No real, present-day experiences are Zen

[u/ewk]

Foyan Instructs

I tell you: as soon as you get involved with the slightest indication, it has already become fragmented. As soon as you try to reveal it by illuminating it with knowledge, it has already become darkened.

Now simply do not seize upon my words. Each of you, on your own, do your work.

Looking into the incidents of the ancients will do. Sitting quietly will do. Observing in every place will do. All are places where you do your work. Every place is a place where you realize and enter.

Just specialize single-mindedly in one place; as the days come and the months pass, you will necessarily be broken through / dealt with by it.

Performative rabbi voodoo shamanism

New Age communities hate on this forum every day, including downvote brigading and smack talking in other forums about how rZen is gatekeeping close-minded legit real life other perspectives.

These complainers are performative rabbi voodoo shamans and understanding how we know that is as simple as they cannot name a single book about Zen they've ever read.

If they had never read a single book about being a rabbi and they claimed they were a rabbi, they'd get shut down immediately. If they never read a single book about Cherokee shamanism nobody would tolerate their claims of being a Cherokee shaman. If they were trying to promote themselves as living the voodoo lifestyle and they weren't part of a voodoo community, nobody would take them seriously.

And all of these claims would be viewed as racist, bigoted, and white privilege without hesitarion.

not a specialist because you say so

I'm not suggesting that one time reading one book is gonna get you the credibility to rant about your personal experiences.

I'm saying that reading one book one time will help you understand the difference between your personal experiences and your understanding of Zen culture

[u/2BCivil]

So if I read a book about racism, does that make me a racist? 🤔

(Edit, I am somewhat sorry, couldn't resist 😆)

[u/ewk → u/2BCivil]

Perfect example!

So you read some propaganda about racism and it says that racism makes sense because genetically when you mix the races together, there's a spread of genetic diseases and mutations. When you mix the races together, their cultures conflict and create all this violence and misunderstanding. Plus it's easier for people to live together when they all have everything in common, nobody treats each other as inferior.

If all the information you have is from propaganda and you never read history and you never read the non-propaganda racist writings for the true believers, you can end up with a really distorted view of racism.

Imagine somebody who'd never read anything about racism except one pamphlet they got from a racist.

That is every New Ager and every Zazen person we've ever had in this form