1 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
View submission: Conflicted about Zen Buddhism in general
You can’t cling to that bliss, because it is the bliss of non clinging, as soon as you try to cling to it it disappears, that’s why it is the perfect metric, it is born of viveka which means correct disengagement/discernment away from the unreal and unwholesome.
And in second jhana it becomes samadhi jam Piti sukham, the bliss born of samadhi, and the mind is unified, and there is bliss effortless bliss.
As you mention, later state jhana (4th) the bliss is transcended, but you go ‘through’ it, you don’t let go of it, I fades into something more subtle, it’s a very subtle but important point.
You don’t learn jhana in stages, it just happens as the mind becomes more refined. The different jhanas are just descriptions of different stages of mental refinement.
And also don’t forget, zen is a cognate of ch’an, which is a cognate of jhana, which is a cognate of dhyana.
Comment by JundoCohen at 17/02/2025 at 08:44 UTC
0 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Zen is not Jhana or a "cognate" of Jhana, in Soto understanding. So, whatever lovely practice you are doing, it is not Shikantaza in any form. You don't say where you developed this, so I will understand it as your personal interpretation. Master Dogen wrote: "*When Bodhidharma stayed at Shao-Lin ssu in Sung-shan, gazing at the wall for nine years, the priests and laymen did not understand the true law of the Buddha; they called him a Brahmana who emphasized sitting cross-legged. Afterward every patriarch devoted himself to sitting cross-legged. Unenlightened laymen who saw them carelessly referred to them as the zazen sect without understanding the truth. Today the "Za" has been dropped, and the followers of this practice are known as members of the Zen sect. This is clear in the manuscripts of the patriarchs. You must not equate zazen with the meditation in the six means and the three training [traditional ways meditation is conducted in India]. The spirit of transmission in Buddhism is clear in the career of the Buddha. To Mahakasyapa alone on Grdhrakuta Mountain the Buddha transmitted the eye and treasury of the true law, the superior mind of enlightenment and supreme doctrine, and some gods in heaven saw it. Don't doubt this. The gods of heaven protect Buddhism eternally. This is still a living fact. You must understand that zazen is the full way of Buddhism. It is incomparable."*
http://www.zenki.com/index.php?lang=en&page=bendo01[1][2]