[Buddha-l] Non-Arising

[Ralf Steckel]

Dear Dee,
Dear Joanna,

from my buddhist practice for the last nine years and my encounter of buddhist teaching, i think that it has altered my mind (in the common sense - without giving a precise definition of "mind").

I'm much calmer, more compassionate and more distant to my emotions about things happening to me. Oc course i'm far away from "enlightenment" or even "liberation", but i think, that it was mainly my buddhist training and not just getting older, that made this change.

That may be far away from "transcending the everyday mind", but i think, it's the first step into the right direction.

With all the discussion about theroy and tradition of buddhist experience, we shouldn't forget our personal experience. (That's just my opinion ;) ).

Kind Regards,

Ralf Steckel

<begin snip>
So Zen mind is not everyday mind in the sense of our usual
everyday discursive thoughts and emotional conflicts, the term
'everyday mind' means something quite different to that. I may be
wrong, but I think it means a mind that is not characterized by
conceptual proliferations and projected fantasies. From that
perspective, it is only the yadda, yadda, yadda of our mental
events that stands between us and enlightenment. A mind that sees
things as they are could therefore be said to transcend all that
crap.

What that kind of mind is like has been argued by people with far
greater intelligence than I, but I would be interested in hearing
your point of view on the matter.

Dee
______________________________________

I'm with you on your idea of the everyday. However, for non-
neuroscientists to create definitions of mind, what "it" is like,
simply leads to more prapanca. More views. A mind metaphysics,
to be avoided.
Joanna K
<end snip>