"Modern Zen is so modern it doesn’t require any help from classical Zen, classical Zen being anything prior to 1900."
"I need to underscore this, 2009 Zen doesn’t require any validation from the past. So don’t expect any citations from the Pali canon or the Mahayana canon."
But, seriously, that is just me. I hated when people would quote the Bible and act like that was the end all of the argument. I place the same limitation on the Sutras and canon. You can argue that with me but to me it is just good helpful literature.
"For all of you Zen romantics who refuse to go along with this you have only one course of action to take, continue visiting this blog and other like blogs and Internet sites that teach about something other than the moment"
I love blogs. See, you got some Modern Zen in you. It is a great way to present the Dharma to others. This is a great one and I learn a bit (good links) but that does not mean that I have to agree with every comment you make. There are many others out floating around that have some good and varied wisdom to provide. We choose them like we choose teachers. Not all teachers are great nor teach in the same way.
Our teaching (classical or modern) tends to get inbred when we don't branch out a bit. Many Modern practitioners practice, for some time, with classic Theravada monks or branch into "Pure Land" or Tibetan Traditions to learn from them. What can you learn from modern zen practitioners? Simple, learn to not get to wrapped up into the scriptures. Don't ignore them but don't wrap yourself up in a blanket with them either.
"In the meantime expect Zen, followed by Buddhism, to become something it never was when we compare what is taught today with the canon itself."
Yes, expect something like that and expect the same complaints that were heard when those "fancy" Mahayana Sutra came out with their crazy logics and celestrial Buddhas. It seems like everyone (maybe) got over it.I read the Pali and the Mahayana Sutras. Buddhism should change. The Four Noble Truths and the Eight-Fold Path remain solid. The rest is just gravy.
I collect from experience. I work. I follow no gurus and no roshis. I accept teaching when provided and ignore it when I deem it crap. I practice Modern Zen. One thing that most modern Buddhist are careful about are literal and unwavering attachment to scripture.
Maybe it was because many of us were raised Christian and had the Bible thumped into us but the end result is that while I view Sutras and the Pali Canon as helpful; they are still just tools. Don't get too involved with them. They are not useless, by any means, but they are not the main aspect of many individuals' practice. They are only words.
If you want my opinion on what "Modern" Buddhism or Zen is...it is a movement away from hierarchy and structure. Not the structure that is presented in the teachings of the Buddha but the structure that was developed over years of it being the primary religion in Asia. This structure is important historically and many have cultural attachments to it but, frankly, I never did. So why would I need to wear a robe or chant in Japanese.
The Dharma has moved into the West and it is about time that we realize that it will change. Maybe for the better or for the worse but change it will...it always does.
Cheers,
Modern Zen is only modern, not new.
ReplyDeleteThe Buddha's very last words were (in this translation):
"All component things in the world are changeable. They are not lasting. Work hard to gain your own salvation."
Scripture is changeable, its relevance does not last from one generation to the next, or from one person to the next in the same instant. Your own salvation lies in your own work, not that of others.
"Do not follow in the footsteps of the men of old, seek what they sought."
I follow no long-dead footsteps, but the living silvery stream of Life.
"Be soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream, not a raging waterfall. Follow the stream, have faith in its course. It will go its own way, meandering here, trickling there. It will find the grooves, the cracks, the crevices. Just follow it. Never let it out of your sight. It will take you...." ~ Sheng-yen.
"Have faith in its course," that is the key. It is said, "Faith is the ability not to panic." And The Buddha said,
"The whole secret of existence is to have no fear."
I stared Death in the eye every morning for 158 days http://is.gd/1KbxH and stopped fearing Death. What now shall I fear?
"Let go over a cliff, die completely, and then come back to life - after that you cannot be deceived."
Only through your fear can someone deceive you. Fear makes you want to believe that someone can make your fear go away.
People use fear to sell things deceptively all the time. Good, kind, religious people. Newspapers and prisons are littered with them. Do not buy any "system" that promises to relieve fear. Remember the words of Max Gunther in "The Zurich Axioms":
"Chaos is not dangerous until it begins to look orderly."
Myth and science tell us, "From chaos the Universe arose, and to chaos it is headed." But why should there be "order" in between? If chaos is the Universe's natural state, why is it not in that state now?
The Universe IS in chaos right now. Perceptions of order are Delusions planted in our minds by others - you have been deceived.
Let go; die; come back; and never be deceived again. Face chaos and do not panic.