I'D LIKE TO THANK THE ACADEMY
I just found out that I won the Blogisattva Award for Best Celebrity Buddhist Blog of 2005. You can read about it at
http://zenunbound.com/2006/03/blogisattva-award-winners-announcement.html.
On the one hand, I appreciate the sentiment. On the other hand, it's truly depressing. For one thing the idea that I'm a celebrity makes me cringe. The guy even addressed his congratulatory e-mail to me "or Member of the HZ entourage." Entourage? Who? My wife? The five guys who show up to my weekly Zazen classes? Fine.
But what was worse was when I checked out the other contenders for the award. None of them were of any interest to me at all. If this is the state of Buddhism in the West today, it's in really bad shape. What I am doing has nothing at all to do with any of that.
Having said that, my visits to Still Point in Detroit, the Milwaukee Zen Center, the Los Cruces Zen Center in New Mexico, and my first teacher Tim's Kent Zendo in Ohio lead me to believe that Zen in America may not be adequately represented in the so-called "Blogosphere," or on the Internet in general or in "Buddhist" magazines for that matter. There really are sincere people out there who are pursuing the practice with energy and dedication.
They're just not blogging. Which goes to further prove that they're smarter than those of us who are.
Now turn off your computer and go outside and play!
posted by Brad Warner @ Tuesday, March 07, 2006
18 comments
18 Comments:
There are other bloggers out there than just the ones I identified as celebrities.
There are about thirty here at Flapping Mouths and dozens more on the Blogisattva announcement and a couple hundred you could find at Technorati or Google Blog search or on Buddhist bloggers' Blogrolls.
Don't worry, Brad. You're not much of a celebrity. And I didn't really think you had an entourage.
The Buddhoblogosphere has a lot of nice, wise, able, knowing people in it. They would kick the blogging butts of those folks at Still Point or those other Zen Centers if they dared to jump into the blogging pool. Just let 'em try. The Buddhoblogosphere in its current make up would blog circles around them. Our keyboards are redhot, suped up with extra letters to express ineffible words.
C'mon, Still Point. MAKE MY DAY. I'll TAKE YOU OUT, Still Point. I dare ya. I double dare ya.
Doesn't zenmar teach people to levitate? That guy is sweet!
hi brad, i sent you some emails with news about the translation some time ago, i don't know if you read it but maybe it got lost in the spam you get
just making sure you got the news
Zenmar doesn't teach people to levitate. He doesn't have a cult. I understand he puts on his pants, one leg at a time.
EVERYBODY: Take a breath. Especially those of you who blog. Brad just said you're stupid.
Brad wrote: There really are sincere people out there who are pursing the practice with energy and dedication. They're just not blogging. Which goes to further prove that they're smarter than the ones who are.
Jeez, and I thought Brad was going to echo Sally Field's Oscar speech, you know, "You like me, you really like me!!"
I think maybe he is echoing James Cameron's acceptance speech for Best Pic Titanic: "I am king of the world!"
"They're just not blogging. Which goes to further prove that they're smarter than the ones who are."
Brad's comment was probably aimed more at himself than anyone else. He just copied and pasted the above from his Hardcore Zen blog. But it would have been nice if he had said, "smarter than those of us who are."
Tom said... "EVERYBODY: Take a breath. Especially those of you who blog. Brad just said you're stupid."
Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah, Brad said you're stoopid!
I know I am, but what are you?
[D'OH!]
It is interesting that immediately after Brad's trip to Japan and visit with Gudo Nishijima, they both stopped posting to their blogs.
Probably just a coincidence...
i guess there is a lot of nitpicking about nothing in the comments attached to latest brad's blog - sometimes it is better to follow the essential message
tomorrow i will give my 11 year old students a lesson in ethics - i have been teaching them since september and kind of observing their behavior patterns
now it is time to give them a lesson and the lesson is a lot about these comments here:
if somebody asks you to pick a paper or clean your place, just do it, don' say I didn't drop the paper
don't criticize other classmates, other teachers, don't whine all the time - do your best to be a good student - don't point to details that are nothing but nitpicking, destructing elements - if you have something serious to talk about, do it after the lesson and do it politely and sincerely
i am going to tell them that this very world is full of idiots who only complain about others, whine and spread the virus of hatred and violence - it starts with the way you treat your place, your classmate, your teachers
when we tend to act like selfish softies who don't accept their responsibity for their own life, it is time to reflect on this - and say OH I am so stupid! we can never go wrong admitting how stupid we are
Ha ha!
I like Mike Doe's comment - "I don't worry about what I think, let alone what anyone else thinks."
Thas cool :-)
And it's a good point. Blogging can really take up a lot of time and can become stoopid. I almost forget sometimes to go outside and play!
And levitate :-)
i talked to the kids today, never before i did discuss behaviour with them, but today i tried to explain to them how important it is to help others, do something good, respecdt teachers and parents etc etc and wow, it worked, they got the picture and nodded with agreement, but it was more complex than this , we talked about it for 40 minutes
karen, these are just web comments and what i write here for adults is different in FORM from what i say to the kids - with the kids i used the word "lazy, arrogant, silly" and didn't sound aggressive, i talked quietly, kindly to them, i never get angry in classroom, i mean lose the temper, and i don't get angry here at blogs, as you can't see the expression on my face, it is difficult to know exactly how i use the words, so that's why there is more disagreement here because we can't see each other's face while typing and reading
another thing is that there are people who talk agressively while smiling gently and there are people who speak loud and use harsh words but their heart is kind, so it is necessary to estimate the difference and that's what i estimate when i read Brad's things- i feel that even behind his harsh words, there is extremely kind and sincere heart that cares about happiness of others
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks.."
Whew! I just followed the links from Brad's blog, and found this lovely comment from the eminent Mike Cross:
Exhortations by the likes of the little upstart Brad Warner to "fix the posture," it seems to me, are pointing people entirely in the wrong direction. That guy has really put my nose out of joint, declaring his intention to write his interpretation of Shobogenzo, on the basis of his shallow and wrong understanding. He relies on the translation I was slaving away at years before he arrived on the scene, while giving himself airs and slagging me off. Who does he think he is? The little lickspittle. If we were members of the same karate dojo, I would kick and punch the hell out of him. That is my very strong instinctive feeling towards the little lickspittle Brad Warner. He has really offended my sense of proper order.
Comments?
On looking again, I wonder why we are paying attention to this. "Blogisattva" is obviously some very new thing; he hasn't even set the links up yet, or doesn't know how. Plus, I think the blogs of many of us on this server (yes, including mine, but not just) are better than what he sites. So, as my dog would say when he raises his hind leg.... (and no, I don't have a dog.)
Maybe everybody should stop and take a look at their world and quit worrying so much about "their practice" and take care of what is immediately around them. Good God, I've never seen so many people get ttheir panties in a bunch over some silly words.
You coukld spend the day fretting over Brad's latest post or go out and play with your kids. Make a difference- right now! Right here!
See ya I'm going out to play!
"You coukld spend the day fretting over Brad's latest post or go out and play with your kids. Make a difference- right now! Right here!"
Or you could stop criticizing people FOR criticizing Brad, and go do the same :-) Or Brad could quit dissing Zenmar, etc etc.
I'm not attacking Brad (or you) here, just saying that if one is valid, so is the other.
A lot of you people seem to have a very authoritarian fixation on Brad, and a desire to always support and defend him no matter what. When you put something out in public, you invite (reasonable) rebuttal. I actually had NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER with Brad's post, but those who did have a right to voice their differences.
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