Daisetsu Suzuki — ZEN

Fortunet to some of you (unfortunet to others) This Viz was in Japanese.

But, he was not a Zen monk — he was a trancelator and he was talking about the difference of the concept between the east and the west. —– So, he speaks, the notion of FREE in the west IS a notion of a relationship = has to start from two subjects. And its meaning IS = the one is free from the other. It is the relation of Subject and the Object. Dominant and Subjected. Such as the God and I. = So, the fundamental ethos / idea of the west starts from here, therefore the social structure too.

In contrast, there is no such God in the east. Instead, the heaven and the nature which we are in its part. Therefore, in the east, we were not created by the God, but we are exists as a part of the universe, nature from the start.

A word which was normally assigned to the word “Free” was 自由（Jiyu) though, the real meaning of this word in the east IS “To be as it is”. —– If it was the case of you = You to be as real you ARE (not the one who you imagined or others defined). (this is close to the meaning of the Zen notion 自在（Jizai）). So, in the Buddhism, You are not exists but the Nature (Dharma which you were a part) IS. So that, the Rinzai Zen try to make you aware who (real) you ARE through dialogue. And the Soto Zen try to disolve you as a part of the nature through practice (sitting and the other daily activities).

So, he was talking something like that.

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Daikon 2020

So, I’m watching the same windowscape of my kitchen window.

Only a difference in these days was, the leaves of the Daikon head. Which was growing well. Some of you might say that I can cut them small and eat or put in a Miso soup —– I know. But I want them to live free and grow. (I’ve tormented the Daikon root badly enough, boil her alive and eat = I need to make a hypocritical excuse by humainly saving the leaves)

It’s a spring. (Forget the hell outside or the world beyond)

So, the Daikon is having her flower bud —– though, would the flower open or not is the different story.

https://yoshizen.wordpress.com/2017/05/17/daikon-flowers/

When she got 30cm tall, before opening the flowers, she lost a vigor of the life. I couldn’t see any reason why, —– it was same as last time. How shame. (May be I need to learn about the Daikon plant start from its seed, not the left over top of a Daikon food.)

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Is this ZEN or nuts. (2)

I’ve put this picture before though, this IS too iconic and deserve to have its own post.

Young man who reached to his adulthood this year showing off who he is on the local ceremony event where he may see his old mates of junior school etc.

You may think, that was his display of his EGO, but you were wrong. Think, if he got ordinary mind of ordinary citizen, or common EGO such as the collective unconscious, do you think can he do the public display like that ?

Too often, this was the case that the other people misunderstood the Japanese mentality. = It was not a matter of EGO but, he was just playing the role without his own SELF. And he might have taken the role without having any order or others suggestion. = it might come like a revelation = Oh’ I got it, I’ll do.

So, a Chameleon pearched on his head. = pretty impressive !

Thousands of the people took the role to volunteer the rescue work after the disaster in such a way. —– In the same way, often the people take their work / job to became a man of “research” or a man of “the convenient store” what so ever. And that was the reason why others hear the story of “How the researcher dedicated his life to discover or develop the scientific something.”

And here again, it was not a kind of the intended dedication. But, he just took the role, since there was nothing else in sight = so, he was just doing the subject on front of him. This mental process was in fact the mechanism of the ZEN of which the key word was No-SELF. Since No-SELF = there couldn’t be any intension. = Just do it !

The matter of whether this person doing IS ZEN or not, rely on if he can be selfless when he deals with other than his Chameleon.

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Is this ZEN or nuts ?

You may not guess what I’m going to talk. And don’t know what this is.

It was my life’s residure and its accumulation. The Lidl’s plastic tray of the Chicken.

I stopped to eat Beef 1987 when the BSE was reported. (It happen to be the same year, I also stopped any sexual contact when the first news of new diseases = later named to be AIDS was reported.) —– So, since then I only eat Chicken or fish, on top of veggie and fruits. Therefore, with my regular shopping of Chicken (about 1kg par week), those plastic trays are keep coming. —– as a kind of tempolary container, those trays are always conveniently in use still, much more trays are piling up. (If I were a good business person, I might have made a rule to limit the number of the trays in stock.)

