When my teacher would travel and talk with strangers they would sometimes ask him what he did for a living. His response would be that he washed windows. If one would ask what zazen does, I feel that "it washes your window" is a pretty good answer. There is no miracle in a clean window, it just helps one to see the miracle that is you.
Despite paying her good money, a Tibetan teacher still told me my amazing experience was soooo mundane. Mainly, it would seem, because my experience involved a sense of self.
I came from a heavy esoteric, almost occult, back ground which I was happy to leave. Ordinary is such an awesome thing to be sitting in, nothing is a wonderful thing to be looking for.
Good stuff. I just started Don't Be a Jerk, and really resonated with this idea of not mistaking specific things as sacred when all is sacred. It is pretty fucking cool to just be, and I forget that too often.
Thank you Brad, I love the sanity of this kind "denunciation" of the spiritual materialism we can fall into & thank you for pointing out, reminding us the miracle indeed of our existence.
These kinds of experiences were really meaningful to me in the beginning, too. But I really started to wonder why it was that after having them, I never seemed able to carry that experience out of meditation and into the everyday world. At that point, while they were fun and maybe briefly refreshing in some way, they started to feel a little fruitless. Zen was the first practice I discovered that told me that stuff like that is rooted in the same illusion that we were trying to see past.
I know you like to talk shit about Tibetan Buddhism, but the thing is that it is a hugely nuanced and complicated tradition and it is easy to miss the point. Also in there one should not be get attached to extraordinary experiences, and a proper practitioner is not concerned with chasing after them. Do not judge the whole tradition based on the people who do it wrong!
Tibetan buddhism is a religion and the practitioners do behave like religious people. He did not talk shit about Tibetan Buddhism at all by the way. I was introduced to buddhism through tibetan buddhism and I can tell you that it is not the real deal. It is just a religion with fanatic followers which is very boring and they are actually full of shit. Big business as well...
Your words inspire me to practice even amidst my personal whirlwind of distractibility and fidgetyness. Hmm, maybe I should sit with that. Thanks, Brad :-)
Omori Sogen said it's makyo. Feel good experiences are also makyo, Manas conciousness caused it...and if you could ignore and get passed the 7th conciousness, you could reach the 8th conciousness i.e. aliya vijnana
@@simonsays525 Enlightenment experiences aren't really a big thing. If you practice bodybuilding seriously you'll become buff. If you practice zazen or meditate otherwise some degree of enlightenment will happen. Chuck wood and carry water...
8:25 Don't know if it's your karma or not. But there is plenty of enterprise thing and other issues nowadays... and you clarify an important point here & about many issues. Not everybody has a chance to have this information. Thank you
My teacher tells a story about this person who took a interdictory course in Zen. A couple of months later he received a call from that very same person complaining that they've been sitting for two months, and nothing had happened. My teachers response was, "Congratulations, it usually takes years before nothing happens".
In De Haan i met a strange guy, i somehow knew...i´m not sure...but he was not the helpful loving careing persin i was lomging for....just the body..what is it i miss so much and would die for?
Hardcore Zen ......Have u tried Shikantaza ,Koan or Hautou form of inquiry?.... or Ramana maharishi's self-inquiry(it belongs to Advaita not Zen,but itz quite effective)..?....
so noone is enlightened until....no one rcognizes his or her enlightenment...what is about the heart...can someone become bad by a stolen heart....who stole whoms heart?
You are not correct about TB. Not clinging to experiences is a recurring theme in tibetan buddhist instructions. They can give you description of what may occur and why, but it's not a goal in itself. Read for example "Moonbeams of Mahamudra" by Dakpo Tashi Namgyal, very detailed meditational manual. As a sidenote: Some years ago my mind was overcomed with amazing experiences so I described them to my Nyingma teacher. He gave me the exact answer I knew: don't grasp it. Over time, I managed to free myself from this stuff.
Those statements on what is worthwhile seem very negative to me, I am certain they are incorrect. Emptyness is what they mean , but that cannot end as nothing.
