Mormons

February 28, 2010

Did The Mormons Ever Develop A Mystical Tradition Like Most Other Major Religions?

Obviously, there’s Christian mysticism, and then there’s Zen in Buddhism, Sufism in Islam, Kabbalah in Judaism, etc.
But was there ever “Mormon mysticism”?
Or is Mormon theology and dogma too rigid for something like that to ever arise?

random koan

To Master Zen (with Muga)
:The d.o.m. Hello Master Zen, The d.o.m. does not to know what you would do to master your Zen at your Guru's funeral. If the d.o.m. were you, he would cry out loud three times, then laugh out loud three times, and leave after that. Why would he do so? As a human being in the human world, he would cry. As a consciousness, he would laugh. And as a 'thus comes and thus goes', he would come and leave. MUGA: Dear D.O.M., But if it were muga's dying task, muga'd tongue, moved by worms, would not fail to ask: D.O.M.: WHERE are you going thus? MASTER ZEN: When the great Master drops his body and no longer communicates with the un-awakend, it is sad indeed, for them. The love between a Guru and a sincere student is very special. It contains the highest respect, the greatest reverence, the profound understanding that the Guru is indeed awakend, and the time you spend together is the most important thing, an opportunity of a lifetime.Your awakening is as important to him as it is to you. The Guru goes to great lengths to help you, answering every question, and even those that have not been asked. This love, between Teacher and student is a special-ness, it is above all worldly loves. The student, at a very deep level is directly connected to the Master, and the the Master sees the student as himself, struggling, and wants to help. There is no greater love, no greater friendship than this. To have the chance to talk to the Master directly is indeed the greatest blessing. MUGA: Dear Master Zen: In our Zen history we can read that for every Zen Master that died, 3 or 4 sprang-up. The same happens with living thing. The little pigeon born at mugas storage died a few weeks ago, but now there's two new eggs in the nest. The dove is meditating, looking forward to her contributions to life. GENKAKU: To have the chance to talk to the Master directly is indeed the greatest blessing. ***************************************************** Dear master -- Talking is nice, but I think the greatest blessing, one for which the master might bow in sincere thanks, would be to bury him. The d.o.m.: In fact, Muga has not died yet. So, he's supposed to wait until the death comes. Furthermore, the d.o.m. only said some words, "thus comes and thus goes", and he did not refer "WHERE ?" he comes or goes. However, when Muga started with his "WHERE ?", the name "muga" immediately turned into "yuga", and with this he's supposed to know "WHERE ?". If he has not known yet, then he might want to keep asking his question until the answer come to him. STEPHEN: Dear Master Zen: Not to belittle your lost or not feel for your pain but There is not greater delusion or attachment than love and friendship. All love is so. I know this is not a poplar belief and I know many will disagree but would your Guru? Would it not be enough for a Zen Man to be born, watched, listened, speak and die. I miss my past friends but all that comes and then goes. MU MUGA: "In fact, Muga has not died yet. So, he's supposed to wait until the death comes. Furthermore, the d.o.m. only said some words, "thus comes and thus goes", and he did not refer "WHERE ?" he comes or goes. However, when Muga started with his "WHERE ?", the name "muga" immediately turned into "yuga", and with this he's supposed to know "WHERE ?". If he has not known yet, then he might want to keep asking his question until the answer come to him. -D.O.M.- ....." Dear D.O.M., Attaching to 'has not died yet' is indeed samsaric. If muga were to wait for samsara or not wait for it he'd really be laughing stock. So D.O.M. has words to say he 'thus comes' and he 'thus goes', but no words as to where-to and where-from? The d.o.m.: The d.o.m.'s words were like a wind. If they might cool someone in some situation a little bit, it would be fine. If not, it would also be fine, too. You could say whatever you'd like. And feel free to raise any question you want to, and answer it yourself. The d.o.m. has nothing to do with that kind of stuff. Good luck! MUGA: Dear D.O.M., Like the wind, it'd be. Sometimes it refreshes the skin, and sometimes it stuffs the nose. But old muga is used to desert storms even, and so far none has yet blinded him. Only his very own perverted thinking has that power. Good luck, friend. The d.o.m.: You meant that some of the d.o.m.'s words talking to Master Zen stuffed your nose, didn't you? Or you meant that "only his very own perverted thinking has that power" of your own stuffed your nose? If the first one is the case, it would be very easy, just disregard those words of the d.o.m. that stuffed your nose - they were not directed to you - then your nose will be o.k.. And the d.o.m. is sorry about that. If the second one is the case, then you already know how to get rid of it, and the