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shinnenParticipantHi Chris. Thanks for your thoughts …… john
shinnenParticipantHi Helcat
I have to apologize for not answering your request about sharing my experiences in discovering buddhism. I have only ever shared this with one other person, who is very close to me; and to explore my deep person feeling on an open forum, would be very uncomfortable. Please forgive me; it has nothing to do with you or anyone else here.
…… johnshinnenParticipantHi Helcat,
Oh yes, I’m very aware of the pitfalls of language. It’s especially imperfect at defining emotions,
which people all too often attempt. I see language as, for the most part, an intellectual tool and is very poor at accurately
conveying feelings. Every statement/question has a premise, whether or not the speaker is aware of what it is.
I love to watch the manipulators: politicians, advertisers, etc., to see how they craft their message; although, unfortunately
these days the message is mostly contained in visuals, intended to appeal to one’s self image.
But I’m sure that you’re aware of all this, have been an English teacher.
…… john
shinnenParticipantHi Helcat,
I discovered Buddhism 33 years ago. It was a life altering experience. I don’t believe or disbelieve in a soul. The same goes for God. They, along with most concept, belong to the myriad of things I have no reason to believe, or not believe. Having said that, I am ‘very’ suspicious of my ego, which I suspect has a vested interest in telling me how unique, different, special, etc. I am. As humans, the primary way we evaluate the world, what we find threatening, good, bad, right, wrong, evil, true, fearful, the list is endless, is by comparison. It’s a survival mechanism, and as such is always skewed toward our self interest …. ego, as you say. I see no reason to believe that I’m special or unique; different …. sure, but, so is everything else.
…… john
shinnenParticipantHi again,
Yes, it took me some time to find a ‘free’ version.
I’m familiar with the zen ‘slap’, as you call it. When I first became interested in buddhism I went
to a zen temple, where the sensei would randomly slap us with a stick. You never knew when you were
going to get it. For a beginning westerner zen was a little hard to digest. However, since then I’ve come to see it differently.
…… john
shinnenParticipantHi Peter,
I found this book, Hara, the Vital Centre of Man, on the net. It’s here https://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/Hara.pdf
if anyone is interested. I’ve read a few books, that touch on the subject: Zen and the Ways, Zen Training, the Hagakura, A Second Zen Reader, but they’re all either vague, or difficult to follow. Hopefully I’ll be able to follow this one.
THANKS for this. ….. john
shinnenParticipantHi Hellcat,
Yes, there’s that to it.
….. john
shinnenParticipantHi Helcat,
Well, I’m very fortunate to be married to an excellent cook, who makes her own bread, with the minimum of salt, to keep my blood pressure under control; so I imagine that the old ways of perserving food (with salt) would probably have killed me before now. So, if I’m not good to her, I will probably notice a marked increase in the saltiness of my food ;- )
……. john
shinnenParticipantHi Roberta,
Same here, only in my case it was Judo, which resulted in life long devotion to Buddhism.
…. john
shinnenParticipantHi all,
I’ m not quite sure where this belongs, spirituality or relaxation; but I ran across this site
about a month ago, “Hara – Beyond the Concpt” by Tomas Nellisen and found it very intersting;
both from the perspective of zen, and deep relaxation.
The majourity of the page talks about how, for many moderners, the focus of one’s center has shifted from their hara to their brain, which he feels is counterproductive. At the bottom of the page is a short description of a method aimed at correcting this problem by shifting one’s focus back to the hara, where it should be. I have performed this ‘exercise’ for about a month now, and find it to be extremely calming, and an excellent segue into meditation. As regards it’s spiritual effectiveness, i.e. shifting my focus from brain to hara, only time will tell.
Do have a look at the page, as it contains a more comprehensive description than I’m providing. You can find it here
https://www.tomasnelissen.com/downloads/TOMAS%20NELISSEN%20-%20HARA%20BEYOND%20THE%20CONCEPT.pdf
……. john
shinnenParticipantHi Collie,
I was reading a survey book on the beliefs of world religions; and was struck by the fact that this man, the buddha, who lived 2500 years ago, knew me better than I know myself. I broke down in tears. That was 32 years ago. Buddhism is my rudder and compass. It does not tell me how to live my life, but how to evaluaton my thoughts and actions. I think that one should understand (live by) one’s beliefs; and never adopt anything anyone says unless they are convinced of it’s usefulness or truth. Aha, identity, something I try not to subscribe to. If certain practices work for you, bring you understanding or solace, they’re work exploring. Politics and the pandemic have little influence on my life, so can’t really comment on them. I have NO idea what being a buddhist was like during the buddha’s life. For me, following the path it’s not a choice, I could not do otherwise, doesn’t matter what happens to me. I think that anicca is the mark of existence which pretty much describes the human condition, why we suffer, etc. It is the way of all things. I hope this helps.
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Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. 