is long but required reading for any serious Zen person.

http://sweepingzen.com/some-reflections-on-rinzai-ji-by-giko-david-rubin/

And folks newer to Zen should not be discouraged by such things. For every Teacher out there with a shadow, there are dozens and dozens of Zen teachers I know who are gentle, caring, dedicated, sincere men or women who would not hurt a fly. A few bad apples (or good apples with blemish here or there) do not ruin the whole orchard. I posted this comment after reading it ...

May we all have students willing to write openly about our failings someday.

This only strengthens my trust in this Way. The more beauty and ugliness appear to the eye, a Buddha’s Eye sees through-and-through.

Gassho, Jundo

[Daitetsu]

If Brad really gives away his stuff, then it is a perfect example for non-attachment.

Reminds me a bit of the famous story of the Zen master who burnt wooden Buddha statues to make some fire in winter.
The teaching of non-attachment is IMHO one of the most important Zen has to offer.

Gassho,

Timo