how do i into zen buddhism?
>>1169006
Sit down and think about nothing.
>>1169082
i've been doing that my whole life
>>1169103
Nope. You've been thinking about random shit constantly.
To think about nothing you have to think about nothing.
And by that you must sit still... Stare off into space and not think about what you are looking at. What you are feeling or anything else.
Its kind of hard to do.
>>1169106
Just imagine climbing some shitty huge ass mountain to reach a secluded buddhist temple to find the secret to inner peace and the monk you meet there is just like:
"Its kind of hard to do."
>>1169082
for arguments sake, you can't think about "nothing", because the second you acknowledge "nothing", you fill it with something.
>>1169115
kek
>>1169103
>he's the enlightened one
Teach me your ways master!
>>1169118
Well. I think its the point. I'm not good at meditation because its hard to not think about nothing.
The best I can do is count from 1 to 10 over again and just focus on the numbers and not let any other thoughts come in.
But that's not Zen Buddhism.
>>1169165
From a metaphysical standpoint, I'd say its impossible, at the risk of sounding like a pretentious
https://youtu.be/_TK44YZcGfU
Alan Watts is a great place to start for all things zen.
Zen is pretty much looking at things directly without the mind interpreting and in the end everything ends up being nothing.
in college I took an eastern philosophy class and we had to write a 8 page essay on zen. There was only one guy who got a perfect score. His essay was 8 blank pages stapled together.
>>1169208
*dick
Find a tree that drops edible food like a fig tree. Maybe a coconut tree if you think you might get a bit thirsty. After that you just kind of sit there and accept whatever the tree drops.
The point is not to think about nothing, it's to try to think about nothing, granting you a better mastery over your thoughts and yourself by doing so.
>>1169006
It's best to find a teacher.
Unfortunately, in the modern West, Buddhism has become big business and teachers will charge you out the ass for stuff that used to be free.
Capitalism has even entangled itself in religion. What a world.
Isn't original Buddhism very similar to Epicureanism?
Unnecessary desires cause suffering. Eliminate unnecessary desires and become happy and enlightened.
trying to think about nothing is wrong because the thinker is actually a result of thought. There is no thinker, just thoughts. Zen is about acknowledging that there is no I and realizing that the meaning that we assign to objects and concepts is more destructive than anything.
This is a zen exercise anyone can try. Try sitting still. Close your eyes. And just listen. There's probably some street noise, listen to it. Don't pictire the car, just focus on the noise, no interpretations and no judgement. It's just noise. A loud ambulance siren now sounds, listen to it, it's a siren, don't think about where it's going or anything. The phone rings, let it ring. Listen, be attentive. Don't assign any meaning to anything and for once in your life just listen to noises.
can anyone recommend a book though?
>>1169513
start with this
make the bread
get back to us in a year
>>1169210
On tonight's episode of, things that never happened.
>>1169339
No.
