eurydice,
> are we not all blind men, crossing a bridge?
No, not according to Zen. Zen is built on the belief that there are those
who have crossed the bridge, are awakened, can see the bridge, know where it
is, how to cross it, what's on the other side, etc. This was Buddha's
personal claim and he taught it to others, who taught it to still others and
so on.
That's what lineage in Zen is intended to confirm--that there are those with
bridge knowledge and bridge crossing ability. The promise of Zen is that
there are people who are not blind and who can direct bridge crossing
efforts and activities.
Zen is a living tradition and should it find itself in the position of
having no members knowledgeable about bridge crossing then the sect is dead
and has no more authority than anyone else on late night TV.
Zen only remains as vital as its living Zen Masters--that's why
enlightenment is central to the whole endeavor. Zen is about passing on the
ways and means of enlightenment. It's not a life style choice.
I don't know that any of this is pertinent other than how it related to
recent comments by Riley Lee about suizen. Riley's contention (if I
understand him) is that the practice of suizen isn't a matter of personal
preference. I'm sure he'll correct me if I've got it wrong, but I doubt he
cares much what you do with your shakuhachi--however, if you play it in any
fashion you want AND think you're doing suizen then you've misunderstood
suizen.
My point is essentially the same, you shouldn't attempt Zen any way you want
and think you're doing Zen. A good first step in both Zen and suizen is
probably to have pretty clear idea of what you're doing.
What all this comes down to is the realization that numerology isn't
mathematics. Each has its place, each has its attractions--but they are only
distantly related.
Nelson
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