I think you are saying it is unwise to share one's unusual or surprising meditation experiences because the more dramatic experiences don't have any special significance, are distracting, and may cause people to feel envious or competitive. I understand what you are saying. But I am wondering, if one is meditating to grasp the nature of reality with more clarity, and to experience one's emptiness (interdependence of entire universe), and if emptiness were to come into focus for a few clear seconds, are you saying there is no real significance to such an experience?
So people wear special clothes, live in a special house, sit on a special rug in a special pose and they have a special lifestyle. And they have the special word "zazen". Perhaps this is at least a little bit special...
Great video, I needed that- thanks a lot!! I nearly became one of the crazy people emailing you. I had an experience which I won't bore you with.. But I felt like my practice might be 'progressing.' So from then on I was always trying to get that experience back.. Which meant I had a goal during zazen. Then when I couldn't get it back I was disappointed. I was clinging to this idea just like every other thing/idea I cling to during day to day life, which is what I'm trying to get away from during zazen. It's ridiculous. Anyway, I've discarded that experience now as neither positive or negative and got on with it. I'm sure you spoke about this problem in your books but clearly I didn't learn. Cheers. Cool hat too.
Thank you. Makes sense. Also I like your energy and mood in this video! Spontaneous and honest. Sometimes I think you just shouldn't edit at all your videos. Seems strange sometimes that something is cut. Question regarding the content of the video itself: About the different "levels", what about the Buddha himself talking about the jhanas ? First jhana, second jhana, etc. A quick Google search says that he actually talks about them several times in the suttras.
I this video, I had a sore throat and I kept swallowing. It was gross. I cut those out. Mostly I just cut when I get tongue-tied and have to repeat something or if I ramble aimlessly instead of getting to the point. As for the jhanas, I honestly do not know. However, in the Zen tradition all that talk about the jhanas is ignored. I never heard of it at all when studying with Nishijima. Dogen never mentions it.
Other than "visual disturbances" and occasional emotional upwellings, zazen is usually pretty mundane for me. Its after zazen going about my daily business where the weird things happen. They usually strike unexpectedly.
Actually your projecting . Haha just listen to your self and think about it. You are doing the exact same thing , you're telling people that zazen with the idea that no goal or hope of attaining anything is higher level. You may be correct but the reality is no one begins a meditation practice with out the hope of gaining something whether its t.m or zazen or ... Experiences do help inspire one to keep on keeping on. Some people have little to no experiences at all..They could easily gravitate towards Tony Parsons nondual teachings. From his perspective, even sitting in zazen is a joke.
@@bobbi2044 Bodhidharma suggest that enlightenment is a practice and if anyone suggest they have attained perfect enlightenment is a liar.So yeah, zen, mindfulness , insight are practices.
You'd sound a bit more convincing if you didn't repeatedly market your own "enlightenment" experience, (it occured on a bridge in Japan I believe) and use it as a way to reinforce your own rep as an authority on zen.
Er, no, @@HardcoreZen, "I" haven't repeatedly used my "enlightenment" on a bridge in Japan and used it as an indicator of some level of attainment. You have. Please don't blame me for your actions.
One time all of my thoughts stopped entirely and there was complete silence when I was eating at a restaurant, except I passed out afterwards and I wasn't doing zazen. Though the "level-up" method of attaining enlightenment via "amazing" experiences is kinda silly, it would make an awesome video game.
is that really what dogen said ? do you even know the what the role of philology is in translation ? it seems to me that dogen translations are just some nonsense in a modern cultural/philosophical cloak also why can't he be wrong ? soto is just another form of scriptualism gonna answer this or not not for sure !
Infinite Mass either does or doesn't contain the potential for its own self realization. Since reality is an Infinite Mass, there either is or isn't a manner of direct realization of the absolute nature of reality. Since Infinite Mass is Unbound Potential (dimensionless latency), which is Pure Freedom (owing to a lack of boundary conditions), those who've realized this have something to say, but those who sling books and charge admission fees don't ever want anyone discussing it.
"Be with whatever you get & realize that whatever it is is a miracle". I love it. Best meditation advice I have heard in a long, long time. Thank you!
When my teacher would travel and talk with strangers they would sometimes ask him what he did for a living. His response would be that he washed windows. If one would ask what zazen does, I feel that "it washes your window" is a pretty good answer. There is no miracle in a clean window, it just helps one to see the miracle that is you.
