My misconceptions

[stirling]

16 hours ago, Cobie said:

For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? (Matthew 16:2)

 

From my perspective, considered as a non-dual/no-self koan,  this looks like a trick question. 

[Keith108]

3 hours ago, stirling said:

 

Informally, this is also a technique in Soto Zen (all Zen?). The student is instructed to just sit, with no technique or instruction. What naturally happens (of course!) is that the mind runs riot making the sitter feel crazy. With practice the student eventually finds that the mind runs out of material and becomes still for brief periods of time. I have never recommended this practice, or met a student I thought would benefit from it, though I have met other teachers who have. 

 

I prefer the Bönpo version.

 

Probably half of Zen, or thereabouts.

 

The Linji/Korean Seon/Rinzai instruction is to investigate the hwadu (word - head). In the Korean tradition, we raise the question "what am I?". This strong self inquiry serves to do the same thing - exhaust the discursive mind, and cause a shift of view. 

 

_/|\_

Keith

 

 

[Keith108]

22 hours ago, old3bob said:

 

human beings and I'd say all other types of created beings evolve, devolve or change... Spirit/Buddha nature/The Self/or your preferred term/ do not.  But with beings that are going through particular  changes  one could say there are changing levels, states, or phases.  Imo such is depicted in the Tibetan wheel of life.  Cryptic like sayings about the absolute have different strokes for different folks.

 

 

 

This reminds of the "two truths" model of looking at the world. Ultimately, there is no enlightenment/nothing to do.

 

And yet, from a mundane viewpoint, practice is necessary. A shift away from self - reference (kensho) is necessary. Digesting the experience is necessary. In other words, stages. But to think of it terms of stages reifies the self view. 

 

So, we just practice and see what happens!

 

The best words I have ever read on the subject can be found here: Bassui's Talk on One Mind.

 

_/|\_

Keith

[Keith108]

Here is poem about the thing that never changes:

 

Quote

Coming empty-handed, going empty-handed – that is human.
When you are born, where do you come from?
When you die, where do you go?
Life is like a floating cloud which appears.
Death is like a floating cloud which disappears.
The floating cloud itself originally does not exist.
Life and death, coming and going, are also like that.
But there is one thing which always remains clear.
It is pure and clear, not depending on life and death.

Then what is the one pure and clear thing?

 

From here.