#rinzei

[01:53 - 01:58]: A Buddhist uses Mala beads when there's been concentration issues, to feel the passage of time.The gravity of the Mala beads works like a clock with gravity, as well. There's 108 widgets on the string. Between the 108 widgets of my anodized 10$ Buddhist Mala beads, is a tassel for the cycle respawn. 

The tassel reminds us Buddhists about our myths of reincarnation, and the dead Buddha. 

Wrapped and secured via a captain's knot set is a formerly white twine, in reference to desired marriage. It contains my keepsakes on the tassel in case of crises, a medical fob to cure winter depression. And conclusively, I hold onto a set of ancient luck coins which have been attributed to Lao Tzu. 

In certain zones occupied by Confucianism, it became popular to trade 3 copper metals, to exchange luck. Tao te Ching developed around the same eras as Confucianism, and it is not a religion, nor related. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[01:58 - 02:05]:

It is honourable and proper for a Zen martialist only to meditate near death, especially with Mala beads. During training, the leadership team of monks with the most skillset teaches you how to sit properly.

There is a pose that you are encouraged to take, or else they slap you with their palm, to fix your back. You take a Lotus position, if you cannot survive, or have given into despair, and you stare at the crease of a wall intersection, with no thoughts.

If you get bored, the leadership team of monks fixes your back again. You meditate until your posture is no longer corrected, then you wander off towards a proper temple.

My only Buddhist book contained via my personal library records, is a collection of ancient case files. We are known as the Rinzei sector of the martial arts practice known as Zen.

Zazen is a training technique, and a skillset aid, during times of troublesome thoughts. Pioneers in this martial art cross-fertilized the spiritual practice, until it was known as aghana. (unrelated to the African nation, and a completely different language from the Japanese word)

I have officially transmitted what I learned during an unknown span of my life in training. I refer any and all questions to the Zen book of case files, "Entangling Vines, a Koan record".

Entangling Vines is a translation of the Shumon Kattoshu, the only major koan text to have been compiled in Japan rather than China. Most of the central koans of the contemporary Rinzai koan curriculum are contained in this work. Indeed, Kajitani Sonin (1914–1995)—former chief abbot of Shokoku-ji and author of an annotated, modern-Japanese translation of the Kattoshu—commented that “herein are compiled the basic Dharma materials of the koan system.” A distinctive feature of Entangling Vines is that, unlike the Gateless Gate and Blue Cliff Record, it presents the koans “bare,” with no introductions, commentaries, or verses. The straightforward structure of its presentation lends the koans added force and immediacy, emphasizing the Great Matter, the essential point to be interrogated, while providing ample material for the rigors of examining and refining Zen experience. Containing 272 cases and extensive annotation, the collection is not only indispensable for serious koan training but also forms an excellent introduction to Buddhist philosophy.

Personal Note on the Book:

Apparently, these testimonies happen so often that there’s a case file collection here via Entangling Vines, a most reputable Zen Koan Edition.