Fermentedeyeballs AMA 2025: The AMAening
Happy new year, especially to the effective haters.
I'm not kidding. There's a lot of wisdom to be found here on r/zen, and if you've effectively exposed me as an asshole who has no clue what he's talking about, you've done me a service, and I am in your debt. I bow before you. I'm 100 percent serious. THANK YOU!
As a quick disclaimer, because I probably don't do it enough, I'm not a zen master, I have no teacher, I have no attainment or realization. Everything I post should be taken with a mountain of salt. Probably goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway.
I'll answer the questions in a bit, but first I want to explain my understanding of all this, and ask for your feedback. My views have evolved, and are constantly evolving, so here's where I'm at right now.
Zen aims to eliminate suffering. We eliminate suffering by not seeking to change what is right here, right now, happening in front of us. Our suffering comes from trying to escape the present moment, or if it is pleasant, hold onto it. This is dukkha, that constant dissatisfaction. If we stop doing this and confront the present moment, whatever happens, we're in a good place. This is the "ordinary mind." This is responding to conditions as they arise. Viewing the self, and viewing sensations as illusory, as empty can help do this.
A few sticking points I have:
There seems to be a tension in the record (or in the translations) between stopping conceptual thought and allowing things to come and go more as an act of surrender. Right now I'm leaning towards the latter being the case.
The idea that the dharma of no-dharma has no essence or is empty. Seems like everything then is true and false at the same time. I'm also unsure how important it is to nail this down. May not even matter.
There seems to be a tension in the record between building doubt (like in the famous Joshu's dog commentary) and surrender, allowing things to be. Does the doubt build of its own accord? Can one be realized without this step?
Anyway the questions:
- Lineage?
I don't really have A teacher. I've always been eclectic. Searched for answers in philosophy books. I've read most any you've heard of and probably understood at least 33 percent. There is a great eureka moment when you "get" something like that, but it never provided lasting satisfaction. It was never a total shift for me, always a provisional, "for this week I can wear this hat" type of thing. I've also tried various practices, which actually don't even give me that eureka moment, so they were all a waste of time.
So I guess I'm just a ronin, and as I type the word I realize that it makes wandering around aimlessly sound cool.
- Text
Been reading a lot of Huangbo. He' s been a favorite for years. I still read him a lot, but I'm thinking of dropping him. He's stirring up a lot that doesn't seem to be of much good for me right now.
I'll be honest, right now a lot of the record doesn't seem to be much good. And maybe this is an important point. Satisfaction cannot be found in books or zen sayings. They can lead you to water, but you have to actually put your dang curly straw down in the stuff and take a sip. Just need to convince yourself that it isn't nice to be thirsty, which is somehow a difficult lesson.
- Low tide
May be the case right now. Been studying for a while, and no magic has happened. Which I think may be all that zen masters were trying to teach us. There is no magic, be an adult and stop believing fairy tales, stupid. I don't have any advice for anyone besides the mundane, self help stuff. If you're in a low tide, do something you enjoy. Try to get some exercise. Clean your room.
So ask me anything. I'll try to answer.
Here's your jam