If it was 10 or 20, nobody would bother. But when it accumulated to the hundreds, people may started to wonder — “Is it ZEN ?” — or nuts.

Number of ZEN stories are the story of the endless concentration and the result of the tenacious pursuit. = as a matter of fact, the practise in the Buddhism is nothing but the endless repetition of the same action. —– whether the matter or its purpose was the end result or in the process, its practise changes the person. So, its hard to tell, whether the continuous action was a part of ZEN practise or the problem of one’s own mental.

Then, if it was the case, how they related to the Buddhist mind of Detachment, No-clinging or live on the Impermanence kind. = you may feel the contradiction between here. —– Why you feel contradiction IS because your understanding of Detachment / Mushin = Mind of No-mind was wrong. This was the most common misunderstanding in the Buddhism. = Detachment / Mushin IS NOT an idea or thinking BUT they are the condition of the mind = like the mind was in an up-beat or sud state kind. I’m not thinking “Not to buy Beef” but I don’t see the beef there. (Not to buy Beef was not an ISM or thinking BUT it was the situation of “No beef was there”. ) So, no-one see the beef, because the one who see the beef / SELF is NOT there.

Because of, the people try to UNDERSTAND the Buddhist’s mind or try to think “That way” they can NOT get it. Buddhist’s mind IS NOT attained by intention. It has to BE in the state. When you are in, you can not aware that you are in.

So, the tray of Chicken keep accumulates —– without my conscious. I’m living without me aware that I’m living. I do, I eat , I speak what is natural to me. So, I don’t import anything foreign to my life. This IS what we call Buddhism. IF you THINK and TRY to practise Buddhism, it is NOT BUDDHISM. BUDDHISM has to reach without intention. While living as a Buddhist but forgot that you are a Buddhist, you are a Buddhist. In that state, even the SELF = you are, not existing.

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I found a photo looks too iconic of the Japanese mentality ! This is what we meant “Go for all hog” —– this mentarity was behind the recovery from the earthquake disaster etc.

The young people attending the local ceremony to count that they reached to the adulthood on this year.

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Archery Contest — Zen ? ? ?

There is an annual Archery Contest in a Japanese Buddhists Temple = Sanjyu-sangen-do, Kyoto. (If you are interested in its details, please google > Toshi-ya, Sanjyu-sangen-do ) (the Viz here is the Female Archer’s day’)

What I want to talk about here is not about its history or meaning, but the way how Japanese Archery / Kyu-do was done.

From the Viz here, you must be realised that the Japanese Kyu-do mount the Arrow outside of the Bow, and not aiming the Arrow while watching its direction from the back. Unlike a western archery, cross-bow, or a riful gun there is no “sight” to aim the target. The eyes, the head of archer is the other side. So, you might be wondering how the archer could aim the Arrow to the target ?

Training is to train the body function, its power and the coordination to higher level. —– In the case of Karate, (say, hit an opponent by a fist) the movement and the control is rather simple as it is the matter of the hand’s movement. Though, if it involve a weapon, the coordination has to become a bit more complicated as the movement became indirect. — still, like cutting a lemon, the body (hand) need to keep the knife steady and make its movement constant, while involving rather small number of the muscles, while having the straight feedback of the each movement through the eyes. (On this “cutting lemon” arrangement, even a direction of the knife blade could be changed while the blade is in the middle of lemon.)

Though, the Japanese Kyu-do’s control is incredibly indirect. Certainly the Archer is seeing the target and stand towards the target though, we can not see any further details of the control, how minute adjustment of the angle was transelated into the arm’s muscle or body position etc.

In this field, a book [ZEN in the ART of ARCHERY] by Eugen Herrigel has almost historical significance. (—– though, as the Kyu-do has no mechanical system of the “Control”, neither Zen use the verbal communication to explain how, the book wouldn’t give you any answer how the arrow could hit the tail of the first arrow. But only hinting something spiritual made the arrow to fly.)

In Zen term, it is the state of the Ichijo = Body and the Mind, the Bow and the Arrow, the target, and even the air all became one by abandoning all those. In Buddhists term, it was absorbed by Dharma. = By abandoning all the aim or thought to hit, obtaining the natural control of the Dharma = this paradox IS the core of the Zen Buddhism.

