Posts by Douglas Brown4

Joseph Davis5 said:There is one hurdle when trying to "understand" a Koan that is incredibly difficult to clear.
The reality is that every Koan describes a pivotal moment or situation experienced by someone attempting to reach the core of Zen. The mental state of the individuals described in a Koan isn't our typical everyday mindset, which is why approaching them feels so out of reach. A Koan is essentially just a tool, but our standard way of thinking prevents us from even picking it up.
In that sense, Zen teachers don't really focus on the specific cases (the Koans themselves) so much as they try to help the student evolve their mind.
That said, nobody is stopping us from having a little fun with it.😉

So, Zen is essentially playing with the mind? Fine. I guess I'll play then.
Actually, this "madman syndrome" (not talking about Zen specifically right now) shows up even in old folk jokes and riddles.
It’s like: "It looks one way but isn't, it's like this but lacks that, it has this but isn't that—what is it?"
And then some redneck laughs because you can't figure it out. I suppose maybe only Nina Kulagina or Ingo could solve it, unless you were born in that specific rural village.
Or: A guy asks someone some question about the shaving he's doing inside his own head. And the fufica finds him charmingly clever because, hey, nobody else knows the answer but him. I guess I could ask something like:
"What is it? It goes to Silba, looks like Kriger from a western, and resembles a toothpick"?
Now, go ahead and guess.

Come on, guess! Is it Dolce & Gaban or Benetton?"

swiftcobra15 said:

🧐
Help?
So:
"I really want Piece A. Now, should I grab it or let it go?"
Typical Zen cliché:
"It's right there in Pif."

Not much help there, I guess.
🧐
Help?
So:
"I really want Piece A. Now, should I grab it or let it go?"
Typical Zen cliché:
"It's right there in Pif."

Not much help there, I guess.

Help?
So:
"I really want Piece A. Now, should I grab it or let it go?"
Typical Zen cliché:
"It's right there in Pif."

Not much help there, I guess.

... and every single one falls short—it's a miss ...

Understood. I suppose it’s much easier for the crazies in an asylum to see it. You know how they operate:
They fixate on some idea in their head, and then they expect you to engage with them using that specific logic. You basically have to play mind reader, otherwise they mock you for being clueless.
It’s somewhat like when the triangle asks Alexandra to list about thirty of her feminine attributes.
And now she has to guess what he was actually thinking. The solution back then was quite simple: he just wanted her "pussy" (to use those words).
Maybe Zen reminds me of people like that. We even had a guy here who thought exactly like this. Identical. He isn't around now.

boldsailor2 said:... seriously, what kind of moron tries to shove a goose into a bottle? 😬 😂
We need to file a lawsuit with the Animal Rights Foundation—get that guy held accountable for this nonsense 😠

Nobody is shoving a goose into a bottle. It's just like how nobody shoves a ship into a bottle. It grows inside. Much like how a ship fits itself into a bottle.
Oh, right. The Japanese don't really get the whole ship-in-a-bottle thing. They prefer arranging stones in their gardens.

boldsailor2 said:"...the goose is out there—it was never actually stuck inside the bottle...🙂..just like us. We’re outside, too; we were never trapped in some glass container to begin with. That feeling of being stuck or limited? It’s just a glitch caused by a wrong idea. There isn't even a "problem" of how to escape your head (the bottle) in the first place... when you realize you're the observer, you see you were never "inside"—you've always been out here, we just aren't paying attention most of the time..🙂"

Exactly. Try telling that to a goose nesting in a bottle or a prisoner behind bars.
Unfortunately, if my intuition is correct, I’m starting to pick up on a certain Zen practitioner sensibility here: those people are lost causes.

Jason Johnson4 said:Or maybe, "I don't give a rat's ass about your goose." 😛

But it isn't 🙄

Ivy doesn't care about Myrtle. 😬
But it isn't 😁

Fair enough. So if it's not that kind of pain, what is it then?

swiftcobra15 said:

🧐
🧐
🧐

🧐
Help?
So:
"I really want Piece A. Now, should I grab it or let it go?"
Typical Zen cliché:
"It's right there in Pif."

