dad, zen priest currently residing at the San Francisco Zen Center, Dogen stan
Nov 9 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
There are various factors in the development of koans as religious texts, but one of the more important ones is not particularly obvious.
One should first note that many / most of the zen masters of the Tang Dynasty began their monastic careers as monks of the Vinaya School. 1
The Vinaya School was dedicated to the practice and study of the monastic rules handed down by the Buddha, and so understood Buddhist practice from what we would see as a more Pali Canon angle. 2
Sep 20, 2022 • 13 tweets • 2 min read
One thing I always stress when working with koans is context. If you don’t know the context, koans can often look like they’re saying something quite different from their intention. 1
And most often that context is Chinese Buddhist monastic practice and Mahayana scripture. 2
Aug 31, 2018 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
@vornietom (1) I’ve spent a lot of time debating religious and political wackos (up to and including real Nazis, the type with swastikas tattooed on their faces), and the best technique is as follows:
@vornietom (2) Find our what lie(s) they tell themselves that allows them to stare into the face of the abyss of death and see it as anything but the yawning, black chasm it is.
