Monthly Archives: October 2016

Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Vajragoni

Everything the Zennist writes mostly has an immediate bearing on his own experience; yet the Zennist’s realization was only half-realized; he had yet to undergo an experience that would make the analysis of his own Weltanschauung even more profound—a supra-transcendent … Continue reading →

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Wasting away again in Batchelorville

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Vajragoni

One of the greatest heralds for today’s ever-increasing Secular Buddhism is Stephen Batchelor. Once studying to be a Tibetan Buddhist Monk he switched gears and instead began to identify himself first as an agnostic, then later as an atheist. His … Continue reading →

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Dōgenism—the Bane of the Buddhadharma

Posted on October 9, 2016 by Vajragoni

Perhaps there is no finer rival of Dōgenism (sitting Zen—zazen) than The Zennist. He has relentlessly contended that it is vastly overrated and comes at the cost of eclipsing the fact that “Zen is about the fundamentally awakened True Mind … Continue reading →

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A Very Grimm Matter

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Vajragoni

Surprisingly little is written about the German Pali scholar, Dr. George Grimm (1868-1945), yet his contribution to analyzing the ātman/anātman dichotomy is unsurpassed. His writings, in particular his monumental “Doctrine of the Buddha: The Religion of Reason and Meditation”, finely … Continue reading →

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Die Weltkinder

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Vajragoni

As specified by The Zennist, the most accurate word describing “puthujjana (S., prithagjana) is, in one word, profane. In the religious sense a puthujjana is someone who has not entered the supermundane path—someone who is not a srotāpanna (a current … Continue reading →

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What Price Freedom?

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Vajragoni

One of the best series ever to emerge from television was the late ‘60’s The Prisoner, starring Patrick McGoohan. It presents the human dilemma of not being “free”—both in mind and being incarcerated in the existential-gestalt from which there is … Continue reading →

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Ekacitta: Advanced Studies in Dark Zen

Posted on October 1, 2016 by Vajragoni

The idea for this series occurred to me when contemplating one on George Grimm and his notion of “Self”. Then it struck me how someone in particular has thoroughly broken-down Grimm’s formulations on the matter, that someone being “The Zennist.” … Continue reading →

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