Question
I would like the right to reply: I am going to shock you—that too is one
of your methods for awakening us—and I apologize in advance.
Could it be the Zen MAAASTERS (the word alone is full of pride) who
are attached to their Japanese trappings and essential posture (you must
practice in this posture, hands here, head there, legs like this,
absolutely in a dojo, and Soto at that; you must do gassho, you must…
you must… the rest is shiiit, it doesn’t work—assuming there is
a goal in Zen)?
Who do you think you are? And what about your ego in all this? When I
practice with other people (no, we aren’t a dojoooo, we don’t wear
hand-sewn keeesssas, not everyone has a black zafu, we don’t put
a piece of Chinese fabric on our heads while mumbling who knows what),
everyone is simply there. And if their hands unfortunately are
0.524 mm too far from their navels, I see that it doesn’t matter
except to the gooks! (Meaning the Japanese.) But here we are in Belgium,
France. Why this sectarianism?? I know someone who goes to
a Tibetan center to meditate with their own cushion and clothes, and they aren’t
required to assume a posture exact to the millimeter…
There, I’ll leave you to answer… apologizing again.
Anonymous
Answer from Master Kosen
You see! Not only is your ego, no different from anyone else’s, as I described earlier, but it is also what you defend most fiercely in the entire universe, as the most important thing in the world. You even become racist and insulting; perhaps you would even kill for it. And you want to adapt the Buddhas’ meditation to that, instead of abandoning this ridiculous being for your divine nature so you can adapt yourself to the Buddhas’ meditation???????
It is impossible, I repeat.
Kosen