Mindful pleasures..... As the words turn.

Atticus Pinecone atticuspinecone at gmail.com
Tue Aug 29 10:57:52 CDT 2017


A refreshing take on Zen. Not sure of the angle on 'excluding everything' when it's heavily Taoist. But the physical V mental I can understand... is Tantra more about doing those standing poses I see people doing in the park on Sunday mornings? 

And is Tantra related to Transcendental Meditation? And is it Latin for the plural of tantrum?

> On Aug 29, 2017, at 11:35 AM, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I can't respond now in an academic way, but the difference between the poles of Zen and Tantra include the following:
> 
> Zen is dry.  Tantra is wet.
> 
> Zen excludes everything.  Tantra includes everything.
> 
> Zen is strict.  Tantra is permissive.
> 
> Zen is high caste. Tantra includes the lowest caste, and also women.
> 
> Zen is right.  Tantra is wrong.
> 
> Zen is the elevator.  Tantra is the escalator.
> 
> Do you get the gist?
> Tantra is actually also a difficult path, but it is more physical to Zen's mental.
> 
> David Morris
> 
>> On Tue, Aug 29, 2017 at 10:17 AM Atticus Pinecone <atticuspinecone at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Can you elaborate on 'opposite of Zen'? Sounds interesting.
>> 
>> > On Aug 29, 2017, at 11:12 AM, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
>> >
>> > You said, "There are sects of Buddhism less strict than lay Zen?"
>> >
>> > First, I thought, "Is this question serious?"  But my non-sarcastic answer follows.
>> >
>> > Yes.  Tantra.  That is pretty much the opposite of Zen.  It predates Bhuddism, yet is integral to Tibetan Bhuddism.  But Tantra is usually kept hidden until adepts are ready for it.
>> >
>> > David Morris
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