That's a good way of putting it.
My first teacher responded to those things by saying, “that’s nice. When that happens go back to focusing on your breathing.”😀
I swear to God I had not gotten more than 30 seconds into this before I made that comment.
Yes.
ua-cam.com/video/dDXcIaUKHDU/v-deo.html
"the great miracle is that you are here at all" at 4:23.... I am going to try and remember these words. thank you.
Awwwe... Love you too, Brad. Seriously, I really do enjoy your books and videos.
ua-cam.com/video/dDXcIaUKHDUa/v-deo.html
Thank you! Solid content. This is why I subscribed 🙏
Despite paying her good money, a Tibetan teacher still told me my amazing experience was soooo mundane. Mainly, it would seem, because my experience involved a sense of self.
This is something for me to sit with; this very experience, be it energy shooting up your spine or tired foggy brain, is a miracle. Thanks Brad.
I came from a heavy esoteric, almost occult, back ground which I was happy to leave. Ordinary is such an awesome thing to be sitting in, nothing is a wonderful thing to be looking for.
this is so nice to hear
Good stuff. I just started Don't Be a Jerk, and really resonated with this idea of not mistaking specific things as sacred when all is sacred. It is pretty fucking cool to just be, and I forget that too often.
Thanks. One the best videos I've seen about meditation :-)
I experienced that everything is constantly changing and that nothing stays the same. From present to present to present. While staring at my rug.
please keep that content so "down to earth".
meditation is unspectacular, if you want that or not!
Thank you Brad,
I love the sanity of this kind "denunciation" of the spiritual materialism we can fall into & thank you for pointing out, reminding us the miracle indeed of our existence.
These kinds of experiences were really meaningful to me in the beginning, too. But I really started to wonder why it was that after having them, I never seemed able to carry that experience out of meditation and into the everyday world. At that point, while they were fun and maybe briefly refreshing in some way, they started to feel a little fruitless. Zen was the first practice I discovered that told me that stuff like that is rooted in the same illusion that we were trying to see past.
Excellent message, thank you 😘🤗
New Book ....... :) Hope it's audible formatted in the future. Love your work fella Thank you
my Zazen is sometimes tainted by Zen; which is only natural I spose, cause of all the theories
I know you like to talk shit about Tibetan Buddhism, but the thing is that it is a hugely nuanced and complicated tradition and it is easy to miss the point. Also in there one should not be get attached to extraordinary experiences, and a proper practitioner is not concerned with chasing after them. Do not judge the whole tradition based on the people who do it wrong!
Tibetan buddhism is a religion and the practitioners do behave like religious people. He did not talk shit about Tibetan Buddhism at all by the way. I was introduced to buddhism through tibetan buddhism and I can tell you that it is not the real deal. It is just a religion with fanatic followers which is very boring and they are actually full of shit. Big business as well...
Thank you for reining this all in. Just have to remember "Zazen is sitting doing nothing."
Your words inspire me to practice even amidst my personal whirlwind of distractibility and fidgetyness. Hmm, maybe I should sit with that. Thanks, Brad :-)
Man, people's meditations sound so cool... I just try to sit still and watch the air going in and out of my nostrils lol
Loved this!!! Thanks Brad :)
ua-cam.com/video/dDXcIaUKHDU/v-deo.html
I can see the floaters in my vision. Oooh
Love this. Particularly the sci fi reference . Great context that. P.S. At his best , Alan Watts said much the same.
i did zazen and my life improved.
Omori Sogen said it's makyo. Feel good experiences are also makyo, Manas conciousness caused it...and if you could ignore and get passed the 7th conciousness, you could reach the 8th conciousness i.e. aliya vijnana
Dave Chapelle, I think you say "somebody owns it."
Why don’t the Bhumis go up to 11. One more would be better.
Would love to hear about your opinion of leo gura/actualized.org. his videos on these subjects
@Tomáš David :)....why?
Anyone that professes enlightenment is a fraud.
