mlw800 Posted January 10, 2002 Share Posted January 10, 2002 Budda is long dead. Jesus is the one and only. Study His word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singlestack Posted January 10, 2002 Share Posted January 10, 2002 Where did that come from?? ^^^^^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted January 10, 2002 Share Posted January 10, 2002 Where can I meet this Jesus fella? be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted March 12, 2002 Share Posted March 12, 2002 Interesting topic. A fighter friend and I were talking one day, general stuff that turned to the subject of pain [after all, he was a fighter and I wanted to know]. He said "it is going to happen, and it is going to pass...worrying about it just means it is with you longer." I have often wondered, out of a normal life, how much time do we waste worrying about things that never happen...or were unavoidable to begin with. 1 hour per day of fretting, every day, for 70 years? Over 25,000 hours of worrying...and what gained? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted March 14, 2002 Share Posted March 14, 2002 Bruce, That's so true. If we can just learn to ignore (not become invloved with psychologically or emotionally) about 95% of "what we become aware of" - in the form of sight, sound, taste, smell, touch, thought, and emotion - life would be a hell of a lot more pleasant. The Aussies have it - no worries mate! be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM262 Posted March 22, 2002 Share Posted March 22, 2002 zen is and we are zen the process of understanding takes us away from the is only to return us to it let go and accept the is be the moment – unhindered by the process of understanding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gm iprod Posted March 23, 2002 Share Posted March 23, 2002 Everything is superceeded by Murphy's Law. Except the IRS. They are a law unto themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve223 Posted April 5, 2002 Share Posted April 5, 2002 Man tryin to understand all of this is makin my head hurt, I guess that means im not gettin it huh? The more i try not to think the more thoughts go to runnin around in all that emty space up there HELP. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrguar Posted April 5, 2002 Share Posted April 5, 2002 A Monk once asked Master Tao-wu, "How can I keep a clear mind? " "If a thousand people call your name and you don't turn your head," Tao-wu said, "you can say you have achieved something"> Zen Mondo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Sharp Posted April 8, 2002 Share Posted April 8, 2002 "if a thousand people call your name and you don't turn your head"...., Could mean you have a hearing problem.. Seriously, one author that has really helped me get a grasp on all things zen-like is Ken Wilber. After reading Wilber the things Krishnamurti, Watts and even Chomsky start to make sense. Its that whole "common thread" thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogmaDog Posted April 21, 2002 Share Posted April 21, 2002 I really liked "The Zen Way to the Martial Arts" by Taisen Deshimaru and "The Book of Five Rings" by Miyamato Musashi. Musashi describes related concepts: Attitude/No attitude, Thought/No thought. In action shooting, this is like shooting when the sights are aligned on the target, without any intention to shoot, or any conscious analysis of the state of the sights or their relation to the target. All there is is the relation of the sights and the target, and when that relation is a certain way, the gun goes off. Instead of what I usually do: look at the sights, analyze their relation to the target, determine whether it is correct or not, squeeze the trigger, and BLAM! Yeah, how do you get that autonomous trigger finger to just shoot the gun when the sights are "right"??? Semper Fi, DogmaDog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InTheBlack Posted August 19, 2002 Share Posted August 19, 2002 Lots of interesting items in the thread ... "All there is is the relation of the sights and the target, and when that relation is a certain way, the gun goes off." Except that we do still have an expectation of the future- the expectation that the gun will go off; a knowledge of the concept of "gun going off." Otherwise, the Zen moment of 'sight & target relation' would be meaningless. Nihilism, anyone? I think not... it is mere Sophistry to parse "moments" into a mere chronological stream of frames that exist in meaningless isolation. Taking Zen to be the in/effible state of awareness of "the moment" - and the moment only... merely duplicates the state of being of inanimate objects. Perhaps an illuminating exercise, and useful tool, but not a lifetime goal. Integrating a knowledge of the past with the moment is the state of being of many animals. That and an awareness of the future and expectations of how it will be is characteristic of human beings. The moment only has meaning in relation to the previous moment- the past. The moment only has a function in relation to the next moment- the future. We seek, in this moment, to create our next moment. Some philosophies denounce this and claim it is desirable to step out of that flow. Others claim that in creating the next moment you constantly create yourself, towards achieving a superhuman condition. If we believe in the next moment, we have faith of some sort. I think it is far more important to clarify what that faith is, than to set as one's goal the passive art of the experienced moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted August 19, 2002 Share Posted August 19, 2002 Please... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 19, 2002 Share Posted August 19, 2002 InTheBlack, "Taking Zen to be the in/effible state of awareness of "the moment" - and the moment only... merely duplicates the state of being of inanimate objects." How do you know for sure? What is the difference between "learned knowledge," and true, "didn't learn it from anybody," realization? Or in other words, what do we know about the reality of a rock, for certain, other than what we have merely absorbed and accumulated (we call this knowledge) from our environment? If a bee thought about how he flew, he be afraid to fly. For me, fully merging into the present is far from passive. Indeed, it is the most dynamic, truly wondrous, yet mysteriously indescribable state. Trying to write this shows me the limitations of using words to describe the indescribable. At the precise moment of "merging," whether in the Zendo, at the range, or petting a dog, it's not possible to say who experiences what. I do feel it's important to clarify faith. Faith is belief, or hope. When we don’t know for certain, we believe. Belief in the future is what keeps us from changing, now. As long as we are thinking/believing