In This extent, the Book by Eugen Herrigel was a very rare and important guide book to learn the Zen. To learn the Zen, an innocent, naive man could not able to learn anything by sitting. Because there wouldn’t be any explanation of Zen let alone what the sitting for. Yet still, that book explain, how to negate the own Ego by exactry follow and copy the way to do the Kyu-do. And the way to abondan even the intention to hit = to become the Void oneself. (The book was written by the outsider = not by Zen monk, hence the trade secret has been exposed ! ) So, the reader could able to learn the mechanism of the Zen.

However, if it was looked at more demystified angle, the control of the Kyu-do might be somewhat similar to the Skiing. Control of the ski board couldn’t be done by just the legs but needs to have all the coordination of the whole body, on top of the snow condition and the topography, even the weather. Then the certain aim or a mind goes to the ski, yet still, we are not skiing while thinking how to ski. There may not be a kind of “The Mind of Ski” —– it could be empty. But, without having any thinking of control, if the aim was goes left, the ski goes left. There may not be any mythical control behind still, in the certain level of advanced skill, whole control of ski or Kyu-do could be done in the almost God’s hand level. —– This advancement could be achieved also under the Zen approach, still, make it thankful to the mythical Dharma or just a physical advancement would be a matter of one’s belief.

—– So, it was the same situation, when I was making aluminium sculpture “Buddha 2009” I needed to find the aluminium pipes for the material, then I found a lots of discarded pipes from a construction site = its always like this happen on me. (What I’m doing synchronise with Dharma —– or they help me) .

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Owara Kaze-no-Bon / 風の盆

or, yet another Bon-Odori = annual dancing fest’ in Toyama-city, Ishikawa。

Yatsuo in Toyama city situated 100 km north east of Kyoto.

Kaze no Bon is a Japanese festival held every year from September 1 to 3 in Yatsuo, Toyama, Japan. Kaze-no-Bon literally translates to “Bon Dance of the Wind.” This festival, having a history of about 300 years, is recently becoming a popular tourist attraction to the otherwise sparsely populated mountain area. Wikipedia

Unlike well known Awa-odori which originated from far remoted Tosa in Shikoku island, Toyama’s Kaze-no-Bon dance is more elegant. (Though, I myself is more familier with Samba)

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Our vision — Photo image

This is a part of the previous post —– as I found it got very important point in the aspect of Zen (See — feel — think — what is real — truth) not only in Photography.

Rather fragile looking Scabious —– the lens showed peculiar depth of field image, and the size of back bokeh is gorgeous.

(But have you ever seen such bokeh image in nature ? —– they exists only in the photographic image = they are not real, neither your eyes are telling the truth —– So, how can you tell that the photography IS the faithful copy of the real, without knowing your own eyes could not tell what is real.) 😀

(For example, we are not seeing square building, since we got fish-eye vision as our eyes are round ball, so that, our brain is reconstructing the image following the stereotype that the building is straight = therefore, the photo of the building has to be square ! —– So, how can you tell that the photo of the building is faithful copy of the real building, = you see what I mean.)

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Somewhat related reading < St. Lucia — wire figure >

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ヨシ禅ブログ要約

これは「仏教の行と大脳生理」のポストに付いたコメントのやり取りで言い得て妙だと＝再録に至った次第

Spiritualism | Yoshizen’s Blog said, on April 21, 2019 at 19:00(Edit)

[…] このブログでは禅仏教を専ら神経生理の自動制御に帰結して論じていますが、そこでは「だから何ンなの」はめったに出て来ない。自動制御の稼動状態は誰の目にも明らかであるから解り易い。しかしその背後には不可解なものが多すぎる上に「ホンマ？」がついて回る。無心になる事で、経験則やDNAに予めプログラムされた自動制御に任せる。同様に生をカルマの生起に任せる。＝これで人智を超えたダルマによる完璧な対応処理が行なわれ全てメデタシメデタシなれば文句ナシ。－－－とはいかない。都合良い神ワザ伝説はいくらでも並ベられるし、それをもってスピリチュアルな調和が得られるなどと強弁しても意味はないーーーつまりそれが真実ではないのだから。＝真実ではない所がダルマゆえの真実か？と、解ったようなシタリ顔してもまた無意味であるし、だからサトリは犬のクソと言ってみても何も始らない。　つまり完璧な答はどこにも無い。 […]

yoshizen said, on August 25, 2019 at 12:02(Edit)

