Authenticity in Zen

If you devote your efforts uninterruptedly and without backsliding to fulfilling the [Four] Great Vows, where is there a place for disease to strike?

If you take the practice of the ancient Patriarchs to yourself and are never negligent, even if you experience the hardships of such men as Hsuan-sha and Tz'u-ming, you are greatly to be venerated.

But if you are careless you will become a false practitioner of Zen.

By false I mean someone who has the mind of a fraud. There is no one who consciously wishes to change his defectless body into a fraud, but if you do not follow well the examples of the ancient Masters, do not deepen the mind that seeks the Way, and talk of Zen and gain the veneration of others, although you possess only a modicum of understanding yourself, you will become a splendid fraud.

If you find that being circumspect in conduct and guarding your thoughts is not sufficient, then you would do well to starve to death in some distant field or freeze to death in the depths of the mountains. Gold is still gold, even when wrapped in straw. The gods will praise with palms pressed together, the dragon kings will protect with heads bowed a true descendant of the Buddhas and the Patriarchs.

You may stoop to flattery and pile up wealth and possessions, have a thousand priests in attendance at your funeral, display ornaments of the seven treasures, hang banners and canopies that strike the eye, and erect a place for practice that startles the mind, yet Emma, his eyes widened in anger, and the ox-headed devils, brandishing whips of iron, will be waiting for you and your lot will be a bitter one indeed.

~ Zen Master Hakuin

[HITESH SHAH]

Originally Posted by janielee

If you devote your efforts uninterruptedly and without backsliding to fulfilling the [Four] Great Vows, where is there a place for disease to strike?

If you take the practice of the ancient Patriarchs to yourself and are never negligent, even if you experience the hardships of such men as Hsuan-sha and Tz'u-ming, you are greatly to be venerated.

But if you are careless you will become a false practitioner of Zen.

By false I mean someone who has the mind of a fraud. There is no one who consciously wishes to change his defectless body into a fraud, but if you do not follow well the examples of the ancient Masters, do not deepen the mind that seeks the Way, and talk of Zen and gain the veneration of others, although you possess only a modicum of understanding yourself, you will become a splendid fraud.

If you find that being circumspect in conduct and guarding your thoughts is not sufficient, then you would do well to starve to death in some distant field or freeze to death in the depths of the mountains. Gold is still gold, even when wrapped in straw. The gods will praise with palms pressed together, the dragon kings will protect with heads bowed a true descendant of the Buddhas and the Patriarchs.

You may stoop to flattery and pile up wealth and possessions, have a thousand priests in attendance at your funeral, display ornaments of the seven treasures, hang banners and canopies that strike the eye, and erect a place for practice that startles the mind, yet Emma, his eyes widened in anger, and the ox-headed devils, brandishing whips of iron, will be waiting for you and your lot will be a bitter one indeed.

~ Zen Master Hakuin

Indeed great pearls of wisdom exhorting to be on constant watch out/vigil for our conduct.

And how easy it is to fool oneself, HITESH SHAH
Namaste
JL

[HITESH SHAH]

Originally Posted by janielee

And how easy it is to fool oneself, HITESH SHAH
Namaste
JL

Yes indeed it is very easy to fools self and number of such fools far exceed in number.

In the Zen tradition, one requires some level of confirmation by a Master for that reason. There are Masters, and then some Masters are also charlatans, but better to test oneself against many, then to fool oneself I guess. I don't know :)

[HITESH SHAH]

Originally Posted by janielee

In the Zen tradition, one requires some level of confirmation by a Master for that reason. There are Masters, and then some Masters are also charlatans, but better to test oneself against many, then to fool oneself I guess. I don't know :)

Do u meaning self-testing against various masters or referring several masters for testing self and several masters declaring self as master.
Is this tradition still alive or is on the wane.

Not the last but Masters providing guidance. I have seen on these forums and in real life, people thinking that they "got it" when it's just self-delusion

I have not been in the world of teachers for quite a few years now, but I would say feedback is always available and I imagine there are still many real practitioners out there - some even with a Master or teacher title.

JL