With palms together,
Good Morning All,
If you need to believe in something go somewhere else. Zen is not about belief, if fact it is anti-belief. Zen is an experiential thing, call it a practice or a philosophy, or a religion if you will, it is fundamentally an orientation in action.
Beliefs are a hindrance to our experience because, like pillows on our bed, they create a soft comfort zone for our minds to rest. Resting gets us only resting. Moreover, we all too often mistake our "belief" for the thing itself, that thing being an awakened life.
What does it mean then, to live an awakened life?
The cat purrs. The dog runs. I pour coffee. My heart-mind hurts. I love my wife. We make breakfast. Get it?
An awakened life is right in front of your nose.
When we live in the promise or thought of tomorrow, whether it be alive or dead in heaven or Nirvana, we are already in hell. Hell is the striving for something we already possess not being aware that we possess it. So, like the fingers in the Chinese puzzle, relax your grasp and you are free.
Be well.
3 comments:
"If you need to believe in something go somewhere else. Zen is not about belief, if fact it is anti-belief." - posted by So Daiho Hilbert on Oct 29 2006
"As a religious or philosophical person, we must take our belief, faith, our practices, if they are authentic, out into the world. We must stand for the good against evil. Good and evil are not amorphous concepts. They are practical and political realities.- posted by So Daiho Hilbert on Jun 30 2006
hmmm.. I think I will choose to "believe" the second quote and not the last one. Of course, #2 sounds a lot like the familiar, "If you are not for us you are against us" by W..
I guess they are both true and they are both false.. :)
Harvey san, I wasn't trying to be a smart ass there. well, maybe I was a little.. I do value your writing. you are one of the few buddhist writers that make any sense to me at all. it is just hard to convey some things verbally. I just wrote on another blog about buddhism and belief. I said I think Buddhism involves belief to some extent. I think no belief is an extreme position. I just always expect my beliefs to change.
gassho sensei
Jeff, on the contrary, as I said just now, I am deeply flattered. A bow to you.
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