Zen for Smarties
One afternoon a student said "Roshi, I don't really understand what's going on. I mean, we sit in zazen and we gassho to each other and everything, and Felicia got enlightened when the bottom fell out of her water-bucket, and Todd got enlightened when you popped him one with your staff, and people work on koans and get enlightened, but I've been ( Read more... )
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I don't suppose you would care to elaborate on what you think the 'desirable properties' are, would you?
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Some of the properties I've heard attributed to zen Buddhism and meditation are tranquility, insight, a feeling of being at peace with oneself and the universe, stress relief, improved focus, and quasi-mystical experiences.
People who have had the 'kensho' enlightenment experience sometimes describe it as perceiving the truth of reality in a way they never have before. They often say the 5 or 10 years they spent trying to get to that state were well worth the effort. They end up perma-stoked. 3 Pillars of Zen is a pretty readable book with lots of peoples' descriptions of their experiences with Zen.
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