スピさん、コメント深謝。御自身で諒解の如く言葉としての解答などどこにも無いでしょう。それでも何かスピリチュアルな真実をお持ちいただいたとか？　是非お聞きしたいものですね。
そもそも小生がやっているのはゼロから出発してのDⅠY禅探求です。つまり２５００年前同様、何の仏典も無い状態で、色々試しながらそれが「いわゆる」禅と伝えられているものと合致するか、その検証を試みている訳です。
自動制御は遇然の発見ながら、これこそが
釈尊が見出したもの、そのものであったとは完璧に納得。で、だから何ンなのよは、DIYそのものが答え。現にここに在り何だかンだやっている当人の在りよう、その事実、日常平常が答えです。ヤレ同心ニ重濃度針穴写真云々、ZAPPAの写真がどうのと、全て能書抜き、現にためらいも無くやった事、おそらくその解脱の上に在る自在が問題です。禅は能書でも足をひねる事でもなくいかにこだわり無く生きる事が出来るか、それが唯ーの目的。　(乞参照　＞ヨシ禅縁起）

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〜〜〜で、ここまで来てハタと気がついた間抜け、[ Spiritualism ]と言うのはコメントを書いた誰かではなく実は大分前に書いた自分の古いポストからの抜粋であった。

で、そこでさらに出て来る疑問は、いったい誰がこの抜粋を作ってコメントに入れたのか？？？－－－そもそも１０００以上も有るポストの中から、しかも日文の内容を理解して撰択すると言う作業を、果たしてどっかのボランティアさんがやったのか、あるいは WP かグーグルの AⅠ が全自動で処理したのか？？？ ーーーそのどちらであったとしても、これは驚き以外の何物でも無いし, いささか怖い話でもある。ーーーつまり処理する目的で僕のブログを読んでいる目にとってこれらはどう見えているのか。ジャンクのベス単と禅がいかなる脈絡で捕えられていいるのか？？？　フシギ。

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Selfless — Mushin ?

In my blog, I’ve been talking about the way of conditioning our brain to omit the process of the amygdala where the tagging of the incoming signal to the “Self” would be made. In the normal way, we can separate the particular face or person to such as my wife, kids or my friend etc. against the other nobody. Or the certain possession, or the occurrence to mine or my concern otherwise to no interest. Therefore, if we do negate this tagging process, everything would lose significance and become a remote landscape. —– to a certain extent, as everything become to detached object, a worry to lose them or want more kind of greed would be no longer there. So does the emotional trouble of up and down in the relationship would be gone. (How boring you might say.) 😀 —– A bit more serious front, where the situation is a fight or flight. It is the moment to be or not to be. Yet still, we can be free from such trouble by avoiding to be overwhelmed. —– We can be cool.

Amygdala is a part of the limbic system = primitive part of the brain. = It’s mean, they are common with other animal and in fact, those primitive part alone can manage the primitive life. (Only human needs a big brain) In the limited narrow environment, and as the limited life form, such as a small reptile can live their perfect life. They may not have a complexed communication system or accumulated information system still, enough DNA information to navigate the environment and the response to the life’s each needs = where to live, how to eat, how to mate, where to lay eggs etc etc. As long as the one lives their life as their life, the life existing as a complete life form. Only very few creatures imagine the situation beyond what their existence is. (Other than human, such as the monkey use the tools, even crow knows to drop a shell from the air to clack it and eat = speculated expectation made by the brain power)

The funny origin of the Buddhists “No-self” was that it was conceived against the Vedic / Hindu idea of the Atoman (perpetual soul) still, not only that, from the point of Karma (interrelationship of cause and effect) how the soul can exist after the own body’s death, and from the observation of the facts that is we are walking, working without having clear conscious, and such state must be the state of the truth to be with Dharma. So, to do the things without having conscious, became the point to achieve. —– The remarkable achievement under such state (of Mushin) is the by-products of later days.

