how out of character is it for a HEAVY METAL BEER THRASHER to have an interest in

huh

  • Total voters
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These two things arn't one of my weird tangents though! I've always been into them, even ask Mike, I've mentioned Zen to him before at some point I'm sure of it.
 
The Zen is more out of character than the scuba to me, but it's cool nonetheless. Being "only a metalhead" is kinda lame, it's best to be a multifaceted person
 
Zen is one of the least admirable Buddhist traditions of which I am aware - the excessive strictness and propensity for eliminating possibilities in favour of a particular "right" way of behaving sounds all too similar to the elements of a certain Western Monotheistic religion I'm trying to get as far away from as possible.

edit: may be wrong on this one, or exaggerating, but i know i've read reliable sources about zen instructors beating students who didn't perform properly, etc. fuck that.
 
Demilich said:
Zen is one of the least admirable Buddhist traditions of which I am aware - the excessive strictness and propensity for eliminating possibilities in favour of a particular "right" way of behaving sounds all too similar to the elements of a certain Western Monotheistic religion I'm trying to get as far away from as possible.

edit: may be wrong on this one, or exaggerating, but i know i've read reliable sources about zen instructors beating students who didn't perform properly, etc. fuck that.
Click to expand...

quite the opposite really. both parts. im lazy.
 
Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of admirable concepts/teachings/etc at work within the various Zen schools. the concepts of koan and samadhi particularly struck a chord with me as they affirm the nihilism regarding our world which I find undeniable. What leaves the sour taste in my mouth is the emphasis on discipline, labour, and particular practice as an essential counterpart to the meditative aspects (which I love!). Probably gonna catch some more flak from Tully for this, but maybe he (or you if you feel like it) can clear up some of my misconceptions.
 
Demilich said:
Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of admirable concepts/teachings/etc at work within the various Zen schools. the concepts of koan and samadhi particularly struck a chord with me as they affirm the nihilism regarding our world which I find undeniable. What leaves the sour taste in my mouth is the emphasis on discipline, labour, and particular practice as an essential counterpart to the meditative aspects (which I love!). Probably gonna catch some more flak from Tully for this, but maybe he (or you if you feel like it) can clear up some of my misconceptions.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I shall at some point today. Im not good at iterating things is all. Im very non-verbal which I catch shit for from my girl all the time. lol
 
Demilich said:
Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of admirable concepts/teachings/etc at work within the various Zen schools. the concepts of koan and samadhi particularly struck a chord with me as they affirm the nihilism regarding our world which I find undeniable. What leaves the sour taste in my mouth is the emphasis on discipline, labour, and particular practice as an essential counterpart to the meditative aspects (which I love!). Probably gonna catch some more flak from Tully for this, but maybe he (or you if you feel like it) can clear up some of my misconceptions.
Click to expand...

Well, a simple story to illustrate how Zen and Buddhism in general are not nihilistic is about a certain Zen master. He had a teacup that was obviously a favorite, which made his students question if he truly was the master he thought them to be (as he was attached to a material object, his cup). So, a student asked him about it one day, and his reply was that 'Though I enjoy the teacup, in my mind, it is already broken'.

Buddhism, too many, seems to teach that we shouldn't enjoy the things that we enjoy, because they lead to suffering. Sort of like going to the eyedocter, him telling you that you have perfectly good eyesight, but should wear a blindfold because eventually, do to impermanence, you may loose your eyesight.

Though Buddhism does in fact teach that 'all the world is suffering', as the first of the Four Noble Truths, and goes on to teach that this suffering is do to attachment, it does not teach that you should just stop doing all the things you enjoy and force yourself to view them as detrimental to your happiness.

This just isn't true, because it is a completely dualistic view of the subject, which in itself is an un-Buddhist way of viewing things.

That being said, a nihilistic viewpoint can be reached and if that suits you that’s just fine as well.

"If you meet a Buddha, kill the Buddha."
- Master Lin Chi

Also, the stories of Zen Masters hitting there students have nothing at all to do with discipline, it just a way to JOLT the student out of his usual mindset, just as koans are used to completely shakeup the normal perception of the mind.

Also, keisaku, which is when the Roshi hits the students with a big 'ol stick during meditation, is done only on request of the student in Soto schools. In Rinzai, yes, it is done un-provoked, but trust me, if you where ever sitting Zazen, started to doze a bit, and were whacked with a stick; you fully understand the meaning behind it. In that instant, for that millisecond, all there is is 'AH!' 'MU!' 'WU!' and you understand satori. Of course you forget it all immediately after, but that’s not the point.


Well the discipline of a zendo can be a turnoff, it is also essential to ones practice. Also, I find it completely geared the proper direction, in comparison to other Buddhist traditions where all the discipline is surface and seems ridiculous, ie: males not touching females, don't point your feet at teachers or shrines, don't put your head above teachers, etc. etc.
In Zen on the other hand the discipline is completely geared toward Zazen and practice. Don't make noise, sit straight, align your spine, get whacked if your about to fall asleep.

This is all just my thoughts, of course.
 
Ummm Zen is one of the LEAST strict Buddhist schools

That said, I have no idea what mearlew metal is, thus I can't really comment on it
 
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