/r/Zenarchism

Photograph via snooOG

r/zenarchism is private until further notice in solidarity with the sitewide blackout in protest of Reddit's actions which threaten third-party apps.

/r/Zenarchism

716 Subscribers

11

I AM AN ANARCHIST - Bhante Sujato

0 Comments
2021/12/10
06:01 UTC

5

Happy Cakeday, r/Zenarchism! Today you're 8

Let's look back at some memorable moments and interesting insights from last year.

Your top 1 posts:

0 Comments
2020/12/09
18:00 UTC

6

Bankei

Here are some passages regarding Bankei that I enjoyed. I recommend "The Unborn - The Life and Teachings of Zen Master Bankei" for further reading.

Bankei Yōtaku (盤珪永琢, 1622-1693)

"In the instruction of students under his charge, the master did not lay down any rules or establish any regulations. Yet a silent, respectful atmosphere always prevailed in his temples - an example of "Not governing, yet having no disorder; doing what is right without being told."

"The master continually lamented the many evil habits and customs prevalent in the Zen training halls of the day. His own teaching was direct, determined solely by the situation at hand. [...] What is more, he pledged not to quote sayings from Buddhist or Zen records in his teachings. In responding to those who came to him, whoever they were and whatever their intellectual ability, he always used plain language. [...] speaking to them in the informal, colloquial Japanese they used in their daily lives."

"At my temples, every moment, day and night, is the fixed and appointed time for practice. I don't do as they do elsewhere and tell you that the period of practice begins at such and such a time. Everyone doesn't start dashing around making a great fuss.

There was once a monk in my temple who had been dozing off. Another monk saw him and really laid into him with a stick. I reprimanded him: "Why hit him when he's enjoying a pleasant nap? Do you think he leaves the Buddha-mind and goes somewhere else when he sleeps?" Now, I don't urge people to sleep around here. But once they are asleep, you're making a serious mistake if you hit them. Nothing like that is allowed to happen here anymore.

We don't go out of our way to urge people to take naps. Yet neither do we hit them or scold them for it if they do. We don't scold them or praise them for sleeping, any more than we scold them or praise them for not sleeping. If you stay awake, you stay awake. If you sleep, you sleep. When you sleep, you sleep in the same Buddha-mind you were awake in. When you're awake, you're awake in the same Buddha-mind you were sleeping in. You sleep in the Buddha-mind while you sleep and are up and about in the Buddha-mind while you're up and about. That way, you always stay in the Buddha-mind. You're never apart from it for an instant. You're wrong if you think that people become something different when they fall asleep. If they were in the Buddha-mind only during their waking hours and changed into something else when they went to sleep, that wouldn't be the true Buddhist Dharma. It would mean that they were always in a state of transmigration.

All of you people here are working hard to become Buddhas. That's the reason you want to scold and beat the ones who fall asleep. But it isn't right. You each received one thing from your mother when you were born—the unborn Buddha-mind. Nothing else. Rather than try to become a Buddha, when you just stay constantly in the unborn mind, sleeping in it when you sleep, up and about in it when you're awake, you're a living Buddha in your everyday life—at all times. There's not a moment when you're not a Buddha. Since you're always a Buddha, there's no other Buddha in addition to that for you to become. Instead of trying to become a Buddha, then, a much easier and shorter way is just to be a Buddha."

0 Comments
2018/08/02
21:19 UTC

6

You Are Not Alone

Forgive me if this post isn't appropriate, but I felt I needed to share.

As many of you, I care both about change on the social level and change on the individual level. Whenever I see people spreading backwards political views on Buddhist forums, and getting support, I become very distressed. Similarly, when I observe the lack of personal peace in leftist circles, I become very upset. I feel very alone. Especially as I learn more and more about the toxic history of sexual harassment in Zen organizations, and the communities silence towards it, I become very sad. (https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/90tw3f/the_tragic_case_of_sasaki/)

Of course, in this little corner of the internet, I don't need to explain why it's important to help people both from the inside and from the outside.

I just wanted to take a moment to appreciate that there at least a few of us who share these views. Not because we are more reasonable than others, but because we just so happened to interpret things in a similar way. That makes me happy, I think we are on to something. I have many plans for trying to spread this message, and I want to thank everyone who subscribed to this tiny little community. Just seeing that there might be some people who understand motivates me more than you can imagine.

:)

1 Comment
2018/07/22
14:45 UTC

0

Join us on raddle

Hi everyone. Because of continued right-wing BS on Reddit, a lot of radicals have been moving over to Raddle.me . https://raddle.me/f/zenarchism and https://raddle.me/f/anarchism would be of particular interest to subscribers to this subreddit.

0 Comments
2017/09/19
04:04 UTC

8

Anarchist here interested in Buddhism. How come it seems most Buddhist anarchists are in the Zen school?

Any particular reason for it?

4 Comments
2016/01/29
02:11 UTC

6

Anarchism or Nihilism?

Is it one thing to realize everything is empty and another to realize everything will end?

I would like to think I know the difference.

1 Comment
2014/01/14
14:50 UTC

Back To Top