McMindfullness? Ooh boy...

[Matt]

I believe that Zazen is helpful for conditions such as depression and anxiety ... for the simple reason that it teaches us not to "buy into" and get caught by our runaway thoughts and emotions. Anything grounded in allowing life, letting things be and "going with the flow", would seem that it must be helpful. That was my purely anecdotal experience with my own deep depression many years ago. I wrote about this today on another thread ...

http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?13635-Does-Shikantaza-help-with-anxiety&p=157513#post157513

However, it is hard to study, varies person to person, and the studies to date have been so poorly designed and implemented. Also, Zazen practice can go hand in hand with all manner of other treatments and therapies.

Also, I believe very much that one can preserve a "secular" view and maintain many of the most powerful teachings, practices and perspectives of Buddhism ... the best of both worlds. This will be the topic of my upcoming "Secular Buddhist Podcast" interview on "Religious-Secularism". So many of our key teachings are perfectly harmonious with a modern, secular and scientific world-view (such as teachings on "Emptiness" and "Non-self"), and one can safely abandon many of the more superstitious aspects of Buddhism while maintaining those in tact.

Gassho, J

SatToday

Hi Jundo,

Thank you for your perspective on that. Looking forward to the Secular Buddhist Podcast.

Deep bows,
Matt
#SatToday

[Shinzan]

I was reminded just yesterday that Siddhartha Gotama was a secularist as well. There was no big-B Buddhism in his day; no temples, no forms, no hierarchy, no special history. Just his deep inquiry into the nature of the mind.

Just his mindfulness that "This is not me. This is not mine. This is not self."
Simple, simple, simple. Whether depression or exaltation arises.

Just my two cents...
_/\_ Shinzan
sit some more