As I understand it, “bare awareness” is a meditation technique whereby anything that arises is noticed without judgement and allowed to pass without interaction by the meditator. Shikan Tasa means “just sitting” and is employed in Soto Zen. I’m not sure what the difference between the two techniques is.

Gudo Wafu Nishijima (incidentally Brad Warner's teacher) the soto monk, claimed that sentient beings in pain are just in hell, and hell is a supposition. I take this to mean that pain occurs without rebirth, already in this life, andt hat we cannot know that we will suffer pain after death: so I'd conclude that rebirth that isn't painful. What I think I'm adding to his exact words is just that facts like suffering are all or nothing, nothing real is incomplete. That may seem crazy, but I like it. I'm highly skeptical that we need to experiecne more pain to experience the dharma. Even if sentient beings do (and do not!) experience the result of their evil acts. Is there any basis in the sutras? Not to my conclusion, but his claims about pain. I've read that zen teachers are often ambivalent on their students belief in rebirth, but I mean something more than that, that to experience the result of bad karma is either in this life or not what we usually mean by "painful".

As I understand it, Dogen says that, at least for those new to seated meditation, there is no enlightenment outside seated meditation. Well, to me that if true that's awful! No speech, no writing, no solidarity, etc.? I think it's this that is the stumbling block along the buddha way, for me. Does it even have an answer?

I saw an article on the Internet about the fact that Buddhism is compared to solipsism or nihilism. In particular, they talked about Japanese and Chinese Buddhism, since the teachings of Yogacara are present there. On this I want to ask questions about these schools. My questions: 1. Do the schools of Buddhism Soto, Rinzai, Jodo-shu, Jodo Shinshu, Nichiren, Shingon in Japan teach Buddhists, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas any varieties of solipsism and any varieties of nihilism? 2. Do the schools of Buddhism Chan, Pure Land in China teach Buddhists, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas any varieties of solipsism and any varieties of nihilism?

The Rhetoric of Immediacy: A Cultural Critique of Chan/Zen Buddhism By Bernard Faure p60 (I've not read this book) links it to linji ("the true man without affairs") Wiki says > In his later years Dōgen often severely criticized the Senika heresy > (sennigedo), which is the erroneous view that the mind abides while > the form perishes. According to this view, there is a bright spiritual > intelligence contained in our body that is the source of > self-understanding. When the body dies, the spiritual intelligence > alone does not perish but abides immutably. This view, Dōgen argues, > when "hearing of the doctrine of this very mind (itself is buddha), > takes it to mean that the discriminating knowledge of sentient beings > is itself the buddha" > > Dōgen (c. 1230-50) as cited in Masao Abe, Steven Heine (1992) A Study of Dōgen: His Philosophy and Religion. p. 158 > The Senika heresy here mentioned is a Buddhist believe in eternalism of the self. I'm interested, then, in whether it's only really a heresy in Soto Buddhism, and other traditions might find it useful. I think it may be a useful fiction, which is why I ask.

Dogen, Shobogenzo #26 > Guishan is the thirty-seventh ancestor, a direct descendant of > Shakyamuni Buddha. He was a dharma heir of Bhaizhang, Zen Master > Dazhi, Today buddha ancestors in the ten directions, even those who do > not call themselves descendants of Guishan, are all in fact his remote > descendant. > > One day, while Guishan was lying down, Yangshan Huiji came to see him. > Guishan turned to face the wall. > > Yangshan said, “I am your student. Please don’t be formal.” > > Guishan started to get up. > > Yangshan rose to leave. > > Guishan said, “Huiji.” > > Yangshan returned. > > Guishan said, “Let me tell you about my dream.” > > Yangshan leaned forward to listen. > > Guishan said simply, “Would you interpret my dream for me? I want to > see how you do it.” > > In response Yangshan brought a basin of water and a towel. Guishan > washed his face and sat up. > > Then Xiangyan came in. > > Guishan said, “Huiji and I have been sharing miracles. This is no > small matter.” > > Xiangyan said, “I was next door I heard you.” > > Guishan said to him, “Why don’t you try now?” > > Xiangyan made a bowl of tea and brought it to him. > > Guishan praised them, saying, “You two students surpass even > Shariputra and Maudgalyayana with your marvelous activity!” I don't think Dogen believed in miracles. Am I right?

Does everyone need to sit, even zen masters, especially according to Soto zen? Or are certain highly accomplished meditators incapable of experiencing scattered thoughts?

Most Soto Zen sources that I've seen advise daily Zazen, preferably when first rising and before going to bed. However, few make reference to a length of time. The only one I remember says half an hour. At this point I feel like 15 minutes would be a serious challenge (I am a beginner). Is this a problem on my end, or could I perhaps start with 15 and work up? If so, at what rate should I increase?