@@simonsays525 Enlightenment experiences aren't really a big thing. If you practice bodybuilding seriously you'll become buff. If you practice zazen or meditate otherwise some degree of enlightenment will happen. Chuck wood and carry water...
ua-cam.com/video/dDXcIaUKHDU/v-deo.html
8:25 Don't know if it's your karma or not. But there is plenty of enterprise thing and other issues nowadays... and you clarify an important point here & about many issues. Not everybody has a chance to have this information. Thank you
Nothing has happened to me while practising zazen
My teacher tells a story about this person who took a interdictory course in Zen. A couple of months later he received a call from that very same person complaining that they've been sitting for two months, and nothing had happened. My teachers response was, "Congratulations, it usually takes years before nothing happens".
stop showing off!! (joke)
ua-cam.com/video/dDXcIaUKHDU/v-deo.html
Thank you for you're teachings *Gassho*
ua-cam.com/video/dDXcIaUKHDU/v-deo.html
In De Haan i met a strange guy, i somehow knew...i´m not sure...but he was not the helpful loving careing persin i was lomging for....just the body..what is it i miss so much and would die for?
Thervada buddhist refer to the Jhanas.Actuall words of buddha seek suco suhka piti in meditation.It's a path to Nirvana.
Hardcore Zen ......Have u tried Shikantaza ,Koan or Hautou form of inquiry?.... or Ramana maharishi's self-inquiry(it belongs to Advaita not Zen,but itz quite effective)..?....
All I ever do is shikantaza.
so noone is enlightened until....no one rcognizes his or her enlightenment...what is about the heart...can someone become bad by a stolen heart....who stole whoms heart?
You are not correct about TB. Not clinging to experiences is a recurring theme in tibetan buddhist instructions. They can give you description of what may occur and why, but it's not a goal in itself. Read for example "Moonbeams of Mahamudra" by Dakpo Tashi Namgyal, very detailed meditational manual.
As a sidenote: Some years ago my mind was overcomed with amazing experiences so I described them to my Nyingma teacher. He gave me the exact answer I knew: don't grasp it. Over time, I managed to free myself from this stuff.
but, dude, it was crazy, suddenly like, sense of me was everywhere, my dude lmao, zazen is a trip lol, 420 d0gen
Those statements on what is worthwhile seem very negative to me, I am certain they are incorrect. Emptyness is what they mean , but that cannot end as nothing.
So zazen is vipassana...
ua-cam.com/video/dDXcIaUKHDU/v-deo.html
Sometimes when I am sitting I burp or fart or even both
FULLY ENLIGHTEND!?!
ua-cam.com/video/dDXcIaUKHDU/v-deo.html
I think you are saying it is unwise to share one's unusual or surprising meditation experiences because the more dramatic experiences don't have any special significance, are distracting, and may cause people to feel envious or competitive. I understand what you are saying. But I am wondering, if one is meditating to grasp the nature of reality with more clarity, and to experience one's emptiness (interdependence of entire universe), and if emptiness were to come into focus for a few clear seconds, are you saying there is no real significance to such an experience?
It's significant. But it isn't unique. Then again, it's totally unique.
Hardcore Zen Unique but also ubiquitous maybe?
Jhana ?!
ua-cam.com/video/dDXcIaUKHDU/v-deo.html
7:00 haha . Right on!
ua-cam.com/video/dDXcIaUKHDU/v-deo.html
@@bobbi2044 ua-cam.com/video/e_DzXYI7xRU/v-deo.html
good talk.
Thanks Brad, love you too. :)
Spiritual stonertalk, haha
So people wear special clothes, live in a special house, sit on a special rug in a special pose and they have a special lifestyle. And they have the special word "zazen". Perhaps this is at least a little bit special...
Great video, I needed that- thanks a lot!! I nearly became one of the crazy people emailing you. I had an experience which I won't bore you with.. But I felt like my practice might be 'progressing.' So from then on I was always trying to get that experience back.. Which meant I had a goal during zazen. Then when I couldn't get it back I was disappointed. I was clinging to this idea just like every other thing/idea I cling to during day to day life, which is what I'm trying to get away from during zazen. It's ridiculous. Anyway, I've discarded that experience now as neither positive or negative and got on with it. I'm sure you spoke about this problem in your books but clearly I didn't learn. Cheers. Cool hat too.
