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Post by Notme on May 8, 2010 13:12:14 GMT -5
Hi ZD. What would one see through a trillions eyes??? ... The exact same thing I’m seeing right now except from a trillion different angels. ...Just also wanted to know how far I am on this test?
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Post by karen on May 8, 2010 14:16:24 GMT -5
You're attached to a board game.
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Post by wilson on May 8, 2010 16:01:19 GMT -5
zendancer i do not even see myself as a what much less a who. i forgot about the koan thing. and while i am here what is the mu koan? not very familiar with the koans.
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Post by zendancer on May 8, 2010 16:19:56 GMT -5
Notme: I was going to email you, but then realized that you're a guest and not on the list of members. Send me an email at bobh@usit.net and I'll give you some feedback. I have a spamblocker, but I'll see your message and let it through.
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Post by enigma on May 8, 2010 23:24:03 GMT -5
Okay, here are some more fun ones to play with. 1. Some people think Jesus was a pacifist and some people think he was an activist. One day he walked up to the entrance of the temple and turned over the tables of the money changers. Was this the act of a pacifist or an activist? How can you show a teacher that you understand the truth? 2. A guy who had three automobiles was planning to go his high school reunion. At first he decided to drive his Mercedes, but then he thought, "If I drive my Mercedes, my friends will think I'm showing off." He then decided to drive his old VW until he thought, "If I do that, I'll be showing off in a different way, and my friends will think I'm trying to show that I'm so cool I can drive an old car and won't care what anyone thinks." He then decided to drive his Chevrolet until he realized that how he viewed his friends' opinions of him was forcing him to pick his middle-of-the-road average-priced car. Suddenly, he had a minor enlightenment experience, and knew exactly which car he should drive. Which one did he drive? 3. It is raining. A sage points at the rain and asks a student, "What is that?" How should the student answer? 4. A sage points to a rose and asks, "What is that?" How should a student answer? 5. A sage holds up one finger and asks, "What is this?" How should a student answer? 6. A sage snaps his fingers and asks, "What is this?" How should a student answer? 7. A sage with gymnastic ability does a standing back flip and asks, "What was that?" How should a student answer? Just some fun stuff to test your ability to access body-knowledge. As with all koans, the mind is useless here. 1. I would punch the teacher, and then hug him/her. And hope he's not stronger than me. 2. The Mercedes. 3. Take a glass of water and pour it on a fellow zen student (or better yet, on the teacher). 4. Go in the garden, pick a rose, and put it in the hair. 5. Hold up a toe! 6. Clap his hands! 7. Start dancing! :::::Looks around for Zen stick.......finds it.....WHACK!:::::
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Post by enigma on May 8, 2010 23:26:53 GMT -5
"Who are you, absolutely?"
Somebodys relative??
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Post by Portto on May 9, 2010 6:20:34 GMT -5
:::::Looks around for Zen stick.......finds it.....WHACK!::::: Boy, this stuff is REAL! Just when I was getting comfortable with "it's all an illusion."
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Post by zendancer on May 9, 2010 7:31:47 GMT -5
Porto: Yes, there's a classic exchange between a Zen Master and a student where the student says, "I finally understand; this is all an illusion." The ZM whacks him hard with his stick and says, "You dummy; do you think that an illusion?"
The story of Hakuin is also a classic, but I think I've recounted it before. Hakuin had a major enlightenment experience and went to present his understanding to his teacher Shoju. After he finished, Shoju cold-cocked him--knocked him off the porch into the mud and pouring rain. Shoju just cackled and said, "You poor hole-dwelling devil." For several months thereafter Shoju would laugh every time he saw Hakuin and say, "There's that poor hole-dwelling devil again." Hakuin had more enlightenment experiences, and eventually Shoju quit laughing at him even though he wouldn't sanction his understanding. He realized that Hakuin was making progress. Hakuin didn't fully wake up until after Shoju had died, and he later said, "My old teacher, Shoju, was much too kind to me in those early days."
Hakuin ultimately became famous for several incidents as well as his teachings. The best known was the one where a young girl was discovered to be pregnant and told her parents that Hakuin was the father of her baby. When the angry parents brought the baby to Hakuin after it was born and told him he should care for it, Hakuin supposedly said, "Is that so?" It was a huge scandal, but he took the baby and cared for it like a mother. Several weeks later, the girl's conscience caused her to break down and admit the truth--that the boy's father was a boy from a neighboring village. The parents were horrified and rushed to Hakuin to apologize and get the baby. After they told him about the mistake, he said, "Is that so?" and gave them the baby. Hakuin claimed that his deepest enlightenment experience occurred long after he was fully awake and was triggered one night by the sound of falling snow. The full story of his life is fascinating to read.
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Post by Portto on May 9, 2010 13:28:59 GMT -5
Yes, the life of these sages is fascinating! It's also fascinating that there are nondual stories that are several thousand years old, as you mentioned in another post. It seems that as soon as humans imagined separation, they also "found" a way back.
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