Long ago, when i first joined Avalon, i posted a question to someone who tried to educate me about Zen and Buddhism. I wasn't angry or trying to antagonize or in any way to be toxic, but i did reply to a comment and specified a question that most people won't get ever from the usual practice
There is a reason for that question and i think i would want to clarify now what it truly means, because it is not on any text book or anything remotely related to it. So please allow me to explain now
The context and question was:
"There's a flower growing in the middle of the road.. why?"
And you are supposed to explain why. People get all worked up about it and a lot get angry and try to explain in terrain/human terms, and then end up leaving the conversation in a rage and temper tantrum. All of this is bad and wrong. They thought i was trying to make fun of them or ridicule them. Which in itself shows how much they lacked in understanding about the subject they were supposed to be 'masters' or 'teachers' at
These kind of questions belong to a separate road very much apart from current/modern understanding of zen, i'll explain
The question is not a question, it is a 'entry point'. It is a test. It is supposed to not be taken seriously, it is supposed to be a joke and from your answer you identify yourself. There is this thing in some old style Buddhist and Zen schools that you are forbidden to tell others about tests or some of the teachings, because that's what keeps the school closed enough that only the master can allow new students in, and the knowledge keeps close and tight so that it doesn't get 'polluted; by getting mixed into other cultures. It is elitist yes, i understand, but please read below first before judging
So here's an answer to that question:
"The flower is growing in the middle of a road because it is not growing anywhere else"
Now here are real answers, or acceptable ones
- I don't know
- It just happened
And here's a more correct/real answer to it
"Pseudo wisdom is not how you learn the way out"
That question above, has 3 levels
"Because it happened or i don't know" are fake wrong answers, but acceptable until you grow to understand more about reality
Definitely "because it is not growing anywhere else" is pseudo knowledge. It sounds 'eastern mystical philosophy" with some old forgotten knowledge
It's a trap. The question leads to answers but the understanding is below at least 3 levels down
Why is the flower growing in the middle of a field?
There is no meaning to it, you don't have or need to have an explanation to it. Just accept that it is there, the flower doesn't care, you should not care. It exists, regardless of you or your thinking around why or where it lives
The flower is growing in the middle of the road because of whatever reason, don't stay 'still' on the thought of how it got to happen
See?
So, for the idea that it must have an explanation. And if you see someone saying "i'm a master of this or that" just ask them to figure this out
When i asked that question, it was a test to see if the person i was talking to knew about these things, because they did present as if they knew it all about it. Yet the test is something very few people know about. In fact there is a none spoken law about not sharing these things because it tends to empower or give resources to people who later use it to harm other people, through the persona of a 'master of eastern wisdom' thing. So it is not usual to talk about it, but at least this one i think i can freely and openly talk about it. It may not do a lot of harm, or any at all
Don't hate, i don't hate you back, I just say things and hope people discern
Thanks for reading my stuff. Hasta la vista!
ETA: I'm dumb, but i'm not stupid, mistakes are normal, i'm not an alien to this world, so perfection is way out of my league. I just went through some stuff growing up and it was a bit different than other people go through, but that doesn't mean i must be hated or rejected or somehow looked at like a weirdo. I'm normal, except for some life things but even then there are thousands all over going through the same stuff just right now, so... please allow some room to be
Thanks