NotBlinded Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 Hey, me too! Let's go to the park and play on the swings! I would love to play on the swings with you, and well, GH can play too. He's a pretty good boy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jun Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 Hey, me too! Let's go to the park and play on the swings! I would love to play on the swings with you, and well, GH can play too. He's a pretty good boy! Ha ha ha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotBlinded Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 Why is it that non-Japanese think that in order to practice Zen Buddhism, one has to adopt all the mannerisms of another culture? What's with all the Japanese decoration? Tatami, shoji, speaking Japanese - that's NOT ZEN! That's cultural imitation. Too many mistake the cultural stuff for Zen. Zen is what you make it, it is how you adopt it and adapt it to YOUR life. Jun, that is exactly what I meant when I posted this a couple of pages ago: There was no "I" in Jesus either. The damn religious have taken this to mean that we are to glorify Jesus and not ourselves. They are not understanding and enter the road of destruction. They switch their identity to that of Jesus'. There is nothing occuring there other than a new "I" assimilation. And the little children part...well, you know, it's there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Harley Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 Why is it that non-Japanese think that in order to practice Zen Buddhism, one has to adopt all the mannerisms of another culture? What's with all the Japanese decoration? Tatami, shoji, speaking Japanese - that's NOT ZEN! That's cultural imitation. Too many mistake the cultural stuff for Zen. Zen is what you make it, it is how you adopt it and adapt it to YOUR life. Jun, that is exactly what I meant when I posted this a couple of pages ago: There was no "I" in Jesus either. The damn religious have taken this to mean that we are to glorify Jesus and not ourselves. They are not understanding and enter the road of destruction. They switch their identity to that of Jesus'. There is nothing occuring there other than a new "I" assimilation. And the little children part...well, you know, it's there too. It doesn't help that one has to peel off 1600 years of our culture to get that. TBH the Jesus mem, I think is beyond redeeming. It would make sense to pick a new one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 Hey Jun, I've been curious as to the meaning of your avatar.... if there is one. Buddhism always leaves me wondering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 It doesn't help that one has to peel off 1600 years of our culture to get that. TBH the Jesus mem, I think is beyond redeeming. It would make sense to pick a new one... I wonder why history has been consistently willing to dig deep for the true meanings in Buddhism and other far eastern teachings, yet typically NOT for the Judeo, Muslim, Christian teachings (it seems moreso for Muslims and Christians)? Is there some aspect in the far eastern culture that supports looking for the deeper, congruent teachings? And if so, I'm wondering what it is in their far eastern culture promoting that approach? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jun Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Hey Jun, I've been curious as to the meaning of your avatar.... if there is one. Buddhism always leaves me wondering. It's my name. In Japan (and China) one does not write their signature with a pen. Rather one's name is stamped with a special registered stamp. It's called a hanko. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jun Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 It doesn't help that one has to peel off 1600 years of our culture to get that. TBH the Jesus mem, I think is beyond redeeming. It would make sense to pick a new one... I wonder why history has been consistently willing to dig deep for the true meanings in Buddhism and other far eastern teachings, yet typically NOT for the Judeo, Muslim, Christian teachings (it seems moreso for Muslims and Christians)? Is there some aspect in the far eastern culture that supports looking for the deeper, congruent teachings? And if so, I'm wondering what it is in their far eastern culture promoting that approach? The "Far Eastern" practices/religions teach that you must find the answers for yourself. You must question and doubt and use your own mind to search out the answers. The Judeo-Christian religions forbide questioning. The whole idea behind Buddhism is to be "a light unto yourself" as the Buddha put it. It is about studying and experiencing for yourself to arrive at your own conclusions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 It's my name. In Japan (and China) one does not write their signature with a pen. Rather one's name is stamped with a special registered stamp. It's called a hanko. Wow! And I thought you were going to give me some profound meaning, such as the core of Buddhist's teachings or something. May I ask why people don't just use a pen and their signature? That seems to be the easiest way to go... just using a convenient pen. What about signing credit cards and such? I remember a long time ago, while I was working in