d.o.m. would say: "Good luck and get well soon!" MUGA: Hey, dear D.O.M. There's no air anywhere meant just for one single creature. The d.o.m.: The d.o.m. wonders why the gentleman Muga said, "There is no air anywhere...", meanwhile there are a lot of air around him? Oh! Maybe his nose still gets stuffed and he couldn't breathe and feel air well. Friends, Any of you are compassionate enough, use your empty hands to grasp some fresh air and take it to him? And be careful when you give the air to him, he might hit you. The d.o.m. feels sorry about this because he only has wind but no air. MUGA: Dear D.O.M. You'got wind? Good grief! Please make sure it's none of the Eight Ones. Fears are to be overcome, not spread. May that be so for all. Kindly, The d.o.m.: It seems that you thought wind as some kind of grief. Right? The d.o.m. does not think it that way. You sounded you know well what you called the Eight Ones, meanwhile, the d.o.m. does not know any of them. So, do not apply your knowledge to what he said in a colloquial conversation. And it seems that the thought of "fears to overcome or to spread" came from you, too. The d.o.m. has not said anything about "fears". So, do not worry about any fear to overcome or to spread. As you might see that everybody around here is in safe so far, therefore, the d.o.m. does not think it is necessary to do any prayer. MUGA: Good sincere grief again, dear dharma friend. The Eight Winds is an old teaching of Buddha. And although muga's words are vulgar and may even sound colloquial, please be assured they are not meant to be. Here's some to it: ========================================================= "A truly wise man will not be carried away by any of the eight winds: prosperity, decline, disgrace, honor, praise, censure, suffering and pleasure. He is neither elated by prosperity nor grieved by decline. The heavenly gods will surely protect one who does not bend (nor is propelled by) any of the eight winds." ========================================================= But a simpler understanding on this Highest Teaching of the Blessed One, may better derive from this old Zen story: =========================================================== Su Dongpo was an avid student of Buddhist teachings, and often discussed them with his good friend, the Zen master Foyin. The two lived across the river from one another - Su Dongpo's residence on the north side and Foyin's Gold Mountain Temple on the south side. One day, Su Dongpo felt inspired and wrote the following poem: I bow my head to the heaven within heaven Hairline rays illuminating the universe The eight winds cannot move me Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus Impressed by himself, Su Dongpo dispatched a servant to hand-carry this poem to Foyin. He felt certain that his friend would be just as impressed. When Foyin read the poem, he immediately saw that it was both a tribute to the Buddha and a declaration of spiritual refinement. The "eight winds" in the poem referred to praise, ridicule, honor, disgrace, gain, loss, pleasure and misery - interpersonal forces of the material world that drove and influenced the hearts of men. Su Dongpo was saying that he had attained a higher level of spirituality, where these forces no longer affected him. Smiling, the Zen master wrote "fart" on the manuscript and had it returned to Su Dongpo. Su Dongpo had been expecting compliments and a seal of approval, so he was shocked when he saw what the Zen master had written. He hit the roof: "How dare he insult me like this? Why that lousy old monk! He's got a lot of explaining to do!" Full of indignation, Su Dongpo ordered a boat to ferry him to the other shore as quickly as possible. Once there, he jumped off and charged into the temple. He wanted to find Foyin and demand an apology. He found Foyin's door closed. On the door was a piece of paper, with the following two lines: The eight winds cannot move me One fart blows me across the river This stopped Su Dongpo cold. Foyin had anticipated this hotheaded visit. Su Dongpo's anger suddenly drained away as he understood his friend's meaning. If he really was a man of spiritual refinement, completely unaffected by the eight winds, then how could he be so easily provoked? With a few strokes of the pen and minimal effort, Foyin showed that Su Dongpo was in fact not as spiritually advanced as he claimed to be. Ashamed but wiser, Su Dongpo departed quietly. This event proved to be a turning point in Su Dongpo's spiritual development. From that point on, he became a man of humility, and not merely someone who boasted of possessing the virtue. ========================================================= May we all find the formless in form, and emptiness in form. The d.o.m.: Keep going on reciting any other's words like that until no more left and see what happen then. MUGA: Dear D.O.M., As far as muga is concerned he is grateful for the good teachings of others. If any one repeats them and they lead to edification, the gratitude can not be unjustified. And when one is grateful one is in no need to wait for anything to happen. COYOTE: You know how sometimes coyote