Capitalism hits the fan- video

[james2012]

One problem. Buddhism and Zen are not the same thing. Calling it Zen Buddhism is a Western label. Ask your Buddhist friends if they meet the Buddha would they kill him? This is a famous saying in Zen which amounts to a statement that if one is acting like a Buddhist and elevating the Buddha to some high status, the idea itself must be killed. There comes a time when the Buddha himself must be left behind. Zen has its roots in the thinking of Nagarjuna, who tired of constant bickering between the Greater and Lesser vehicles of Buddhism and showed them both they were full of crap. Tell you Buddhists friend to read the Nothingness Beyond God, an introduction to the thinking of Kitaro Nishada. They are confused and bemused because their thinking is stuck. Zen is not a religion - Buddhism is.

Chewed on it some, thanks again. Even talked to some of the Buddhists at their temple up the street from me. They seemed ... bemused. They're not attacking anything. I think Russell, Cantor, and eventually even Godel the Destroyer will be recognized in the future as the Great Reconcilers. The Buddhists just seem to be satisfied with intuiting what Western Philosophy seems to need to grok intellectually: that our logic is inherently and fundamentally limited. The Divine will not be found there.



My bad ... did I mention that I'm pretty much socially inept and won't pick up on these cues?

 

[james2012]

Buddhists also tend to think of reduction - reducing the many to the one. Zen does not believe in the absolute of any dichotomy and demonstrates through experience that all dichotomies are baseless and formless. Ask your Buddhist friends a very famous Zen question: If you reduce the Many to the One, to what shall you reduce the One? When they give you an answer I will be happy to expand upon why anything they say will be wrong if they take a Buddhist stance.

Chewed on it some, thanks again. Even talked to some of the Buddhists at their temple up the street from me. They seemed ... bemused. They're not attacking anything. I think Russell, Cantor, and eventually even Godel the Destroyer will be recognized in the future as the Great Reconcilers. The Buddhists just seem to be satisfied with intuiting what Western Philosophy seems to need to grok intellectually: that our logic is inherently and fundamentally limited. The Divine will not be found there.



My bad ... did I mention that I'm pretty much socially inept and won't pick up on these cues?

 

[GirlyMan]

Zen is not a religion - Buddhism is.

Zen is a tool which Buddhists have made available to everyone regardless of faith. ... or even the lack thereof.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

Re: Budget 2012+/-

The United States of Inequality
Why we can't ignore growing income inequality. (1) - By Timothy Noah - Slate Magazine
http://img.slate.com/media/3/100914_NoahT_GreatDivergence.pdf

Timothy Noah kicked off this series by looking at whether race, gender, or the breakdown of the nuclear family affected income inequality, and then he examined immigration, the technology boom, federal government policy, the decline of labor unions, international trade, whether the ultra wealthy are to blame, and what role the decline of K-12 education has played. In conclusion, Noah explained why we can't ignore income inequality.

 

[zkt]

One problem. Buddhism and Zen are not the same thing. Calling it Zen Buddhism is a Western label. Ask your Buddhist friends if they meet the Buddha would they kill him? This is a famous saying in Zen which amounts to a statement that if one is acting like a Buddhist and elevating the Buddha to some high status, the idea itself must be killed. There comes a time when the Buddha himself must be left behind. Zen has its roots in the thinking of Nagarjuna, who tired of constant bickering between the Greater and Lesser vehicles of Buddhism and showed them both they were full of crap. Tell you Buddhists friend to read the Nothingness Beyond God, an introduction to the thinking of Kitaro Nishada. They are confused and bemused because their thinking is stuck. Zen is not a religion - Buddhism is.

