Dhamma Wheel Buddhist Forum

An old saying in Zen -- or perhaps in all of Buddhism for all I know -- suggests

Do not do as the master did. Know what the master knew.

What's your view of such a suggestion?

To me it points to the role of understanding as part of the kamma that we create. And then, of course, the cessation of kamma should be known.

I dont know if this distinction matters Adam, but I dont think that there is a Theravada view of the master which is analogous to the Zen view of the master.. Which means that the queston possibly addresses a non-issue in terms of the Theravada ? Or at least a different set of issues. Possibly.

PeterB wrote:I dont know if this distinction matters Adam, but I dont think that there is a Theravada view of the master which is analogous to the Zen view of the master.. Which means that the queston possibly addresses a non-issue in terms of the Theravada ? Or at least a different set of issues. Possibly.

You're probably right, Peter. Actually, Buddhism strikes me as just one possibility. In life, I imagine people choose all sorts of masters, all sorts of gods, all sorts of beliefs ... and the suggestion strikes me as useful, assuming anyone wanted to lead his or her own life.

Everyone's Dharma path is necessarily unique, but all Dharma leads to the same recognition. Doesn't matter how someone else got across the river, what matters is what they discovered along the way and on the other side.

pink_trike wrote:Everyone's Dharma path is necessarily unique, but all Dharma leads to the same recognition. Doesn't matter how someone else got across the river, what matters is what they discovered along the way and on the other side.

Indeed.

genkaku wrote:Do not do as the master did. Know what the master knew.

If we knew what the master knew we'd be doing what the master did...

Greetings bhante,

Sadhu!



Metta,
Retro.

pink_trike wrote:Everyone's Dharma path is necessarily unique, but all Dharma leads to the same recognition. Doesn't matter how someone else got across the river, what matters is what they discovered along the way and on the other side.