claude Anshin Thomas s interview

[Taigu]

Hi guys,

these days, I am pretty quiet. Still around, always around you know. Just love silence really.

this is a man I love. He is the real deal.
And what he says is so profound and so vast yet so simple.
I wish we could all hear it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hZ5NWg-kok

take great care of yourself

gassho

Taigu

[Dokan]

Have only watched the first half but have really enjoyed the discussions. Very apt for me right now. Many things to digest.

Gassho,

Dokan

[Mp]

Wonderful Taigu ... thank you, I will enjoy it during my morning coffee. =)

Gassho
Shingen

[MyoHo]

........................

Gassho

Myoho

[Myozan Kodo]

Thank you for this authentic voice.
Gassho
Myozan

[Myosha]

Hello,

Thank you for a connection.


Gassho,
Myosha

[Jundo]

Let me also recommend his book ... He is a friend of fellow veteran and Zen fellow, Daiho, who will be coming Sunday ...

http://www.amazon.com/At-Hells-Gate-Soldiers-Journey/dp/159030134X/ref=la_B001K8B5D2_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395757000&sr=1-1

Gassho, J

[Shugen]

Thank you for this.

Gassho


Shugen

[Nindo]

I met him and Kenshin years ago in Vienna. I was so green and clueless then ... still, he left quite the impression. Just the way he talked about Dana! Something like - here's the box, if you are going to put in just 5 bucks, you might as well forget about it because you are insulting me. Consider the value of this teaching! - boom!
I also read his book, but found the German translation quite shoddy.
Thanks for posting!

Nindo

[Eishuu]

What a wonderful man. I might need to watch that again...so much to take in.

Thank you for posting that.

Gassho
Lucy

[Docjeff]

Humble, Wise and poignant!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Koshin]

Feels like a good friend opening his heart at you, with wise and compassionate words...thank you for this teacher

Deep Gassho

[Hans]

Hello Taigu,

thank you for the link. I have never met him, though I do like the clarity of his teachings and feel inspired by him.

@Nindo: That's a pretty cool and straight forward answer regarding Dana!


One small memory related to his Zaltho Sangha in Germany left a slightly strange impression on me however.

A few years ago it was discovered that a relatively well known pseudo- Zen master of a big and rather wealthy German Sangha (which consists mainly of Vietnamese immigrants) had been acting in a sexually inappropriate way for quite some time, while at the same time pretending to live according to full Bhikshu vows...let's not get me started with his lifestyle btw.

To cut the long story short, this apparently was no gossip, as five people stepped forward and filed affidavits.

http://wisdomquarterly.blogspot.de/2012/03/sex-scandal-at-pagoda-phat-hue-germany.html

If you can read German, here is the official statement published by the DBO, a small German umbrella organisation of ordained clergy following full Bhikshu and Bhikshuni vinaya rules. Nishijima's dharma heir Dagmar Doko Waskoenig is also a member of the DBO btw., and I personally trust her. They forced the Vietnamese pseudo Zen master to leave their order.

http://buddhistische-ordensgemeinschaft.de/dbo_mitteilung-02-2011.htm

What does all this have to do with Claude Anshin Thomas?

Well, not too much, but to be honest if Jundo had had a dharma talk scheduled to be held at Eido Shimano's or Sasaki's place at the time when it became really apparent what had been going on there, I'd be very critical of him not switching to another place and/or condemning what went on there in no uncertain terms....instead of indirectly supporting that establishment through treating it like a completely OK dharma center. From what his Zaltho Sangha said, the initial idea of Claude Anshin Thomas's seems to have been to enter into a healing dialogue with the Zen teacher in question, which is a wonderful and compassionate approach...however sometimes it might be better to call a spade a spade, especially after some people were hurt.



Gassho,

Hans Chudo Mongen

[Taigu]

Indeed Mongen, indeed, and in the same time you seem to missing something.
Can you see it?


Gassho

T.

[Hans]

Hello Taigu,

indeed I feel I know what you are pointing to. From my limited life experience, it seems that it is always good to remember that this actual life is never as clear cut as we want it to be, which is the only reason why I mentioned the other story.

Maybe it is my foolish approach to apply WabiSabi even in the case of truly good teachers. They need a little imperfection to be able to truly be real. Once they enter the arena of real, we can truly begin to live teachings, instead of maybe admiring them too much.

Gassho,

Hans Chudo Mongen