Detachment is Total Immersion

[black_eagle]

Steve Perry had it backwards. The lyrics should be: "Do stop believin'. Don't hold onto that feeling." Not as catchy tho...

[StephenWenninger]

"Whatever you do, do it with all your might!" -Ecclesiastes

[michaelmcclure]

Exactly right. The thought 'i am doing someone' comes after the fact... It's an interpretation. When i first got into spirituality i had been a painter for 6 years and was living alone meditating and painting. One night while painting it suddenly became spontaneous and completed itself. For some reason it was incredibly moving.. like a mini breakthrough. Prior to that point it had been a more effortful process, perhaps its like driving a car, early on it takes a lot of attention, but later it becomes easier. It was awkward for a while though, i didn't even want to sign pictures because i didn't feel like i was the doer of them. I guess everyone has a similar experience practicing some difficult skill.. there can be a learning curve and a moment when it becomes more effortless.

[selvanegrra]

Thanks for that! Made me cry a little, don’t know why. Think it gave me relief.

Then again that’s just thought

[dinninfreeman]

it sounds like its a question of what you are detaching from. People who detach in the sense of not caring about circumstances are detaching from circumstances. The people who detach in the zen sense it sounds like are detaching in the opposite direction, detaching from self in favor of the circumstance. Do I have that right?

[jonlee]

Hi. Enjoy your show. Looks like from your backyard shots that you are a Sonoran Buddhist. Me too. I live in Tucson. Have you done a show on some of the imagery Dogen use. 'Twelve and eighteen foot Budda, 3 heads, 8 arms, Blue mountains walking. Stuff like that?

[pearlyung]

Detachment could be not taking sides, not hoping, not praying, not expecting, no binary thinking that causes anxiety.

[jonwesick]

I understand that Dogen's Japanese is very different from modern Japanese? Do you find it challenging understanding Dogen in his original language?

[antejeantejeante]

haha eminem had a song called lose yourself.