When the coming signal was diverted from the amygdala, where they goes ? = they might be treated as nothing or nobody and as it got no pre-tagging, it could be made to quite illational connection. As the amygdala could make very rational established responce, but, once it was diverted, the signal could be treated quite wiled way = this is the very hot bed of the creativity or known to be open-minded situation. —– When the signal couldn’t find its natural nest of “Mine or Ego” the stray info’ end-up in the bizzerre fancy shop ! 😀

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Spiritualism

スピリチュアルショップといった店は意外とあちこちに在るようで、何やらエネルギーとかパワーが宿る石とか透視のできる水晶玉などを売っていたりする。で、しばらく前のこと、そんな店で自分はスピ派だと称する女性に出会った。何故か日本人で古代エジプト系のチャームをためつすがめつしていた。「はァ、そういうのに何かパワーでも有るンですか？」と不躾に声をかけたら「あァ、何か感じますね」とおっしゃる。「へェー、僕は手相に神秘線は在るがオカルトっぽいものは全く見えませんなァ」と返したら僕の手をのぞいて、「アッ、本物はヤバい」とのこと。スピ派というのはファッションアクセサリーのように雰囲気を楽しむものでガチのソーカとかゲンリは避けられるのだそうだ。同様に褝などはそのベジタリアン料理まではいいがその先はオタクより臭いのだとか。

そこから見たら今の日本に、家業の禅寺をつぐ必要のある人以外、何人ぐらいの人が自分の撰択で禅を学んでいるのか？ーーーさらに不思議なのは日本からこのブログへのアクセスが断えない「ダルマ/法と仏教の構造」のポストを読んでくれているのはいったい誰なのか？　そもそも、このポストをどうやって発見できたのか？（書いてある内容は素人受けする物ではないし、逆に本格的に仏教学を学んだ職業僧にとっては奇異過ぎるのではなかろうか？　いかに禅が自由な発想を呼ぶものとしてもあれはどうなのか？）

このブログでは禅仏教を専ら神経生理の自動制御に帰結して論じていますが、そこでは「だから何ンなの」はめったに出て来ない。自動制御の稼動状態（神ワザの正確さで黙々と作業するなど）は誰の目にも明らかであるから解り易い。しかしその背後には不可解なものが多すぎる上に「ホンマ？」がついて回る。無心になり、経験則やDNAに予めプログラムされた自動制御にコントロールを任せる。同様に人生をカルマの生起に任せる＝これで人智を超えたダルマによる完璧な対応処理が行なわれ全てメデタシメデタシとなれば文句ナシ。－－－とはいかない。都合良い神ワザ伝説はいくらでも並ベられるし、それをもってスピリチュアルな調和が得られるなどと強弁しても意味はないーーーつまりそれが真実ではないのだから。＝真実ではない所がダルマゆえの真実か？と、解ったようなシタリ顔してもまた無意味であるし、だからサトリは犬のクソと言ってみても何も始らない。　つまり完璧かつ有効な答はどこにも無い。

（実は禅の奥では片仮名のスピリチュアルとか本人の思い込みなどをはるかに超えた超常現象が起っているのです。（俗に目に付くものは神霊現象とかパラレルワールドとか呼ばれたりしているらしいですが）しかし、残念なことにそうした現象の証明や説明は全くできません。卑近な例で恐縮ですが小生の８１５０の怪なんてのは極めて厄介。(例えばダルマのような全能の神以外に当人の行動を予測してチケットの数字を予め準備する事などが可能か？)ーーーしかしこれが禅やダルマの神秘性と関係があるのか、単に当人の妄念の産物なのかは解らない。（なぜかそう思って行動しているとそのようになってしまう。）＝俗に因果応報と称される現象は単なる遇然ではなく、それなりのつながりを持っているようですし、現にそれが起っているのは間違いない事実です。ちょうど特定のDNAを持った人が特定の運命に従って生きているのと同様ですが、これに対する　何故か？　は永久に不可知でしょう。）（しかし、もしそうした超常現象の操作法が解ったなら、多数のグルが居るインドが核兵器や病院を持つ必要は無かったでしょう）

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