Little advice???

[blooming lotus]

yes it is....pls see lol.....

guess i'm just a fast independant thinker....

oh by the way...not missing opportunity to troll...noted

[Internal Boxer]

Blooming MAD

[Serpent]

Originally posted by blooming lotus
yes it is....pls see lol.....

guess i'm just a fast independant thinker....

oh by the way...not missing opportunity to troll...noted

A genius, eh? And you can't tell the difference between trolling and pointing out a fact?

[SPJ]

Chan is your life.

Buddha is in your heart.

Everything follows Yuan (Suei Yuan). Que sera sera.

If you want or desire something, that becomes your hindrance and suffering.

I am happy with a Zazen mattress or just grass or a shade under a tree.

Self examination and self cultivation are more important then to be in a "luxury" temple.

Monks will give you guidance and direction, you have to make the journey yourself. It is your consciousness, your karma and your Dao/path.

You probably know all of these already.

It will be indeed an honor or privilege to be able to study in the place where Chan/Zen Buddhism started.

However, Chan starts with your heart then your mind/consciousness. All the worldly desires are in the realm of Maya. Moksha is a release or enlightenment from Maya. Nirvana is in you and not anywhere else.

Just a perspective.

Be well!

[blooming lotus]

you misunderstand me...I can practice ch'an anywhere, but the difference between doing it in the temple and doing it secular society is freedom to do this without such bs as similar to what I often find here.......

challenges of secular living.....there's a detatchment to work on

[CaptinPickAxe]

I think the advantages of temple practicing is the following:

1.complete dedication to the practice of darma
2. An environment where you have more experienced monks to help guide you during your akward first steps
3. the ability to help others who seek the teachings.

besides that, practicing anywhere is just as good. Also, you should be able to practice regardless of what B.S. may be around you. Just practicing being mindful and meditate whenever and wherever you can.

I have a Zen spot back home that no one knows of. Its right by a small stream in the middle of the woods. The water trickles down into a small pool under a fallen (but still thriving) tree that provides shade. Its far enough out to get away from the sounds of the city and actually enjoy the chirpping of the birds. Needless to say, I miss that spot very much.

[blooming lotus]

Originally posted by CaptinPickAxe
I think the advantages of temple practicing is the following:

1.complete dedication to the practice of darma
2. An environment where you have more experienced monks to help guide you during your akward first steps
3. the ability to help others who seek the teachings.

besides that, practicing anywhere is just as good. Also, you should be able to practice regardless of what B.S. may be around you. Just practicing being mindful and meditate whenever and wherever you can.


that's often easier said than done....distractions are a serious challenge to everyone everywhere at some time


I have a Zen spot back home that no one knows of. Its right by a small stream in the middle of the woods. The water trickles down into a small pool under a fallen (but still thriving) tree that provides shade. Its far enough out to get away from the sounds of the city and actually enjoy the chirpping of the birds. Needless to say, I miss that spot very much.

sounds good....you should try sitting on songshan..........thousands of yrs of qi under your feet and seriously amazing views every direction you turn................

[T'ai Ji Monkey]

Originally posted by blooming lotus


sounds good....you should try sitting on songshan..........thousands of yrs of qi under your feet and seriously amazing views every direction you turn................

1.) If you are looking at the "seriously amazing views" you are doing something wrong.
2.) As long as you follow a few guidelines you can find plenty good spots for your practice.
3.) Doubt that the qi at the temple is stronger or better than anywhere else.
4.) By going to a place where there are few distraction it is easy to drown them out, can you do the same in ANY place??

I was always under the impression that you should be able to switch of ANY distractions regardless of where you are.

[blooming lotus]

tj monkey...it's true ...you should...but nobody's perfect and it's something that I'm working on. At the moment I am teaching amongst many emotional / hormonal boys and girls with various desires and problems so detatchment from outside ifluence and having an empty mind is not as easy as it use to be....
especially being the "novelty" foreigner.....que sera....you do what you can

Ps. If you could open your hotel window andsee songshan looming all around around, knowing from the moment you wake up without a doubt that not only are you in china, but on the very land that has cultiated your core beliefs for so long, you too would understand the enormity of awareness I mentioned. You can't help
but notice the views ....works for me anyway

[unkokusai]

Originally posted by inic
chinese diet needs A LOT of work. Never seen people eat so much of scavengers and bleached rice.

The result of your extensive research conducted in Quincy, Massaschusetts?

[dwid]

Didn't the blooming lotus character have a child at one point? Did this test poorly in some markets and have to be rewritten or is the child raising his or herself while mom goes looking for herself in China?

[blooming lotus]

don't say that because I think I may cry...yes I have a baby...she's 10 and living with gram ma ma in Australia...have been through seroious court battles to bring her here, but for some uneducated reason, so many people have false and crazy beliefs ( thx to the media propaganda scenario) of what life is really like in China......I AM a CH'An buddhist and I DO plan on going to shaolin permanently with hopes of picking up a discipleship...this is extreme in anyones' eyes, but it particularly hard for uneducated westerners to grasp....... I'm a soldier chick and yes I have a daugter I love, but she's a city gal, and I'm a ch'an practioner....I refuse to subject her to the "hardships" associated with these beliefs......missing her as much as I do.....I consider it detatchment from my need to play her dictator...she's with nanna and she's happy....

Bl is who I am when there is no obligatory distraction.....character nothing...this is the real and most enduring me

[Toby]

You are the most selfish person I've heard of in a long time. Forsaking a child for your own personal fulfillment is something I can't fathom. Perhaps you should take a look at yourself before thinking about your "calling". I think the court is perfectly valid in saying the child should stay in Oz. You say you train 6-9hrs a day plus full time study, so the child needs a carer. You're obviously not willing to take the job, so hopefully the child will find someone who loves her enough to care for her. Sorry for the vitriol, but the whole situation makes me . Leaving the child behind is your own fault. You made the choice.

As to "uneducated westerners" , well, you're a westerner, and you come across as uneducated. You strike me as a Michael Jackson character - you want to be something you're not.

[blooming lotus]

ok...I'll bite....but you obviously just have no genuine undestanding of shaolin or you would never make such crazy statements....you have no idea the sacrirfices we make for the good of other people ....I forgive you....read a book

[Toby]

No. And you obviously have no genuine understanding of the responsibility required to raise a child. What does you living in Songshan have to do with "sacrirfices we make for the good of other people"? You're not doing your daughter any good at all. In fact, the opposite. IMHO your daughter would be much better off with a mother figure, who I hope she finds somewhere for her sake. You're doing no good to anyone but yourself. The definition of selfish. I'm not interested in reading books about anything. Shaolin/buddhism/christianity/islam/etc shouldn't be more important than children. If they are, don't have children.