The Buddha identified four stages of enlightenment: Stream Entry (sotapanna), the Once Returner (sakadagamin), the Non-Returner (anagamin), and Buddhahood. The Buddha taught that Stream Entry is attained when the first three of the ten fetters are overcome: Those first three fetters are: 1) Belief in an independent, unchangeable/permanent or everlasting self, called atman in the Vedas, which belief… Continue reading Zen Practice And Enlightenment
Category: Faith
MBSR Demotes Buddhism #Zen
Buddhism is not involved in a rivalry with any religion. It is a religion, as Roshi Philip Kapleau explained, only to the extent that we have to have faith that the practices lead to increasing wholesomeness. That’s almost like saying doing push-ups is a religion. We have to have faith that our muscles will develop… Continue reading MBSR Demotes Buddhism #Zen
Zen, Terrorism and Religions
This blog and its website will come down immediately (to the chagrin of a very few, if anyone) if I ever encounter a passage in a Buddhist sutra that says: Have faith in the Buddha so that you can go to heaven when you die. Or one that says: If you don’t have faith in the Buddha, he… Continue reading Zen, Terrorism and Religions
Why do we practice Zen?
Modern Zen practitioners usually sit on mats and cushions indoors but we practice outdoors whenever it’s reasonable to do so. Even the Buddha eventually established monasteries where people could sit indoors. The purpose of sitting in meditation is not to see how much hardship a person can endure. We don’t sit because we believe that… Continue reading Why do we practice Zen?
Zen and Foolishness
The word “Zen” means meditation. However, Zen meditation is unlike Hindu, Christian, and Islamic meditation. It requires no belief in a creed, a guru, a savior, a prophet, or a god. Belief in an outside entity is a roadblock to Zen practice; the Buddha is nothing other than the true self of every apparent independent… Continue reading Zen and Foolishness