February 26th, 1979, Serial No. 00123
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Mind and your doings, wherever you do zazen, gassho, and walking, must be touched down. That is keeping your whole body and mind in balance perfectly. Your doings is exactly a water-loving instrument. Your gassho is exactly a water-loving instrument. If your gassho is not right, you cannot do zazen, you cannot do gassho. If your bow is not right, you cannot believe bow. Why you should bow to the Buddha? You always believe bow is to bow to the object of worship.
[01:01]
This is not bow. Bow is anyway to express the deepest appreciation for your existence, totally. This is a bow. But if your bow is not right, you cannot understand it or you have lots of doubts. So, Patriarch says bow to bow is the practice of egolessness. It is really true. Gassho, bow, chanting, sitting, standing, talking, all must be touched down, touched down. Touched down as right down, right down. Gassho becomes water-loving instrument, water-lover. If you sit with wrong posture, you get trouble, very naturally.
[02:08]
So, that is touched down. Touched down is very closely associated with right down, right down. Right down is exactly touched down. Touched down is right down, right down. So, right down is anyway your life. Your life is water-loving, touched down. Tonight, I explain just the meaning of Shobo. Tomorrow, anyway, Ginzo. Then, rest of days, maybe four days, I will explain Eight Awareness of the Enlightened Person.
[03:19]
The suicide officer can't be re-elected. The communist technology of this re-elected official in suicide, incorporate them into the communist some mechanism without affecting AS law, because that's very cumbersome, very complex to change the law. But the work, in some way, can be bypassed law. I don't agree with that. All right, let me put before you then what I think seems to be a proposal, that this go officially before the committee members, which are here, and everybody else will join in next. Perhaps we should simply try then to put out an issue of a newsletter prior to the meeting in New York, just as a first step, so that there is some identification of the group. We try to, what do we put in, that's the next question.
[04:41]
What would you like to see in the newsletter that would come up, to stimulate interest prior to, say, a field war, members who might like to join separate groups? The objectives of the society, what you'd like to do on it. But already it seems there's going to be one. The objectives of the newsletter, then, what the newsletter is trying to do, communicate with other members in groups, but trying to organize in terms of presenting papers, how many would be interested in coming to these open meetings. That's asking a question. I just think we should send the first number of the newsletter before the meeting in New York. All right. A letter should be sent out. A circular letter, perhaps, yeah. You know, send a printed letter to as many people as you can reach.
[05:42]
I don't know, saying, inviting them to attend the Buddhist Studies Committee meeting, and informing as many people as possible, and perhaps giving an agenda, one item of which would be the possibility of forming a society. Can they get a call for papers? There's no place for them to be presented. I thought that that was one of the advantages, that you said that there was, that they could. You could if you set up a separate organization and tried to have it as concurrent. I doubt you could do it by next year. I think we should inform people that this committee exists. I'll let everybody know. Announce that there's been a new chairman. Give the list of names, the people who are the provisional executive committee, or whatever you want to call it. Say there's going to be a meeting to which everyone is cordially invited, and enclose an agenda of the meeting.
[06:46]
And I think that would certainly be enough to get people into the room to discuss the issues. And I think one of the items on the agenda should be the possibility of a new society. And then we should go into the meeting. If you're serious about proposing a new society, with a constitution pretty well laid out, where do you go? I should bring specific motions and make sure that we stick to the agenda and the motions are quoted on. Do you really think that a meeting, which sounds a lot like a business meeting, attracts very much? I mean, even if you couldn't call for papers, this time, if you could have one paper and a discussion, or something, at least. Frankly, I'd be more interested in a business meeting than in hearing another paper. By the time you've been at the AAS for a couple of days, the thought of another paper doesn't really turn you on all that much. It's amazing how many people have shown up in the past for the meetings.
