That being the case, when it comes to living in the moment, should I go max out my credit cards? — HardWorker
After all, that's living in the moment. — HardWorker
Most people when hearing the story live in the future, they see one of two possible future outcomes, either the man falls or the tiger gets him. But the fact of the matter is, you don't know that. The mice could stop gnawing, the tiger could go away, so you don't know what will happen. — HardWorker
Anyway, my understanding of Zen is very marginal, no doubt there are people on this forum who know much more about Zen than me. That being the case, when it comes to living in the moment, should I go max out my credit cards? — HardWorker
Those few who took the trouble to visit Japan and begin the practice of Zen under a recognized Zen master or who joined the monastic Order soon discovered that it was a very different matter from what the popularizing literature had led them to believe. They found that in the traditional Zen monastery zazen is never divorced from the daily routine of accessory disciplines. To attenuate and finally dissolve the illusion of the individual ego, it is always supplemented by manual work to clean the temple, maintain the garden, and grow food in the grounds; by strenuous study with attendance at discourses on the sutras and commentaries; and by periodical interviews with the roshi, to test spiritual progress. Acolytes are expected to develop indifference to the discomforts of heat and cold on a most frugal vegetarian diet and to abstain from self-indulgence in sleep and sex, intoxicating drinks and addictive drugs. Altogether Zen demands an ability to participate in a communal life as regimented and lacking in privacy as the army. — Harold Stewart
I'll put my spin to it though: of course living in the moment sounds trivial, yet it is far from it. In fact, it's literally impossible to do, for as soon as I focus on the moment, it has passed. — Manuel
Every-Minute Zen
Zen students are with their masters at last ten years before they presume to teach others. Nan-in was visited by Tenno, who, having passed his apprenticeship, had become a teacher. The day happened to be rainy, so Tenno wore wooden clogs and carried an umbrella. After greeting him Nan-in remarked: “I suppose you left your wooden clogs in the vestibule. I want to know if your umbrella is on the right or left side of the clogs.”
Tenno, confused, had no instant answer. He realized that he was unable to carry his Zen every minute. He became Nan- in’s pupil, and he studied six more years to accomplish his every-minute Zen. — 101 Zen Stories
Living in the moment" comes in ebbs and flows, though practitioners of Zen might be able to do it at will, after much training. — Manuel
it too stresses the importance of living in the moment - which is really just another way of saying, not being preoccupied, being present, being mindful, being here now. Not that it's an easy discipline to maintain! — Wayfarer
Living in the moment, as I understand it, means not dwelling on the past or being preoccupied about what's next and/or what might happen and it is all about appreciating 'now' and being able to experience or enjoy what's happening as it's happening. It isn't literally trying to do the impossible with time. — Tom Storm
I am ‘pre-occupied’ rather than just being occupied with my future. I am ‘dwelling on’ rather than flowing though the past. I suggest what characterizes these experiences as negative dwelling on and pre-occupation isn’t their temporal position as past or future but the way we move through recollection or anticipation. — Joshs
when we are depressed, and typically this stuckneas is inescapable regardless of whether we dwell in memories , focus on the present or imagine into the future. What is often needed to snap us out of this depression is to create a fresh meaningful way forward. Being in the moment isn’t enough. — Joshs
In fact, it's literally impossible to do, for as soon as I focus on the moment, it has passed. So If I keep reminding myself to live in the moment and fail every time, because moments are passing by, I'll necessarily get stuck in a circle I should not have dug in the first place. — Manuel
Surely a correct response to the Zen master would be that there is no umbrella in this present moment. It's only me and you, Zen master...
Wild stare intensifies — emancipate
Now it should be apparent that this first aspect of Zen training, which Westerners are also required to follow on induction into a Zen monastery, is precisely the method least suited to their spiritual needs and temperament. For thanks to their cultural indoctrination, most Westerners are initially suffering from elephantiasis of the ego. They soon find that their desires for food, drink, sex, sleep, and drugs assert themselves more strongly than before; and so they react rebelliously against the severe mental, moral, and physical disciplines of the monastic life. Recalling the Zen dialogues that they have read in books, they wish to treat the roshi at once as an equal, answering him back with impertinence and a disrespect for his superior rank, or even with physical assault. Such behaviour not only upsets the monastic routine but may even corrupt the Japanese monks, so that as a result of costly experience many Zen monasteries have now closed their doors to foreigners. — Harold Stewart
A, asked me, on a lazy Sunday afternoon, "what do you want to do? Do the dishes or clean the house? — TheMadFool
This happens to me all the time. The answer is usually "No.", but occasionally, "No, thank you, I want to laze." — unenlightened
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