I'm sitting with a bunch of people (and have been for quite a while now), and I want to deepen my practice. I want to make a commitment, primary to myself, to stay on track and want to take _Jukai_ (refuge). __Situation:__ Our group is quite heterogeneous and a mere "sitting group". Our common denominator is Soto-Style Zen, but we are lay, lay-ordained people, and monks. Some style themselves Buddhist, other Christian. We have no common teacher, head temple, center or any authority on site. That leaves me with a few options, all a few hours driving away from here, to commit to a master. - First there is the teacher of most/all of our lay-ordained members. Naturally, that would be the prominent choice, but that would be logistically the most challenging one. - Then there is a temple, which is nearer, but not so closely coupled to our group. That would be a more convenient choice. - Last there would be a main temple of the all over arcing organisation, the both former options are incorporated. But that one is a longer drive, again, and it is the most "unpersonal" option, since it is an higher organisation. __Personal Consideration:__ I want to make the commitment more for my self. From my point of view, my shanga is my local group. I would want to get to know a teacher quite well, before I would choose him for a monk ordination. But with Jukai, as a first step, I won't consider it that important. __Questions:__ - Who can actually gives Jukai? Who's entitled to? - What is the dogmatic consequence, exactly (link is sufficient)? - How deep are the bonds between the one giving Jukai and the one receiving it? - How to ask for Jukai? - How to prepare for that event? - Any other points, I may miss and should think about? __Edit 2015/10/30, after Andreis Answer:__ His answer moves into the direction of "taking refuge in the _three nobles truths_". I realize, that I'm already taking refuge on a regular basis by chanting the _Shigu seigan mon_ (The Four Bodhisattva Vows). Therefore I changed title and tag back to _Jukai_. I want to focus the question on Soto-Style Jukai as a __lay-ordination__ with committing to the 10 precepts to reinforce my practice. PS: I want to thank Chris for the proof-reading. English is not my first tongue and I am constantly make mistakes while writing, unable to see them myself.

Dogen famously said that there are no Buddhist schools, and the idea there is [this or that Buddhist school] is the creation of demons, etc. [Dogen's Eihei Koroku, discourse 7.491, reads:] > The Buddha Dharma fundamentally has no outer name or form. Later > people falsely established many random names. Althogh facing the wall > at Shaolin resembled [dhyana], do not call it Zen School and misguide > sentient beings. First, is Dogen saying that Zen [which is misguiding] is nothing separate from scholastic "sects", and if so, is he right? Second, what do the more scholarly schools - whether Theravada, Mahayana or Vajrayana - say about Zen?

In Soto-Zen Buddhism there is a sitting meditation known as Shikantaza which is the art of just-sitting. My question, what techniques are given to Soto-Zen practitioners to prevent the mind from being "sticky" or "stuck" during Shikantaza. For example, 1. I have been told by some practitioners that they would call sight, sound, taste, touch, smell and mind as objects. By referring to the six sense organs as objects they disconnect themselves from the object to prevent the formation of subject. Although it sounds interesting that doesn't sound like, at least by what I've read, as Shikantaza. 2. Another practitioner told me they simply listened to silence or emptiness. This reminded me of Eckhart Tolle's meditation instructions especially given in his book "Stillness Speaks". The problem I find through this method is the practitioner is focusing on an object, as Lao tzu mentioned in his book the "Tao Te Ching"; the form which is formless. Also, Dogen encouraged the sitter to just sit with no attention to a single object. Concentration on emptiness is neglecting sitting and the original face. 3. Finally, another practitioner explained he would simply try to keep his attention centered as if he were sitting inside of a dome. That is, trying to be aware of the world and his thoughts while building a kind of cushion between himself and object. Almost but not exactly a combination of the first two. Therefore, what are the steps Soto-Zen practitioners are encouraged to take in order to practice Shikantaza. To clarify, I'm not interested in physical postures such as sitting, hand positions, the position of the tongue, etc... but rather, what is the sitter doing with his/her mind and the steps they are taking to separate subject from object.

What does the genjo-koan means? Especially: > To study the buddha way is to study the self. To study the self is to > forget the self. To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad > things. When actualized by myriad things, your body and mind as well > as the bodies and minds of others drop away. No trace of realization > remains, and this no-trace continues endlessly. and > A fish swims in the ocean, and no matter how far it swims there is no > end to the water. A bird flies in the sky, and no matter how far it > flies there is no end to the air. However, the fish and the bird have > never left their elements. When their activity is large their field is > large. When their need is small their field is small. Thus, each of > them totally covers its full range, and each of them totally > experiences its realm. If the bird leaves the air it will die at once. > If the fish leaves the water it will die at once. > > Know that water is life and air is life. The bird is life and the fish > is life. Life must be the bird and life must be the fish. > > It is possible to illustrate this with more analogies. Practice, enlightenment, and people are like thi What does it mean to say that these are life and that there's no realisation?

Dogen's zazengi says > Zazen is the dharma gate of great ease and joy What does the term "joy" mean here? And if I can feel something like that without zazen, should I cultivate it? As well as learning meditation, I mean.

His, Dogen's, Fukanzazengi, says > Think of not-thinking. How do you think of not-thinking? Be before > thinking. These are the basics of zazen. I haven't, I think, been formally taught zazen. But how does this sound, as a paraphrase: - think of thinking which is no longer thought Because, taken literally, I feel that it is a very good way of looking at our relationship to history, when we cannot do anything about it.

Recently, I have become interested in Soto Zen. I would like to go to a Soto Zen center, but I live to far away from one. This leaves me with the option for listening to online talks. Are there any free online dharma talks given by reliable teachers known to the Soto community. Dogen explains the features of a reliable teacher but I haven't been able to find one. Can you guys help?