[07:48]
I'm always surprised. I never know why they're all there. Some of them I don't recognize. Besides this, did you announce the idea to maybe start doing something else here? When do you think such a letter should go out? The meeting in March, should be around New Year. Because it's so early, some guys forget. It's so late, it's so late for a big plan. Probably after Christmas would be a good time. I'm not taking notes, but I am taping this. I feel that if it's going to work, then that meeting is going to work. And what we have to do, is that on the agenda, there would have to be some prior planning with regard to, for example, if we want to have a separatist body formed,
[08:54]
it seems to me that there ought to be a group of people who do some of the groundwork and come with some very specific proposals to that meeting in writing. Multiple copies. So that everybody gets a copy and says, here it is, and then we can have open discussion and people can do battle over it. But at that point, I think without that, it would be very amorphous. Just to talk about it, it would take a long time. That would be one thing on the agenda, but it definitely should be. The second thing would be if that society, see for the AAS, the committee is not allowed to set up panels. The panels are set up by the program committee, only the program committee. So we would have to form ourselves
[09:55]
into a separate body, be asked if we could be an affiliate member, which means that you then have to raise the money for your rooms, and you have to pay the rental of the rooms in the hotel where you're meeting for help. All proposals for AAS panels for next year have to be in by August 1st, and they have in big black letters there are no prior commitments to any groups, committees, or organizations. The program committee is to be left completely free to make decisions. They've turned down the... There seems to have been something of a bias against Indian studies, at least that's what a lot of people felt in the last couple of years. Tremendous bat fights, death screens and the like. So I think that the organization
[11:00]
would have to have some people working on proposals and clear statements of what sexual abuse issues would be. The second is, if we did have it, we would have to seek affiliation and we would have to set up a way, or a suggestion of a way, for the meeting the year after that, a year from March, as to possible... Whether we do it on a team, it's a very... A lot has been done. Whether we would have it as AOS is, that you do your own paper regardless of... You're not asking them to talk, just present what you were doing. Or we could send out a call for papers at that time. I think that would have to be done almost immediately, to say next year, this is what we want. Something else on the agenda might be to
[12:02]
have, as an agenda item, a newsletter. Because I think one of the difficulties is going to be recruiting volunteers to take on a really onerous burden of editing a newsletter like this. And if we have people there, we may get a volunteer whom somebody might not even know on hand. Somebody who doesn't know... Well, talking of volunteers, I would like to have some people who would be willing to correspond with each other and begin to try to work on suggestions for a possible parallel organization. Any questions? If you can decide to
[13:03]
set up this parallel organization for us, in principle, then I think that would be a good idea. We do want to think of this as a kind of a miracle that we'd like to have such an organization even if it is rather informal and so on, because as I know those people, everything is pretty much done. And I think it's big, our emphasis on this is probably getting far too big as it is, a lot of people I know at this time are not going to go to a conference like this one, because it's too far, and they have too many people, and the chances of them wanting to meet are very small. So, subject-oriented organization of this kind would be welcome.
[14:04]
So we're going to do our best. Perhaps I ask if you would be willing to be on a group who might work on a proposal for this. It seems to me that we need someone who is you don't have to be international, just thinking about a proposal. I think that many people from outside of I don't mind following this. Do I have a volunteer? Yes.
[15:08]
That would be three of you, which I think is sufficient, because I believe we have to do it by correspondence. So, can I discipline you, as coordinator? What I would like to have is your deliberations, and I think that if you send it to me, I can distribute it to the other members of the committee, even before the meeting. I'd expect from you a written document giving the major options, which would be open in terms of an organization other than the committee. It would be inside the structure.
[16:31]
The structure. That would be how the bylaws, what you say, how do people join, what would be the limits to membership. So that they have something very specific to look at, and if they want to do it, then help set up an organizing committee, and that that's again something which you should constitute yourselves as a nominating committee to nominate and be in contact with those people who should be the first organizing committee for us. It would have to be because if you decide to go on a broader international basis, then it would be valid. Well, I think you'd want to announce something. I think an organizing committee
[17:34]
is one that just sets the whole thing in motion. If we had those names, other people might wish to notice them. Some contact with people. Now, the newsletter. When we say international, does that mean the meeting of philosophy is celebrated outside of the United States or is it based in the United States? Well, I think that's something to be discussed. I would feel that we should have, we should have, we should not necessarily think that the society has to have a meeting. It seems to me that we could have a variety of workshops or situations anywhere in the world that the society would, say, decides to be a sponsor of that would only mean, say, notifying all its members that such and such meeting. Right, but I,
[18:34]
however, I tend to favor a regular meeting, whether it's a humble local effort or not. That's another question, but I think a regular meeting would be much better. Thank you. I suspect that it would be dominated by North America. Correct. So, consequently, probably most of the meetings, at least in Brazil, would take place in North America. Well, not only is it a question of being dominated, but it's also a question of economics. As I see it, the main question of the international aspect is to communicate with the people who are not having their meetings. First, I suppose that you can take it out to the International Congress of Orientalists whether or not that might be a time for once every four years to have the society meeting concurrent with the Congress
[19:35]
of Orientalists meeting so that you could get your international membership together. But I think these are things that you will have to work on. The second thing that would come to the agenda, Professor Kenji Yama, may I ask if there are three right here in the corner who are working on possible organizational makeup of the society for the studies. Would you also join them? It's going to be by raising the hand.