reads a post and thinks it's alllll about coyote? (grin) I was just thinking about that time when coyote got enlightened; Genkaku and Muga were standing on either side of the river and both spotted something that seemed to be flying over the river. "What is it?" they hollered to each other. "It's a bird!" shouted Genkaku "It's a plane! said Muga Then both looked at the other and said, "Ok, who farted?" Yup! fur fluffed out in the wind, tail streaming back... it was a coyote ;) MUGA: Hi Coyote, and all friends. None of this has been offered to demean any one in no way. On the contrary, if muga brings along any things for the ocassion, it's because he himself finds them valuable. Muga's learned a long time, by being at both ends, that we don't help others by sharing with others useless things. The D.O.M. and muga are all good dharma friends. The D.O.M. is a good teacher and muga appreciates him very much, even though he gets into shaking muga to see if he's not hiding any thing. But there's nothing anywhere that can be truly be had, if it's not for just a moment. Well-being to all. The d.o.m.: Now the d.o.m. can see one or two things more. Frist, the gentleman Muga would like to chew the cud very much, as he showed in his message above. And if so, it's his own business and the d.o.m. has nothing to with that, unless Muga brings the cud in here and have the d.o.m. chew it like he does, then the d.o.m. wouldn't do that. Sorry for not being a friend in that business. Second, the d.o.m. is no way a teacher - whether good or bad - of any kind. He sometimes feels a little better in health condition then he would do some colloquial conversation - like this one - with anyone who comes here and likes to do so. The d.o.m. is old and too deluded to teach anything to anyone. Actually, he has nothing to teach. So, please do not chew his rustic words. If anyone does so, it will not be good at all for himself and for the d.o.m. MUGA: Dear D.O.M., "Teacher" does not mean "Total Teacher of Everything" by non means. Suffices for muga that it be "teacher of tolerance" and see that muga is not offering no Purple Robe, sorry. As for any more chewing, for now, the "Thus Come" will have to settle for "The Thus Ignored". Gotta go pass a kidney stone. Karma is calling. The d.o.m.: Today the d.o.m. would like to say few more words and to stop this conversation. Sorry for the discontinuation for a little while. If the gentlman Muga, or anyone like him, would like to wear a "hat" or a "robe" that make himself as a "Total Teacher of Everything" or a "Teacher of Fragmentation" or whatsoever teacher, then that's again his own business and the d.o.m. has nothing to do with that. Thanks for offering or not offering whatsoever. What the d.o.m. really wants to be is: an ordinary man, a friend of mankind, and everything else. So, any other and he could sit on a bank of a river and be together looking at the blades of grasses on the ground or watching the water flowing down the river-bed or gazing at the blue sky overhead with some clouds floating across over there...just appreciate each of those without any kinds of words or thoughts or knowledges or conceptual sytems. And none of us would request that the blade of the grasses should not be growing like that or the water should not be flowing like this or the clouds should be flying this way to this destination... Karma, to the d.o.m., is one of the typical cuds that so many people have chewed and appreciated so much. It became one of the most popular standards which they have considered and used it as a golden rule to measure or judge what others might say or do. So, when they heard someone said or did something that seemed against what they have learned and stored in their memory, they would evoke it (Karma) to come and perform something to make him pay a retribution - a punishment - because that one said or did something like that. And they would think: "That is the justice!" Anyone who could see things and other beings as-they-are without discrimination would not worry about that type of cuds because he sees what he is saying or doing. In other words, anyone who could see things directly would not need any cuds to chew. Why do people like to chew the cuds? Because if there is no cud to chew they will feel so empty, so blank, so stagnant, so unbearable... inside. They do not have anything to rely on to say or to judge or make any comment to others. If they knew that at the moment their mind is empty and if they could stand with that for as long as it needs, then their mind would refresh itself and everything would show itself as-it-is from beginninglessness. With the rustic words above, the d.o.m. would like to stop this conversation here. Thanks for the listening. MUGA: "What the d.o.m. really wants to be is: an ordinary man, a friend of mankind, and everything else. -the D.O.M.- ... " Dear D.O.M., May it be realized by all of us that there's nothing in The Way preventing this.

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Did The Mormons Ever Develop A Mystical Tradition Like Most Other Major Religions?

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