NO,NO,NO. You miss the point. Killing the Budda is a metaphor dealing with false prophets.
You CANT meet the Budda on the road because the manifestation of the Budda is an expression of individualism and unique to each of us. If you meet him then he is false by defination.
This is a completely alien concept to 'Western religions whose fundamental principles are separation of the devine from the self and the inherent godlessness of man.
We dont look at the world in terms of dichotomies- good and bad. Thats too easy. More like an evolution and interplay of self , nonself and awareness. It is difficult to explain. Its not a goal like heaven, but a path. And half the fun is getting there. Enjoy

 

[GirlyMan]

This is a completely alien concept to 'Western religions whose fundamental principles are separation of the devine from the self and the inherent godlessness of man.

I'm pretty sure that's the point of not just "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him." and "What is the sound of one hand clapping?", but of all of the thousands of different koans. The Divine will not be found rationally.

It is difficult to explain. Its not a goal like heaven, but a path. And half the fun is getting there. Enjoy

Getting there is the only fun, 'cause it all ends in nothing.

More like an evolution and interplay of self , nonself and awareness.

For many decades I've been an atheist. I'm starting to rethink that. There is a God, and it is us. Biocentrism is a start at reconciling the rational with the spiritual, but there's still a long way to go. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcWVL4B-4pI"]But momma, that's where the fun is.[/ame] :wink:

 

[zkt]

Then there is this:

If You Meet The Buddha On The Road, Kill Him « Daily Buddhism

 

[james2012]

Then there is this:

If You Meet The Buddha On The Road, Kill Him « Daily Buddhism

You won't find many Buddhists believing in this statement. Buddha is a god to many lay persons who practice Buddhism. They would consider such a quote to be heresy. The statement is one believed only by the minority and its etymology is from Zen as the piece you point to clearly states. As a matter of fact, I don't know of any pure Buddhists who would not go white as a sheet upon hearing the statement.

 

[james2012]

Read the comments in the piece. They paint a pretty odd picture don't you think?

 

[james2012]

I'm pretty sure that's the point of not just "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him." and "What is the sound of one hand clapping?", but of all of the thousands of different koans. The Divine will not be found rationally.


Getting there is the only fun, 'cause it all ends in nothing.


For many decades I've been an atheist. I'm starting to rethink that. There is a God, and it is us. Biocentrism is a start at reconciling the rational with the spiritual, but there's still a long way to go. But momma, that's where the fun is. :wink:

I touch a bit on Zen thinking here: https://thinksteroids.com/community/posts/756327

 

[GirlyMan]

Then there is this:

If You Meet The Buddha On The Road, Kill Him « Daily Buddhism

While I appreciate the link and will be checking it out some more, the concept of trying to analyze a koan or even writing about it somehow just feels wrong to me.

I touch a bit on Zen thinking here: https://thinksteroids.com/community/posts/756327

Damn, you fellas have already been thinking about this shit for a while now. My bad. ... I really should probably try to get out more.

 

[zkt]

While I appreciate the link and will be checking it out some more, the concept of trying to analyze a koan or even writing about it somehow just feels wrong to me.



Damn, you fellas have already been thinking about this shit for a while now. My bad. ... I really should probably try to get out more.

Fuck!
You will never analyze the sound of one hand clapping. Thats the point. Analytical thought can take only you so far.
The simple fuckin truth of the human situation is that we are all in this together, we are all gonna die, we know nothing beyond that, and the best course of action is to express compassion for our fellow travelers. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Compasssion. Not greed. Not ego. Not fame nor fortune.
Just happy to be here and to share your joy with your fellow travelers.
That is the way of the Budda. Or the Tao if you like.
Or go watch Fox if you like.

 

[GirlyMan]

Fuck!
You will never analyze the sound of one hand clapping. Thats the point. Analytical thought can take only you so far.
The simple fuckin truth of the human situation is that we are all in this together, we are all gonna die, we know nothing beyond that, and the best course of action is to express compassion for our fellow travelers. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Compasssion. Not greed. Not ego. Not fame nor fortune.
Just happy to be here and to share your joy with your fellow travelers.
That is the way of the Budda. Or the Tao if you like.
Or go watch Fox if you like.

I always just thought that's what it means to be human. Never needed no religion to tell me that.