Not much help there, I guess.

boldsailor2 said:

"The whole point of Zen is walking that razor-thin edge of the present moment— you have to be so incredibly, absolutely present that there’s simply no room left for any problems, or suffering, or anything else you aren't really being in your core essence. In the present moment—where time just doesn't exist—all those problems of yours just melt away. Suffering needs time to exist, and it just can't survive in
the present. To pull their students' focus away from the concept of time, the great Rinzai Zen master would often just raise a finger and quietly ask: 'What is missing right now?' It’s such a powerful question—it doesn't even need an answer from your logical mind. It’s designed to pull your attention deeper into the present moment. There's a similar question in the Zen tradition: 'If not now, when?'..."

Eckhart Tolle: The Power of Now 😍

Well. I guess instead of all that, he should have just used some decent American street slang for a koan: "I don't give a damn about your goose."
It might be more understandable and simpler, maybe.

placidranger said:Everyone’s going to have their own take on this—here’s mine:
Look, Rika is just being foolish—a total goose—asking questions that don't matter. The problem itself is non-existent; it happened a long time ago, it's gone, and therefore, it doesn't require a solution.
The point? Don't waste your energy on old problems that serve no purpose in the present moment.

I have to admit, I haven't met a single Zen practitioner yet whose vibe I could truly "get," so I'm not sure if Zen is just sophisticated nonsense or if there's some deeper meaning behind it.
Still, your explanation resonates with me most (though I won't call it logical, because I know all those spirituality enthusiasts will jump down my throat if they hear I think Zen is meant to confuse people or weaken the mind).

A goose in a bottle... Rika, a high-ranking official from the Tang dynasty, poses a question to
Zen Master Nan-zen:
- Long ago, there was a man who kept a goose in a bottle. It grew larger and larger
until it could no longer fit through the opening; he didn't want to break the bottle, nor did he want to
harm the goose—how would you get it out?
The Master shouted: - Official!
To which Rika immediately replied: - Yes!
- There, it's out! - said Nan-zen

Comments....

frozenangler9 said:So what, does swimming upstream or downstream count as some kind of mystical insight or something?😁

Well, yes, but I suppose you have to realize that while the water flows, the moon's reflection stays perfectly still.

Lisa Cox4 said:Here is my take on it: 🙂
When someone keeps trying and just can't get there... I guess it just wears you down.

That is basically the definition of frustration.

Well... if he were actually honest about it, maybe there would be no limit to it.

That sounds like obsession (compulsive), by definition.

In my experience, astral vampires always tend to circle up whenever I’m feeling depleted or exhausted. Fortunately, those moments of weakness don't last long for me; I usually bounce back pretty quickly. It’s strange, because when my energy levels are high, I feel like a locomotive that could pull a whole train of vampires behind me. They hang around, but I guess my energy just doesn't suit them, so they don't drain it—they just wait. They wait for me to dip, and then they strike to start pulling.

I look at it this way: as long as I am the one capable of giving without being forced to take, I consider myself successful. In a weird way, these vampires act as a sort of compliment or a metric for my own success.
The people who actually get drained by these types are, I suppose, vampires themselves who haven't quite mastered the skill of doing it effectively. It might sound a bit harsh, but that’s how it seems to me.
Those who truly radiate light rarely have any need to latch onto others. At least, that's my impression.

little_devil said:I’m not sure if anyone will understand this, believe me, or if there are even people like this left. I truly hope there are, because I really need some advice....
Ever since I was a young girl, I felt everything—the energy of the world, the people around me. I wasn't a typical kid. I didn't follow the rules or just go along with the crowd, and I never looked down on other kids. I’ve always been... different.

What you have is called INTELLIGENCE.
As for what you're asking about—that thing called "emotional intelligence"—it is a bit like the Mormons in the USA:
Americans are so frustrated by the fact that they don't have an indigenous religion that they had to go ahead and invent one.
It's the same with foolish people. They want to be intelligent too. Various managers, scammers, bar owners... they all possess a very low form of intelligence known as PEASANT CUNNING.
Well, in modern times, with these trends where everyone wants to feel special—even though most people can't move an inch away from their herd—they invented the concept of EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE and stuffed their own CUNNING into it.
Basically, they pitted it against actual INTELLIGENCE and started claiming it is vaznij. So, the EQ of some dart player in a pub, or someone like Franc Ozbolt or Cinober, is supposedly more important than the IQ of Albert Einstein.
And I guess it will stay that way as long as American managers keep writing their life essays instead of focusing on what they actually know how to do: stealing.