there will be a next moment or a tomorrow, we aren't aware of or observing the present moment. If we are not observing the present moment, we are unaware of the process that is creating our present reality. This is significant because we are powerless to change any psychological reality if we are not free to, for whatever reason, observe it. The activity of the brain we call the mind, which stores and then recalls sensory impacts in the form of words, sounds, smells, and images, not only creates time, it is time. This has tremendous significance for me, because whenever I'm thinking - creating a future - I'm missing out on what's happening right now. This is important because the potential for insight knowledge (knowledge not gotten from others) is only there when the mind is still and not thinking. Then, only when the brain/mind is calmly wondering, observing, or inquiring, is it possible to realize anything new. We can see for ourselves how this works if we observe our mind when we ask a question. Observe your mind’s state at the exact instant you finish the question. You’ll see it is still and open – listening – with no thought whatsoever. (If you’re not already thinking about the answer, of course.) You have to look closely however, because the "pause" may only last for a split second. This is not to say thinking is bad, just that it has limitations. We typically think to learn, but then we must also learn to stop the compulsively thinking, "constantly creating the future" process by the simple act of returning to wonder or inquiry, which births attention. Impeccable activity is the result of the activity of attending. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aneyokly Posted August 21, 2002 Share Posted August 21, 2002 really enjoyed your thoughts about being in the 'now'.they parallel similarly those of eckhart tolle"s book ,THE POWER OF NOW which i slowly am trying to digest. I am new to shooting; being a former hippie ,I am surprising myself of how deeply I am drawn to the sport.I think I am attracted to the mental discipline which is needed, and which I lack. anyways enough rambling.Peace! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miyamoto Posted August 23, 2002 Share Posted August 23, 2002 'intheblack' i imagine you can have goals and i deas about a future...but that is all they will stay if you don't work hard towards them in the current moment. both past and future are just ideas. the moment is actuality. zen says "essense through repetition". this is large part of what shooting is about as well. hell, any activity actually. any great future you have is directly related to your effort right now. it is not about sitting there in some sought after vegetative state. i think we all know that does not get us anything! ;-) but zen technique in meditation CAN calm down a busy mind to help them focus on what actually needs to be done...to actualize toward what you are trying to accomplish. so...sounds like the same end result as you are trying to achieve with a different approach. then again...sometimes i think if we all sat around and thought hard enough on the future, we would not be very happy with the outcome. all life cycles...all...come to an end, or change. not nihilism...just insurance on enjoying life...right NOW! ;-) good training, will s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Schwab Posted September 12, 2002 Share Posted September 12, 2002 I was cruising the net yesterday when I stumbled upon this website, which instantly make me think of this thread. I hope this helps someone: http://www.targetshooting.ca/ under "Key Elements of this Site" go to "Training" then go to "Mental Training". There's also a lot of other neat stuff on this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterdog Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 Pretty heavy stuff. For me, the best way for me to relate, is to say, that I have reached a level of zen. When while I am working on something, and I begin to whistle a tune. Typically, when I am working with my hands. Waterdog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted September 22, 2002 Share Posted September 22, 2002 There is a book called The Monk and the Riddle, non-fiction. The author tells the story of riding a motorcycle through a Buddhist country. He notices a monk in a horse drawn cart checking out his bike, and it's really obvious this guy would like a ride on a motorcycle. So he motions the monk onto the bike and away they go. The monk is having a blast, totally into it. Though neither of them speaks the other's language, through sign language the monk is able to communicate where we wants to go. The future author drops the monk off at a temple. He gases up the bike, does what he has to do to get ready to take off again. There is a monk at the temple who speaks English - choppy English, but English. He tells the FA that the monk wants another ride - he wants to go right back to where the FA picked him up. The FA is like, "What the hell?" The second monk takes him to the head of the temple, whose title, as closely as the interpretor can get it into English is "Mr. Wisdom." FA asks Mr. Wisdom to explain to him why the monk wants another motorcycle ride, right back to the same spot. Mr. Wisdom says, "I can't tell you that, but I will give you a riddle. When you've solved the riddle you will know the answer to your question. "How do drop an egg three feet without breaking it?" It was years later before the FA figured out the answer to the riddle. Can you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Bacus Posted September 23, 2002 Share Posted September 23, 2002 Simple, catch it before it hits the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted September 23, 2002 Share Posted September 23, 2002 As regards the story, I'd suspect "Toss it three feet into the air and catch it again", although I'd be tempted to drop it into three feet of water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted September 23, 2002 Share Posted September 23, 2002 Tim, shred, Nope. Guess again. There is a deep philosophical message in this riddle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gm iprod Posted September 23, 2002 Share Posted September 23, 2002 DROP IT 1/2" 72 TIMES?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miyamoto Posted September 23, 2002 Share Posted September 23, 2002 koan, no egg, no drop. it is not required for the natural purpose of the egg(s). extraneous thought gets in the way. and if so (egg breaking)...things just happen. they don't need our explanations and theorizing. could be, will s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singlestack Posted September 23, 2002 Share Posted September 23, 2002 uuuuuuuuuugh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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