Had reason today (it was quiet) to dig out an old textbook I had on Zen Buddhism. There was some stuff I thought was in there about the concepts of "leader" and "follower" I thought I could bring into a paper I was writing on leadership in the modern workplace, to make myself appear cleverer than I am.
I was really into Zen for a brief while when I was a student, it seemed cool at the time, and Richard Gere and all sorts of people were into it. But my heavens, I've clearly lost my Zen, and become far more cynical in my own journey down the river of life, because lots of it suddenly seems not so much wise sayings, anymore, as something out of Vic Reeves' wildest imaginings.
Take some of the most famous meditative koans, for example.
"Two hands clap; they make a noise. What is the sound of one hand clapping?" I still get, still very profound.
"Can a dog achieve the enlightenment of the buddha? This question has no meaning." Fair enough.
"Where do I find the buddha? In dried dung". Now surely that's got to be at the least a bit disrespectful.
"A monk asks his teacher, 'when do I begin to learn?'. His teacher replies, 'have you finished your meal?' 'Yes,' the monk replies. 'Then go and wash your bowl,' the monk says. 'There, you have learnt.'" What?
I was really into Zen for a brief while when I was a student, it seemed cool at the time, and Richard Gere and all sorts of people were into it. But my heavens, I've clearly lost my Zen, and become far more cynical in my own journey down the river of life, because lots of it suddenly seems not so much wise sayings, anymore, as something out of Vic Reeves' wildest imaginings.
Take some of the most famous meditative koans, for example.
"Two hands clap; they make a noise. What is the sound of one hand clapping?" I still get, still very profound.
"Can a dog achieve the enlightenment of the buddha? This question has no meaning." Fair enough.
"Where do I find the buddha? In dried dung". Now surely that's got to be at the least a bit disrespectful.
"A monk asks his teacher, 'when do I begin to learn?'. His teacher replies, 'have you finished your meal?' 'Yes,' the monk replies. 'Then go and wash your bowl,' the monk says. 'There, you have learnt.'" What?
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