Hi kfson,
Apparently you are unaware of the Buddhist monks in Vietnam who immolated themselves in protest of the Vietnam War. I recommend you do a YouTube search to see if they have any footage. These monks sat serenely in the lotus position and flamed themselves, never once moving.
D. T. Suzuki also writes of a Zen Monastery in Japan, that was torched by a Daimyo. The monks sat serenely in meditation while they were burned to death.
Once again, the best you can say is that YOU cannot do it!
As far as detachment is concerned, one does not FOCUS on detachment. You are correct, all this is, is attachment to detachment. One doesn't focus on anything, that is the point, THAT is detachment! It isn't something you TRY to do, FOCUS on, WORRY about, etc. You just do it, or more accurately, it is just done!
There are a number of Ch'an dialogues used to illustrate this point. In general they proceed along these lines:
One day a Tom approached the Master and asked, "What is the mind of Ch'an?" The Master yelled, "Tom!!". Tom answered, "What Master?" The Master replied, "There it is!"
Tom did not pause and contemplate, "What does Master want?" before he replied! He replied as a natural consequence of the Master calling his name. There was no pause to think about it. It was stimulus/response, NOT stimulus/consideration/response.
Thus Ch'an Masters teach, "Chop wood, carry water!"
Last edited by Scott R. Brown; 01-28-2010 at 08:31 AM.
Fear the taco !!!
Psalms 144:1
Praise be my Lord my Rock,
He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !
that too.
more likely those monks accepted death and simply sat thru the brief pain of fire... they say it's one of the least painful ways to die... frantics on fire probably are still in denial of what is happening and are frantically fighting it, appearing to others as someone in great physical pain running around like a chicken with its head cut off - then again i have never set myself on fire.Detachment is the non-clinging to phenomena! Or it could be viewed as the natural function of mind!
i have a close viet friend who educated me about those monks. only 1 monk was motionless. the others fell over, slumped, cried out, etc.
the one monk that actually detached himself, Ḥa thượng Thích Quảng Đức, his heart did not burn, its in a museum in vietnam like its preserved, a 'miracle' if you will. my friend has seen it. there is a poem that goes along with his action, but i cant seem to find it...
For whoso comes amongst many shall one day find that no one man is by so far the mightiest of all.
I'm sure drugs didn't hurt either
Psalms 144:1
Praise be my Lord my Rock,
He trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle !