{"id":251,"date":"2009-10-30T13:55:00","date_gmt":"2009-10-30T13:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/10\/basic-assumptions\/"},"modified":"2009-10-30T13:55:00","modified_gmt":"2009-10-30T13:55:00","slug":"basic-assumptions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/10\/basic-assumptions.html","title":{"rendered":"Basic Assumptions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

First,\u00a0sorry\u00a0about\u00a0the\u00a0weird\u00a0formatting\u00a0here.\u00a0I\u00a0\u201cupgraded\u201d\u00a0to\u00a0the\u00a0new\u00a0blogger\u00a0and\u00a0am\u00a0struggling\u00a0with\u00a0it.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
We have a couple day sesshin here at Transforming Through Play, starting in a few hours and going through Sunday morning. We\u2019ll focus on the next part of the of the Genjokoan<\/i> work:<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span>
Investigate: Is water great or small and discerning the width or narrowness of the moon in the sky.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span>
Sound like fun?<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
Along these lines, this morning I worked on first chapter of my upcoming book (due out in 2014 if I work really hard at it). I start with some basic assumptions:<\/span><\/div>\n
    \n
  1. The Buddha\u2019s great discovery can be realized in this life.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. The Buddha\u2019s great discovery is an extraordinarily subtle point.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Zazen and Buddha\u2019s enlightenment are in intimate relationship and such zazen is a necessary condition for its rediscovery. <\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Usually, a necessary condition for realized zazen practice is that it is undertaken with the intimate guidance of someone who had made this discovery.<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Usually, a necessary condition to become a zazen person who without fail drops off body and mind is to do years of zazen \u2013 and yet zazen itself is probably insufficient. <\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Zazen done as a means to an end is not the most effective practice. <\/span><\/li>\n
  7. How we think about<\/i><\/span> our practice and how we think <\/span>in<\/i><\/span> our practice powerfully influences its efficaciousness (i.e., right thinking) in realizing the subtle truth \u2013 and yet thinking itself is certainly insufficient (see all of the above).<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. Such thinking includes the renunciation of upside-down views, especially means \u2013 ends strategizing. <\/span><\/li>\n
  9. One way to refine our lives and the lives of the many beings \u2013 without moving a speck of dust or destroying a single form \u2013 is through wholehearted zazen and carefully studying the works of Zen teachers, in this case, Dogen. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 However, all of this amounts to nothing unless and until we open our hearts to the suffering of ourselves and others and<\/i><\/span> to the great possibility of this life, delighting in uncertainty, and singing with Tom Waits (but with your sweeter voice):<\/span><\/div>\n
    <\/span>
    <\/span><\/div>\n
    She said \u201cHow you gonna like \u2019em, over medium or scrambled?\u201d<\/i><\/span>
    <\/i>You say \u201cAnyway\u2019s the only way,\u201d be careful not to gamble<\/i><\/span>
    <\/i>On a guy with a suitcase and a ticket getting out of here<\/i><\/span>
    <\/i>It\u2019s a tired bus station and an old pair of shoes<\/i><\/span>
    <\/i>This ain\u2019t nothing but an invitation to the blues<\/i>\u2026.<\/span><\/div>\n
    \"\"<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    First,\u00a0sorry\u00a0about\u00a0the\u00a0weird\u00a0formatting\u00a0here.\u00a0I\u00a0\u201cupgraded\u201d\u00a0to\u00a0the\u00a0new\u00a0blogger\u00a0and\u00a0am\u00a0struggling\u00a0with\u00a0it. We have a couple day sesshin here at Transforming Through Play, starting in a few hours and going through Sunday morning. We\u2019ll focus on the next part of the of the Genjokoan work: Investigate: Is water great or small and discerning the width or narrowness of the moon in the sky. Sound like fun? […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":182,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nBasic Assumptions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"First, sorry about the weird formatting here. I "upgraded" to the new blogger and am\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/10\/basic-assumptions.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Basic Assumptions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"First, sorry about the weird formatting here. I "upgraded" to the new blogger and am\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/10\/basic-assumptions.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wild Fox Zen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dosho.port\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-10-30T13:55:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_0uPSljNE9f4\/Suszu19iYjI\/AAAAAAAAApE\/F-xvssxRqYs\/s400\/101_1101.JPG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dosho Port\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dosho Port\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/10\/basic-assumptions.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/10\/basic-assumptions.html\",\"name\":\"Basic Assumptions\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-10-30T13:55:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2009-10-30T13:55:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#\/schema\/person\/45224391b7690e99673782337bd0eabd\"},\"description\":\"First, sorry about the weird formatting here. I \\\"upgraded\\\" to the new blogger and am\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/10\/basic-assumptions.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/10\/basic-assumptions.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/10\/basic-assumptions.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Basic Assumptions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/\",\"name\":\"Wild Fox Zen\",\"description\":\"Living the Dream\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#\/schema\/person\/45224391b7690e99673782337bd0eabd\",\"name\":\"Dosho Port\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7b9712e98924dea6c08d55890403352f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7b9712e98924dea6c08d55890403352f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dosho Port\"},\"description\":\"Dosho Port began practicing Zen in 1977 and now co-teachers with his wife, Tetsugan Zummach, with the Vine of Obstacles Zen. Dosho received dharma transmission from Dainin Katagiri Roshi and inka shomei from James Myoun Ford Roshi in the Harada-Yasutani lineage. He is the author of \\\"Keep Me In Your Heart Awhile: The Haunting Zen of Dainin Katagiri,\\\" \\\"The Record of Empty Hall: One Hundred Classic Koans,\\\" and \\\"Going Through the Mystery's One Hundred Questions.\\\"\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.vineobstacleszen.com\/\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dosho.port\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/author\/doshoport\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Basic Assumptions","description":"First, sorry about the weird formatting here. I \"upgraded\" to the new blogger and am","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/10\/basic-assumptions.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Basic Assumptions","og_description":"First, sorry about the weird formatting here. I \"upgraded\" to the new blogger and am","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/10\/basic-assumptions.html","og_site_name":"Wild Fox Zen","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dosho.port","article_published_time":"2009-10-30T13:55:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_0uPSljNE9f4\/Suszu19iYjI\/AAAAAAAAApE\/F-xvssxRqYs\/s400\/101_1101.JPG"}],"author":"Dosho Port","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dosho Port","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/10\/basic-assumptions.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/10\/basic-assumptions.html","name":"Basic Assumptions","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-10-30T13:55:00+00:00","dateModified":"2009-10-30T13:55:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#\/schema\/person\/45224391b7690e99673782337bd0eabd"},"description":"First, sorry about the weird formatting here. I \"upgraded\" to the new blogger and am","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/10\/basic-assumptions.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/10\/basic-assumptions.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2009\/10\/basic-assumptions.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Basic Assumptions"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/","name":"Wild Fox Zen","description":"Living the Dream","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#\/schema\/person\/45224391b7690e99673782337bd0eabd","name":"Dosho Port","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7b9712e98924dea6c08d55890403352f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7b9712e98924dea6c08d55890403352f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dosho Port"},"description":"Dosho Port began practicing Zen in 1977 and now co-teachers with his wife, Tetsugan Zummach, with the Vine of Obstacles Zen. Dosho received dharma transmission from Dainin Katagiri Roshi and inka shomei from James Myoun Ford Roshi in the Harada-Yasutani lineage. He is the author of \"Keep Me In Your Heart Awhile: The Haunting Zen of Dainin Katagiri,\" \"The Record of Empty Hall: One Hundred Classic Koans,\" and \"Going Through the Mystery's One Hundred Questions.\"","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.vineobstacleszen.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dosho.port"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/author\/doshoport"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}