I've done that too. Plenty of times!
'Look at the great miracle.' Love this!
You should interview Brad!
@@Emajor7b5 I'd love to! I will email him.
ua-cam.com/video/dDXcIaUKHDU/v-deo.html
Thank you. Makes sense. Also I like your energy and mood in this video! Spontaneous and honest. Sometimes I think you just shouldn't edit at all your videos. Seems strange sometimes that something is cut.
Question regarding the content of the video itself:
About the different "levels", what about the Buddha himself talking about the jhanas ? First jhana, second jhana, etc.
A quick Google search says that he actually talks about them several times in the suttras.
I this video, I had a sore throat and I kept swallowing. It was gross. I cut those out. Mostly I just cut when I get tongue-tied and have to repeat something or if I ramble aimlessly instead of getting to the point.
As for the jhanas, I honestly do not know. However, in the Zen tradition all that talk about the jhanas is ignored. I never heard of it at all when studying with Nishijima. Dogen never mentions it.
Other than "visual disturbances" and occasional emotional upwellings, zazen is usually pretty mundane for me. Its after zazen going about my daily business where the weird things happen. They usually strike unexpectedly.
Actually your projecting . Haha just listen to your self and think about it. You are doing the exact same thing , you're telling people that zazen with the idea that no goal or hope of attaining anything is higher level. You may be correct but the reality is no one begins a meditation practice with out the hope of gaining something whether its t.m or zazen or ... Experiences do help inspire one to keep on keeping on. Some people have little to no experiences at all..They could easily gravitate towards Tony Parsons nondual teachings. From his perspective, even sitting in zazen is a joke.
Saying all that I think you're pretty right on.
ua-cam.com/video/dDXcIaUKHDU/v-deo.html
@@bobbi2044 uhuh , I'm familiar with this.
@@bobbi2044 Bodhidharma suggest that enlightenment is a practice and if anyone suggest they have attained perfect enlightenment is a liar.So yeah, zen, mindfulness , insight are practices.
Yep.
You'd sound a bit more convincing if you didn't repeatedly market your own "enlightenment" experience, (it occured on a bridge in Japan I believe) and use it as a way to reinforce your own rep as an authority on zen.
Is that what I do? I guess if you say so, it must be.
Er, no, @@HardcoreZen, "I" haven't repeatedly used my "enlightenment" on a bridge in Japan and used it as an indicator of some level of attainment. You have. Please don't blame me for your actions.
@@rogercormorant3669 OK. I won't.
One time all of my thoughts stopped entirely and there was complete silence when I was eating at a restaurant, except I passed out afterwards and I wasn't doing zazen.
Though the "level-up" method of attaining enlightenment via "amazing" experiences is kinda silly, it would make an awesome video game.
Thanks for helping me understand/explain why I am so bothered by "wild" visualizations experiences that I hear people "had" during meditation.
just makyos...
ua-cam.com/video/dDXcIaUKHDU/v-deo.html
It would be more interesting if buddy had some kind of experience himself and changed his tune.
Who is buddy?
TM is the new Scientology. David Lynch is the Tom Cruise of Meditation.
Don't tell anyone, but I kind of agree. Shhhhh......
@daniel, dude..... have you ever been to their university???! 👁👁
Wtf, nothing amazing ever happens to me during zazen other than discovering how much saliva collects in my mouth if I don’t swallow for 25 minutes
Me, too, really. But every few years...
is that really what dogen said ? do you even know the what the role of philology is in translation ?
it seems to me that dogen translations are just some nonsense in a modern cultural/philosophical cloak
also why can't he be wrong ?
soto is just another form of scriptualism
gonna answer this or not
not for sure !
let it be simple
ua-cam.com/video/dDXcIaUKHDU/v-deo.html
Infinite Mass either does or doesn't contain the potential for its own self realization. Since reality is an Infinite Mass, there either is or isn't a manner of direct realization of the absolute nature of reality. Since Infinite Mass is Unbound Potential (dimensionless latency), which is Pure Freedom (owing to a lack of boundary conditions), those who've realized this have something to say, but those who sling books and charge admission fees don't ever want anyone discussing it.