There was a great discussion on Twitter this morning and it highlights some of the major differences in how we teach and projec the Dharma to others. @digitalzendo has a more grass roots, folksy presentation while @mujaku relies on more on intellectual and esoteric explainations of Zen. [Both of these viewpoints have merit and downfalls but it is always fun to watch "monks" spar]
Now I think both of these individuals are well trained and versed in Buddhism but the stark difference in their styles helps to exemplify some of the differences between the Western Buddhism that is developing here and the Traditional Buddhism that it branched from. I wish that I had the time to interact more but I ran out of things to say rather early on in this conversation...
It started off innocently enough with a posting from @digitalzendo on a favorite topic of mine...
- @digitalzendo: My post today is "Zen Without Jargon Part I ," coming from suggestions by @iDharma & @Quieddora. http://www.digitalzendo.com/ #Buddhism
- @mujaku: Zen w/o jargon can easily turn into New Age Zen or Zen w/o meaning...
- RT @mujaku: Zen w/o jargon can easily turn into New Age Zen or Zen w/o meaning... respectfully that's crap.
- @mujaku Zen w/o jargon is on how my experience has not been esoteric, non-understandable..No mysteries, nothings hidden, nothing mystical
So yes, "New Age" Buddhism does exist. It is generally a dumbed down, filtered, ghost of its former self that is served into little bite sized bits for us to consume. This isn't bad in concept. Many are unable, for what ever reason, to handle some of the larger concepts or take the time to delve into it. I'm pretty much one of them. I love reading the stuff but some of the heavier shit is really too much to get a good handle on in between finishing a thesis, raising a family and working. Dense Buddhist teachings can be worse for a newbie. A novice. Or a homeowner. This isn't a matter of intelligence but individual ability.
Lets not forget that these are "monastics" we are talking about (especially with Zen). Lay-persons tended to move away from Zen and all of its austarity to more comfortable lay-practice such as Shin, Pure-Land or Tendai Buddhism rather than Zen. Whether it's Shin with Absolute Trust in Amida Buddha or Zen with meditation and Emptiness; we follow the same path. Some roads are bumpier than others and some are loaded with brambles...
- @ZenDirtZenDust How do real life exp. help us in seeing our Buddha-nature? 10:52
- @ZenDirtZenDust To uncover our Buddha-nature is hard work on many levels. Immersion helps to start the ball rolling so we can progress. 11:16
Exactly. Immersion and real-life experiences. @Mujaku was proving my point but didn't want to admit it. We immerse ourselves into real-life experiences. Nothing magical, nothing existencial or mysterious. The thing is, some practicioners just insist on pushing the esoteric and mystical presentation of Zen. This is fine for some but forming the foundation of Zen as mystical is detrimental to the actual practice of meditation. It is from this firm foundation that we can "realize our Buddha-Nature" or whatever abstraction you want to insert here. Don't focus on the ornate gabled windows of Buddhism or the elaborate trellace work of Zen. Instead stick to the stable stone and mortar foundation.
I don't have to have a goal of enlightenment or of Buddhahood (hah). I don't need a goal at all, just practice. Just brick and mortar; dust and dirt. Practice. If this is an imature revelation of Zen. So be it. We need to walk before we can run and I don't ever expect to fly. Dirt and dust is fine with me.
- @mujaku Quote and define all You want, but what about the real life experiences. What about fire in the knee, what of falling asleep?
- @mujaku Teach to the student's level so they can build up. You teach to your level and knock down student. Poor teaching.
Quotes are meaningless when they don't teach. If I don't know what a Skandha is or Amrita, a Bhikshu, Dharmakaya or Samadhi then the terms are meaningless. If you can't explain to the student or are unwilling to then you lose the student and gain nothing but your own elevated self-worth. As I said...meaningless.
More importantly, zazen is hard and difficult. It hurts our knees and back and makes our legs fall asleep. It strains our minds to focus and not to wander. We all start here and we need practical advise and encouragement not dogma and religious iconology.
- @digitalzendo There is nothing is the five skandhas worth supporting; and what is not the skandhas, well, he is still on Rajaghrha. 14:03
And here we go again....big words and no meaning.
- @mujaku I agree. Zen is meditation and rhetoric is more the realm of esoteric Buddhist practice. But if it works for them then fine w/me! 10:09
- @digitalzendo @mujaku Rhetoric is a stink that pervades every religion. Zen moves past it to actual practice. #buddhism #zen 10:11
- @ZenDirtZenDust Most experiences teach us we never learn from them. But tuning in to our Buddha-nature requires a heaven soaring spirit. 11:17
See if we cut the rhetoric then the concepts are much easier. Everything does not have to be in sanscrit or relate to the movement of water or "spirits".
- @ZenDirtZenDust It is not my words but the root of my long tongue you should look at, if you have the eyes to see this root. ;) 11:35
See, now that is just meaningless and gross....not helpful.
- @mujaku You've quoted yourself out. You really can't express the root, can you? 12:29
That is the problem with big quotes and confusing analogies. Eventually you run out and then what are you left with...nothing. What is your student left with...nothing.
- @ZenDirtZenDust Lots of good karma and knowing the difference between brass and gold. :) 11:29
I know the difference between brass and gold and I will take brass everytime. Gold may glitter but brass will turn a spear. I'm here to turn spears, not to glitter.
I would like to end this with perhaps the wisest thing stated during the Dharma fight coming from @digitalzendo
- @mujaku Zen my friend is not in lofty things. Just live the 8fold Path, lets dedicate our life to that & that could be enough to get us home 12:07
Cheers,
I used to follow mujaku (mayeb 2wks) but in the end never understood what he was saying/quoting (and much of it came off to me as cranky complaining about ways that some people practice.)
ReplyDeleteThat was an interesting exchange between the two of them, for sure, and as you said dz nailed it with the quote you ended with.
In the end it has to be lived.
Excellent points, Jack. It seems in every religion, or business system, you find people who wish it to be complicated. I've identified two motivations for this wish:
ReplyDelete- Pride: if I make it difficult and talk like I get it, but you don't, then I'm better than you.
- Greed: if I make it difficult then I can charge you more for it.
This is true of Zen, social media marketing, bookkeeping, living "green", whatever.
When I write of esoterica, I either take the few keystrokes required to give the reader a clue (samsara - cycle of birth, suffering, death & rebirth) or provide a link to a cogent definition and fuller discussion of it. I am Mindful of my purpose: to help, not create despair.
@openbuddha Tweeted yesterday: My copy of the Connected Discourses of the Buddha (a chunk of the Pali cannon) showed up. 1800+ pages and could choke a goat!
I guess he wants to dine on goat.
"Zen is not some kind of excitement, but merely concentration on our usual everyday routine." -- Shunkyu Suzuki
You don't need the excitement of an 1800+ page book's arrival; or a pilgrimage to Tibet; or the suspenseful anticipation of zazen. Just pay full Attention to what you are doing in the here and now.
I can't do zazen for more than five minutes. Don't tell me to "practice" and I'll be able to do it all day eventually. If I press my forehead against a mountain five minutes daily, I will not penetrate the mountain in any useful way.
Instead of sitting, I practice meditation-in-motion.
Kinhin (walking meditation performed briefly as relief during zazen sessions) is one form. I sold my car in January and now walk several miles daily, paying full Attention to all I encounter. I smile at strangers and they smile back, enriched by acknowledgment of their existence and my approval of it. Trees and grass and flowers are themselves more brightly because I pay Attention to them.
My thoughts are stilled while I pay full Attention, even though my body is in motion. I am meditating as surely as if I sat frozen facing a wall for nine years.
I invented and practice Cue-do, the "Way of the Pool Cue", for more formal meditation-in-motion. Cue-do is much like Kyu-do, Zen archery. (In fact, the terms are pronounced identically.) Here is an introduction to Cue-do, written in my Zen Cueist aspect: http://is.gd/1IIFP
In short (thought it's too late for that :-) "K. I. S. S." is all the Zen you need to know.
David Hakala
The Barking Unicorn
Denver, CO USA
http://barkingunicorn.com