tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7756920.post1839166771256995425..comments2024-01-08T06:21:35.864-08:00Comments on Notes in Samsara: Practice and Going Medieval LegallyMumon Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01116967568502451788noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7756920.post-88436736839884236222013-02-17T11:05:28.810-08:002013-02-17T11:05:28.810-08:00Well, Mumon, in the end Eido Shimano is the fault ...Well, Mumon, in the end Eido Shimano is the fault of his students. All the bad teachers are our fault, for not practicing Zen. There are no "transmitted" people, no-one who's closer to the truth than anyone else. I got that from the Buddha. And even he insisted he wasn't closer to anything than anyone else. (You may recall he initially refused even to teach. He knew what we'd do with teachers if we had them.)<br /><br />So in the end, Eido is responsible only for his own behaviour. He ran around calling himself God, and that wasn't true. But the rest of us committed a much larger sin. We accepted him as God, believed in him as God, and continued to do so for years after it was perfectly clear he was just like us. <br /><br />My own teacher turned out to be fatally human. And I stood by and watched as this sangha member hurt those around me, and even me. Why didn't I act? Because I was more student than Buddhist. <br /><br />No more. <br /><br />In a related story: Words of My Perfect Teacher is awesome! If it weren't a documentary, I'd swear somebody made up the lama who rejected all that reincarnated guru nonsense and ran off to be a surf bum (who dispenses profound, moving Buddhist teaching effortlessly, and somewhat against his will, in swim trunks and thongs.) Brilliant! Reminds me of the retired messiah in Richard Bach's Illusions, except, like, real. <br /><br />Thanks for the productive post, my brother! <br /><br />Robin<br />Rusty Ring: Reflections of an Old-Timey HermitRobinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08522501894058291952noreply@blogger.com