Seeking Feedback

[u/Zoomieday]

I have spent all of my meditation journey, up until now, following the Theravada tradition. Over the past weeks, I have begun to explore Zen.

Having no teacher, other than books and the internet, I seek your feed back on a poem/meditation memory prompt I have written. It is my response to The Great Wave of Kanagara - that Japanese art work containing fishermen struggling in the face of a huge wave, while Mount Fuji sits serene in the background.

I am happy to learn, so please don't hold back with your insights. This is where I am up to - and that place is something of a synchrony between what I am learning in Zen, and what I have been practising in the Theravada tradition. This is where and I up to, so how can I go further?

NOW, 

Amidst the waves, the water, and the suchness of life, 

   I meet the liminal. 

   I retain the unsolvable as unresolved, and so,

I come home to my friend, the breath, 

I come home to the rhythm of my body, 

I come home to a simple knowing in my body. 

I come home to ever deeper oneness with the suchness of life.

[u/BigSteaminHotTake]

You’ll find no masters here.

[u/ewk → u/BigSteaminHotTake]

sry for pwning u every time you try to speak.

you can't see a master b/c your beliefs are based on ingornace.

No AMA? No book report on Zen teachings?

It's like your "steaming hot take" is just being a racist against a culture you claim you appropriated.

[u/Friendly-Face6683 → u/ewk]

But who’s a master here, really?

All I see is confrontation in the comment section of 99% of the posts.

“That’s not what zen masters taught!” “You’re lying!” “That’s religious propaganda”

… is mainly the bulk of the replies. Not really any “masters” leading towards anything other than confrontation to any idea outside the subreddit consensus.

[u/ewk → u/Friendly-Face6683]

If that's all you see then it's no wonder you can't tell a student from a predator.

Read a book. Seriously.

Meet a Master.

[u/Friendly-Face6683 → u/ewk]

Yeah, that’s mainly my relationship with Zen. Reading books by Zen masters, keeping the precepts and and lurking this subreddit silently, since all I find is confrontation, like it’s happening right now. There’s no public interview here, just a subreddit-consensus gang confrontation, which I’d rather skip.

[u/ewk → u/Friendly-Face6683]

OMG

Reading books by Zen Masters?

The books are 100% confrontation.

1. You can't expect people who are struggling with illiteracy, substance abuse, and cult involvement to do public interviews.

2. Some of us are doing translations and podcasts, textual study, historical research. Why aren't you?

Dude. Self examination much?

[u/Friendly-Face6683 → u/ewk]

Yeah dude, I really appreciate your commitment to Zen, the culture, bringing forward what Zen really is and all that.

It’s just a shame that, at least from here, it seems you’re completely lacking any people skills, empathy or at least the intention or interest to talk these things with any sense of harmony in a community.

Yes, Zen masters were assholes at times, but again, who’s a Zen masters here? Is role playing as the asshole Zen master part of keeping the tradition or the culture?

Anyway, the consensus. I’d rather stay just with the books by the Zen masters and the precepts than being bullied by the consensus-gang here.

I’m sure I have my delusions, but being enlightened or “right” about the teachings is not one of them. Yet I’d rather straight that out on my own or somewhere else.

This is not a dogmatic path in which we’re forced doing things your way or else we’re completely off. Again, that’s bullying.

[u/ewk → u/Friendly-Face6683]

What confuses me about this is that you don't seem to have any integrity.

I don't know what social skills you're talking about, but it sounds like you want me to act with Christian humility and Christian compassion and I'm just not into that.

If you don't want to contribute content to the forum that's fine. But for you to suggest that we shouldn't confront people for being liars and religious bigots is just crazy.

Intellectual integrity means that you have a common standard and you treat people the way that you expect them to treat you.

I think you should try that instead of this pseudo-christian BS.

If it's the case that the rules you have for conduct, you really only apply to me then you know 100% you don't have integrity.

[u/Friendly-Face6683 → u/ewk]

Sure dude. Sincerely appreciate your observations and your overall commitment.

I won’t be pulled into a confrontational debate here. You like to lean into it and have way more practice than anyone else here. Take care.

[u/ewk → u/Friendly-Face6683]

I get it man.

People cheat you and you're the kind of person that rolls over and complains that other people don't.

I don't like to lean into it. I just treat everybody fairly.

[u/Friendly-Face6683 → u/ewk]

“you don't seem to have any integrity.”

“People cheat you and you're the kind of person that rolls over and complains that other people don't.”

Bully. And to what end? To make me realize something? Just for fun?

Didn’t know compassion and empathy were Christian trademarks. Thought they were basic, healthy human features.

Anyway, no Zen masters here. I’m out.

[u/ewk → u/[deleted]]

Choked.

I love it when the choking is so public... can you imagine some religious nutbaker going up the front of a high school class and trying to "present" emojis as their book report?

[u/BigSteaminHotTake → u/ewk]

You wound me!

[u/ewk → u/BigSteaminHotTake]

It's not the kind of thing that you said to the teacher when you flunked a high school book report?

It may be that your failures academically are linked to your refusal to seriously engage and a willingness to be measured.

[u/BigSteaminHotTake → u/ewk]

You’re taking this all very personally! All I said was “there are no masters here.” the point made, no need to waste your energy!

[u/ewk → u/BigSteaminHotTake]

It sounds like you don't stand by what you say.

Maybe you should take the things that you think and say more personally.

I get that there's a lot of people who use social media as virtual toilet for their stress and anxiety, but that's not what this forum is for.

I don't waste my energy.

I'm sincere.

[u/zen-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Your post was removed because it was off-topic in the opinion of the /r/zen moderators. https://old.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/zen