Usually, we think that if many people follow a special method,
that method MUST be right, just because so many people can
not be wrong. And we are wrong.
Life is about QUALITY, not quantity.
We have many examples of great masses of people following
specific religions, but not becoming free of ignorance.
We find a kind of security when becoming part of a group,
but we pay with DEPENDENCY, if not submission, to the
DOGMAS created by the leaders.
And if we disagree with these dogmas, usually we must do
it in low voice, or we get in trouble with the AUTHORITIES.
This has the inconvenience of turning us into hypocrites.
Hui Neng had to deal with a bunch of fanatics and hypocrites,
and we will have to do the same.
In fact, all this external "enemies" are just a reflection of
our own fanaticism and hypocrisy, and it is part of the
path to FACE them.
Fanatics can be dangerous, but usually you can see them
from afar, and you can easily take preventive measures.
Hypocrites are more dangerous, because they disguise
themselves under the mask of compassion and tolerance,
or whatever mask is convenient for them,and unless you
have a good intuition, they can be lethal.
A fanatic hypocrite is the most dangerous.
The trick is becoming WISER, which will turn you
STRONGER. If you defeat your own fanaticism and
hypocrisy, you will become wiser and stronger,
and nobody will be able to injure you.
Today, as yesterday and tomorrow, the key success
factor is being HONEST and PRACTICING GENUINELY:
To face your own wall with honesty, and if you need
help, to be able to be HUMBLE and look for somebody
wiser than we are.
This is very simple, but the problem is that we are
under the control of EGO, and ego does not know
about honesty or humbleness, just because they
mean its own destruction.
Sitting like a rock as preached by Dogen or Deshimaru,
it only reinforces EGO, so the more we practice in this
flawed way, the more we become entangled in samsara.
But this assertion of mine, based on my experience
and insight, must be investigated by you, the genuine
zen practitioner, in order to discover its truth or falsehood.
This is the only way to progress. Do not turn my assertions
into DOGMAS. Gautama, a genuine practitioner himself,
never wanted to replace the hinduist dogmas of his time by
a new set of dogmas. He just wanted people to investigate
by themselves, and find their own truths.
Zen is about getting to know yourself in more depth,
making your own working hypotheses and proving
or disproving them by practice.
So please, before rejecting or accepting any opinions or assertions,
put some effort and investigate, because you never know
the level of insight of the person who made that assertion.
Potentially, we are all buddhas, but in practice, we have
different levels of insight, depending on the Right effort
we have put on the practice.
Namaste
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