[20:36]
I think without the Japanese side, the study committee would be quite... Second item on the agenda would not be the setting up of a meeting a year hence from March, but if we could have a proposal to present an effort at that time as to have how that meeting might take place and what form we would have to decide. So... Either we're trying to set up... I think what we're asking for is at least in this country we feel the need for trying more Buddhist panels comparable to the society of comparative discrimination philosophy. If this society is
[21:39]
set up and if we can... If we were in the place where we could officially start it in March and it's voted on, then I think what we would want to do is to go to the AAS board and ask them for affiliate status for that society and with affiliate status notify them that we will see what we can work out in terms of space for a meeting. So I feel that has to be worked out so that we can say to people that we're going to do it or we're not and we are going to do it and what we're asking for and what we're looking for and so in terms of that aspect of setting up a proposed program for 1978 in the spring of 1978 was
[22:42]
ironic and I want you as a convener to take a
[25:19]
moment to think agenda for 1978. So the three of you will be in correspondence with each other. I'll put the bonus on Professor Ron to see that it happens and we'll expect again a written item that we can hand out to everybody at the meeting in 1977 so that they can look at it objectively or accept it. You understand you're making a proposal for that meeting. A newsletter. I feel I don't know that we need to take the idea of the newsletter before the committee. I think the committee has already said yes many times but I
[26:19]
need to put out one such newsletter before that meeting. It's just a letter this time. Can I have somebody who would be interested in working on suggestions for the format and procedure for a newsletter to be brought up at the meeting? Did you shake your head three times Phil? Any number. Here. Here.
[27:24]
It's going to be unstuck. There you go. Here. Here. Here. It's Bob Thurman was on here. Bob's really good. He's on here. Gunter is on this committee. How about some of you who are not on the committee? Some of this slack is being taken up by that Buddhist text information thing that's coming out of the Institute for Bad Study of World Religions in New York. I've noticed little bits on the back of who's working on what. So hands off my topic. Maybe somebody who has access to them might be able to
[28:30]
plug into their information network a little bit. Why don't we say Dick Gard and Bob Thurman, they're both from the East. Thurman can push Gard to think about expanding or even doing a joint nailing with that DTI. That might be a cheaper thing for us to do. We'll see if we can get our put something in their mailings. Although they might not mail when we want to mail them. They've given me their mailings. As far as the publication of the text is concerned they are very helpful. They are very back-bet to publish something long ago happened. As far as planning and the current program goes they're so uneducated. I think we think on different possibilities. One is so long this committee
[29:35]
has not taken advantage of AAS newsletter. They don't publish four times or four times, now I don't know. They don't publish newsletter. They don't publish news from committees. In the past the committee was going to say this, why not for the time being use it Yes, I think that we probably should do that. I'll ask them to come to us with proposals for future funding. Tell us what the possibilities are for the future. So what I will do is try then to perhaps maybe we should do maybe this is a time for two mailings before then. Perhaps one come in the fall to indicate some of these things and then remind them later. I don't know.
[30:37]
I don't know whether people would have input to all the suggesting mail or not. I don't know. I think probably current issue is secular in such form. First say we are a group of interested, include some member of the political committee I think to inclusive by all works in terms of information and organization comes to know. And two, request them therefore immediately conduct such-such person for such-such topic if they have any idea. Now one other thing that I can think, maybe other people have other items to that agenda is that there are always questions brought up about publication.
[31:44]
Whether or not we have time to bring that up or whether we should simply because maybe what we should do is set up organization and not even put publication on. Although that's something that's come in from all the committee members in terms of things that they are interested in talking about. A journal possibility for you or should we have someone who explores that and comes to a meeting in March with all the bad news of what a journal is. Yes. Because most of the bad news is about money. Yeah. How much
[32:49]
you need. Is there any possibility that papers read could be published in an existing journal as a whole issue, a journal of Chinese philosophy, a journal of Indian philosophy or something like that? They might be, except a big problem with Buddhist journals is that it would cross all of those. It would not be very hard to get the papers precisely into the format of either a book or a journal. Philosophy East and West would come close. But I think that's certainly should be true. One thing that I would like to see is a summary of the papers. You show the papers halfway through here.
[33:51]
Part of the problem is that people don't know how to accept the news. We can't try it. The most problem is cost. That's definitely a problem in the past. I think the problem with Philosophy East and West is that they're committed to publishing the papers from the committee for comparative Indonesian philosophy, and I doubt that they'd want to give another issue committed totally to... ... [...]
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