[oldie]

Maku Mozo in English means, “Don’t be fooled”.
The First Zen Institute in New York City has this written over their zendo as do many other zen groups around the world.

It does not mean that you have to watch out for what others say or tell you or becoming a cynic, but has to do with resolving the essential matter of life and death. Not to be fooled by the ideas and thoughts of your mind, they are NOT who you are.
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To study the buddha way is to study the self.
To study the self is to forget the self.
To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things.
When actualized by myriad things, your body and mind
as well as the body and minds of others drop away.
No trace of realization remains, and this no trace continues endlessly.

From the Shobogenzo of Dogen Zengi
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Chao-chou, (Joshu), was one of the greatest zen masters. He studied with Nan-Chuan, (Nansen) for 40 years until Nan-Chuan died. After that he traveled around China looking for zen teachers to help him deepen his wisdom for another 20 years. It was not until he was 80 that he settled down to teach, which he did for another 40 years. He died at the age of 120 years.

If you REALLY want to enter into the gateless gate, go away to Sesshin two or three times a year for twenty years or so. Practice with a teacher whose awakening was recognized by a true teacher.

This practice is not about acquiring a whole lot of knowledge about the subject. It is not about being able to give short, cool zen answers. But it is about intense personal reflection, and the wholly natural need to resolve the separation between self and other. My teacher of 20 years stressed that this practice is really very easy, just give up everything. That does not mean that you have to load all your possessions in a boat and sink them, but giving up all those ideas and opinions that color the true nature of reality. Isshu Muira Roshi said that, “You have to die on the cushion!” How many of you are willing to do that?
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There are a number of books that point us in the right direction, if you are interested . . .

“To Know Yourself”, by Albert Low. He is a dharma heir of Kapleau Roshi in the Harada/Yasutani line.
Any other book written by him is also recommended.

Any book by, Bill Porter, aka, Red Pine. Red Pine has written scholarly translations of the most important sutras in the buddhist canon. He is deeply awakened and a pleasure to read.

Three Pillars of Zen, by Phillip Kapleau, and other books by him.

Any book written by Robert Aitken.

[benos]

oldie, on Jun 2 2008, 01:44 PM, said:

Any book by, Bill Porter, aka, Red Pine. Red Pine has written scholarly translations of the most important sutras in the buddhist canon. He is deeply awakened and a pleasure to read.

oldie,

Thank you for that nice post.

Red Pine's Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma is one of my all-time favorite books. And thanks to your reminder - I just ordered 4 books by Red Pine from alibris.com.

I searched for books by Red Pine some years ago. But maybe I only looked on amazon, because I didn't find any (and still don't). But alibris had quite a few.
be

[hanexp]

i hear zen is not what you think.

[benos]

hanexp, on Jun 10 2008, 06:18 PM, said:

i hear zen is not what you think.

What "hears" "thought"?
be

[hanexp]

benos, on Jun 11 2008, 01:59 PM, said:

hanexp, on Jun 10 2008, 06:18 PM, said:

i hear zen is not what you think.

What "hears" "thought"?
be

no thought

[Miranda]

why am I thinking about a falling tree?

I ask to understand the question.

one can not 'hear' a thought...

so you could have been asking
thinking a thought and hearing a sound are done by the same ability?

What they have in common is where my sense of me exists...

oooof
Zen always makes me wonder who is listening to when I talk to myself.

miranda

[AikiDale]

THWWWAAAACKKKK!!!!

[Miranda]

Once in my life I tried to understand Zen.
I won't even claim I got a a good look at it.
However, I did meet a man looking for a doorway....

I did try to find a path to understanding Zen.
I realized the path included a long hard look at who-ever I am.

My sense of humor kicked the last question out at me
during one of those introspections.

It is not a lack of respect for Zen.
It came out of a hard look at what I was doing.
I didn't laugh when I first had the thought. that came later.

miranda

[SiG Lady]

What Aikidale didn't say.

[photog]

Miranda, on Jun 12 2008, 08:19 AM, said:

Once in my life I tried to understand Zen.
I won't even claim I got a a good look at it.
However, I did meet a man looking for a doorway....

I did try to find a path to understanding Zen.
I realized the path included a long hard look at who-ever I am.

My sense of humor kicked the last question out at me
during one of those introspections.

It is not a lack of respect for Zen.
It came out of a hard look at what I was doing.
I didn't laugh when I first had the thought. that came later.

miranda

Budda laughed, too.