Now and Zen

"All Buddha Tathagatas who individually transmit inconceivable dharma, actualizing unsurpassable, finish enlightenment, have a different art, supreme as great as unconditioned. Receptive samadhi is a mark; usually buddhas transmit it to buddhas but veering off."Whenever you listen to that a Buddhist has spent fifty years of his hold up operative upon a single project, you wish to know about that plan -- even if a plan involves Zen.
Zen Buddhism is not something with that you have most of a connection. My brush with greatness as great as sparseness came in a 1960s, when my clergyman sent me to Suzuki Roshi.
"This man is supposed to be enlightened," said Rinpoche. "So, you wish you to go over there, as great as see what an cordial man looks like. Maybe you should be study with him, not with me, since you am not enlightened. Anyway, you wish you to go over there as great as find out for yourself."
"What shall you discuss it him?" you asked, in all innocence.
"Well... they say he's enlightened," Rinpoche replied. "So, try to get a little income out of him, since we're flat broke."
Thus chartered, you done my approach by bus to San Francisco's Zen Center, managed to get my arrogant clarity of vanity through a front door, as great as was greeted by a unequivocally great woman declared Yvonne Rand, who was something similar to a agent-in-place in those days. You have to assimilate there was an comical clarity of accessible adversary between Bay Area Buddhist groups in those days. you will try to give you a clarity of how it was by a tone of this post. Anyway, Yvonne was regularly perplexing to assistance us, as great as regularly unequivocally diplomatic about how that competence occur.
Yvonne Rand: an early force in Bay Area Budd! hism
"Roshi is in a backyard, operative in a garden," she said. "But, from time to time he will come in a kitchen to get a splash of water. So, you wait for in a kitchen, as great as when he comes in, whatever happens.... that is whatever happens."
I should insist that during this indicate in life, you was already conditioned by what you similar to to call Tales of a Nyingmapa. These have been a collection of what competence ordinarily be described as highly narrow-minded as great as chauvinistic homilies upon usually about each subject under a object -- all tuned to denote how a Nyingmapa have regularly suffered, as great as triumphed.All Nyingma lamas as great as teachers will hotly deny that such things exist. Then, they will lock a door, pull down a curtains, as great as fill your ear with Tales of a Nyingmapa.In a single such tale -- a specifics of that you will omit out of sensitivity -- an intensely critical Nyingma personage relates what happened when he rejected his assorted as great as sundry disastrous views. you will spare you a finish recital, as great as mention usually this ---
"And, when you expel off ego," he is reputed to have said, "Some fools who have been simply tender picked it up as great as called it 'Zen.'"
I had of march heard of Zen prior to all this, as great as you confess to having review Alan Watts, D.T. Suzuki, as great as a few others when you was about fourteen. But, for me, Zen held no durability allure. To be candid, during a time, a sum jargon seemed a bit as well quaint for me.

Anyway, you loved Rinpoche similar to there was no tomorrow, as great as you had no intention of jumping ship.
Instead, what you vaguely accepted during this indicate was that you was going to go put a Zen master upon a arm for money, as great as that Zen masters would put koans to you; or in a alternative, whack you with a stick, or might be put up a little eccentric tender as great as invite you to take it down. In between, there was a lot of eye-twinkling, disposition ! upon bro oms, examination sparrows fight, as great as poetic additional about things in a mountains.
No problem.
I was seventeen, as great as had it covered.
Shunryu Suzuki Roshi: "Dogen is as well formidable for Americans to understand."
After a time, Suzuki Roshi indeed came in a behind doorway as great as got a splash from a faucet in a kitchen. He wiped his mouth, as great as then said, "You have been watchful here to see me. What do you wish to see me about?""My clergyman told me to come," you answered, as great as of march you told him my teacher's name. "So?" "So," you replied, "It seems similar to you have been doing unequivocally great over here, so you wish you to donate a little income to assistance us get started." "You what?" "Probably, if you recollect behind to when you first came to a United States, things were not so easy, right? So, that is how it is for us, as great as right right away you could unequivocally use a hundred dollars, as great as you theory you will wish to help." "I what?!?" "Of course, if you can usually give less, you suspect that will be O.K. too." "WHAT!?!?!" "Please sir, you unequivocally need for you to do this, since Buddhists ought to assistance Buddhists as great as you cannot leave here but it."I recollect he sat down rather fast during this point."How most students does Rinpoche have?" he asked, as great as you replied that there were about ten, that competence have been an exaggeration. "Are they all young similar to you?" he asked, as great as you replied that you was a youngest. "Do you regularly do all he tells you?" "Yes, sir," you replied. "I regularly do." "Why?" you had a answer all ready. "Because Rinpoche is enlightened."I wish to discuss it you, that you left a San Francisco Zen Center in a unequivocally great mood that day, since Suzuki Roshi had Yvonne Rand (who was probably ! broke sh e had let me through a door) write us a check right upon a spot. That was not a final time you saw him, but it was positively a most memorable.

Later, when you handed a check to Rinpoche as great as told him a sum story, he laughed until a tears rolled down his face.
We had unequivocally great soup that night.
Please assimilate that whilst a sum of a above is tighten to a sum total of my knowledge with Zen, you nevertheless find myself gratified to sense that Kazuaki Tanahashi, pictured during top -- who also, in his youth, done his approach via a same buses to see Suzuki Roshi -- has usually finished his fifty year bid to furnish an English interpretation of Dogen Zenji's thirteenth century masterpiece Shobo Genzo, or "Treasury of a True Dharma Eye." One wishes to note that Dogen himself usually lived to age fifty-three, so might be Roshi was right -- this seems to have been a formidable translation.

Tanahashi additionally lived in Berkeley in a Sixties, as great as you probably upheld by him most times but giving him most thought. But, a stretch from here to there unequivocally doesn't matter, does it?
In a interval, all of us have malleable up intensely -- hopefully you am not as well bound by Tales of a Nyingmapa to collect up wealth where you find them -- as great as all of us have been during long final beginning to consider reduction in terms of This Buddhism or That Buddhism, as great as some-more of Buddhism. In this context, Shobo Genzo is an intensely critical work, as great as this interpretation is unequivocally a substantial, as great as in most ways magnificent achievement in that you might all rejoice.
Shambhala has published this in a nice, slip-cased, two volume book during USD $150. whilst they last.
As you recall, that is precisely a amount of a concession Suzuki Roshi gave us, behind in a day.
These guys do not miss a trick.
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.Wri te to rinpoche2006@gmail.com http://tibetanaltar.blogspot.com