Singapore, that if a businessman put their stamp on an invoice... it was just like money in the bank! What a contrast to the US... where we required at least a 50% deposit for delivery of the merchandise.... which we came to learn that request was almost an insult in Singapore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jun Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 It's my name. In Japan (and China) one does not write their signature with a pen. Rather one's name is stamped with a special registered stamp. It's called a hanko. Wow! And I thought you were going to give me some profound meaning, such as the core of Buddhist's teachings or something. May I ask why people don't just use a pen and their signature? That seems to be the easiest way to go... just using a convenient pen. What about signing credit cards and such? I remember a long time ago, while I was working in Singapore, that if a businessman put their stamp on an invoice... it was just like money in the bank! What a contrast to the US... where we required at least a 50% deposit for delivery of the merchandise.... which we came to learn that request was almost an insult in Singapore. Ha ha, sorry to dissapoint you. Pens didn't exist 3,000 years ago. This is a tradition that has a loooong history. Credit cards can be signed with a pen, naturally. But all paper documents are signed with the hanko which each person has registered. There are different hanko for different documents. Some are generic - just the family name, while others are crafted by specialist artists and are immediately recognisable. Some contain the name of the person as well as the family crest. The same is true of Japan. A hanko is a done deal. If I use my hanko to place an order, that is all that's required. In the old days only the Imperial house and higher Samurai had hanko. Peasants and lower class Samurai used to sign by keppan - pricking their finger and signing in their blood. Today in some circles the larger the hanko the higher the class of the owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 The "Far Eastern" practices/religions teach that you must find the answers for yourself. You must question and doubt and use your own mind to search out the answers. The Judeo-Christian religions forbide questioning. The whole idea behind Buddhism is to be "a light unto yourself" as the Buddha put it. It is about studying and experiencing for yourself to arrive at your own conclusions. Jun, I think you may be absolutely correct in regards to the far eastern culture emphasizes you to think for yourself more. Maybe the west is just into 'convenience' and not take time to seek the deeper meaning. However, I do think these NT teachings actually do promote to think for one's self... such as questioning the working on the sabbath, to 'understand' the 'intent' of the laws instead of just taking it at face value. Something even back then in our western culture seems to just take things at face value. Maybe we are faster paced as in more quantity over quality, or put more emphasis on entertainment? Maybe it is the way our educational system was set up, even thousands of years ago? I have a friend who left Iran in sort of exile, who was a major figure in education there. It was surprising in that even in college, the students stayed and studied all day with their teacher practically endoctorinating the lesson into the student. Here, I told my friend, we are given the material, a brief summary, and it is up to ourself to learn it. Hence, we are learning how to learn. I'm wondering if the far east takes this many steps further, or are more dedicated, or both? Ha ha, sorry to dissapoint you. I don't think YOU could ever disappoint me! It is true, that sometimes I don't know what to expect from you... but I'm never disappointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Harley Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 It doesn't help that one has to peel off 1600 years of our culture to get that. TBH the Jesus mem, I think is beyond redeeming. It would make sense to pick a new one... I wonder why history has been consistently willing to dig deep for the true meanings in Buddhism and other far eastern teachings, yet typically NOT for the Judeo, Muslim, Christian teachings (it seems moreso for Muslims and Christians)? Is there some aspect in the far eastern culture that supports looking for the deeper, congruent teachings? And if so, I'm wondering what it is in their far eastern culture promoting that approach? The "Far Eastern" practices/religions teach that you must find the answers for yourself. You must question and doubt and use your own mind to search out the answers. The Judeo-Christian religions forbide questioning. The whole idea behind Buddhism is to be "a light unto yourself" as the Buddha put it. It is about studying and experiencing for yourself to arrive at your own conclusions. True of the orthodox streams. The mystic/'Gnostic' streams of all three Abrahamic religions are pretty much self-realisation style. Problem with Gnostic over Orthodox is that the ones who 'know' can't 'amused good nature' the enemy out of existence. Orthodoxy WILL wipeout every other mother-fucker in room, to paraphrase the Taoist Sage Jules Winnfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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