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Have you reached Zen yet ?


LostSouls7

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Sitting back looking at life and realizing we all possess the illusion of control, it's chaos out there. No one and nothing is under out control. This thought has actually zen'd me out.

choice-control-perception-illusion-feel-

Edited by XenoFish
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On 6/29/2016 at 2:39 PM, StarMountainKid said:

When I was about 14 I red "The Way of Zen" by Alan Watts. That made sense to me, as even at that young age, I described the way I felt about life. It was a recognition of someone else thinking as I did. Religion made no sense to me then or now.

I have Watts book myself and I find myself re-reading various parts of it.

I like how he describes it all without getting all religious and he approaches it in a more saner and logical manner as to explain what certain things really mean. After all Buddhism does tend to come across as negative and life-negating but what the real meat of it is that reality is going to be what it is and has done so for millennia without our input.

For example, a tree is still a tree regardless of what we humans call it and while it is, obviously, a plant it is still nonetheless a thing that is distinguishable from a cactus or a tuft of grass. Our science is indeed needed for us to understand the world around us but at the same time our systems of naming every little aspect doesn't change the fact that a tree is still a tree. You can identify all the singular parts and to some degree they are singular yet at the same time part of the whole tree which allows it to function.

In that respect, nothing can really exist without a manner of duality. You have parts that are undeniable yet if you were to remove one part then the whole is affected.

Basically we get so caught up in names and metaphors, thinking them to be the actual reality of whatever we are studying that we forget the real thing that we are trying to understand is standing right in front of us. Or to put it more simply, a picture or diagram of a dog is not the real thing but a image. It will not come to you and play not can you touch it. The image provides a woefully insufficient definition of a dog. To understand the dog you will have to find one then you understand better what the dog is.

Same with belief systems, people get so caught up with metaphors such as ones, for example, that try to get people to understand forces of nature by depicting each aspect as a separate animal or something. Peoples attention gets unduly drawn away from reality for so long that they think these depictions are real and start worshiping metaphors and forget that these things just represent real life, they are not real themselves.

Anyways...I need a coffee or a mochi...as for "Zen" I just don't accept that concept, it is not a end goal nor a permanent stae of being, like any emotion is comes and goes; ebbs and flows so there is nothing to pursue and nothing to gain. Experience it as one would experience the fleeting aspects of daily weather, I think.

 

Ok..I is done now. (Goes and sits in a corner)

 

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3 hours ago, XenoFish said:

Sitting back looking at life and realizing we all possess the illusion of control, it's chaos out there. No one and nothing is under out control. This thought has actually zen'd me out.

choice-control-perception-illusion-feel-

I agree. I think this realization can be a liberation or a Zen moment. Sometimes we want to control too much, we get involved too much in others behavior. When we just let go and watch people without reacting, we see this chaos more clearly, although it is not really chaos, it is the natural behavior of people as they are, the normal expression of their personalities

We can be sort of objective psychologists, understanding where they're coming from. Shunryu Suzuki says, the best way to control your cattle is to put them in a large pasture. Just watching people as they are, this way we can understand them better.

Control goes both ways. People or events are always trying to control us, intellectually or emotionally. I try to stay calm and empty and keep saying "no", with no effort or motive behind the "no". It's just no, you can't entice me to become involved in your psychological efforts to manipulate me.

Sometimes the best response is no response, just observing someone's behavior, allowing them to be themselves. This way maybe we can be clear-headed enough to resolve the situation rationally and with respect and with some sensitivity to their state of mind without causing more conflict.

I consider this a part of Zen mind, as well. Although some times you have to either fight to defend yourself or run away if the odds are too great. There will always be ones out there who won't take "no" for an answer.

 

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Thank you for sharing that wisdom!
Yes saying No.. is quite powerful indeed!

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I agree I used to care and worry about how stupid people acted friends family etc.

Then I thought well they are going to pay the bad consequence not me.

I sit in my garden with a cold beer, peaceful magical bliss. They might die over a damm woman,

or end up in a jail cell over something stupid. I'll still be Zen in my garden..

that is the real wisdom and secret to life. Once you catch fly with chop sticks you can do anything.

and let the fools burn in the oven like baked cookies ...

Me I will still be Zen in my garden.. the outside world chose the path of fools.but I have

chosen the path of wisdom

Edited by LostSouls7
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The closest I have come to Zen is enjoying my work. Well paid, or not at all. Or does that suddenly become, 'not work'?

I love the activity and enjoy the result. Reward is a pat on the back.

Edited by Likely Guy
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because ... everything is ZaZen :

~

quote-no-matter-how-many-years-you-sit-d

~

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Watts was pretty good reading, as was Brunton.

 

The amount of time I stay present is the amount of time I stay in the zen. It can be a bit of a struggle at work though.

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On 7/8/2016 at 11:30 PM, Likely Guy said:

The closest I have come to Zen is enjoying my work. Well paid, or not at all. Or does that suddenly become, 'not work'?

I love the activity and enjoy the result. Reward is a pat on the back.

Ahh yes enjoying your craft and getting joy out of it.. is truly wonderful! Blessings

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