My kick ass American Zen (video)

American Zen (IMDB); Comedian Arj "Sickest Buddhist" Barker; American Zen guy Doggone; I. Rony, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

American Zen: Fighting For Our Lives TV mini-series in development (imdb.com)*

Muscle Bound Buddhist Doggone

Have you noticed how a lot of American Buddhists are bunch of sissies, snowflakes, and crybabies? Crying when they meditate, can't press into full lotus, and everything has to be so PC all the time? I'm going to do my Zen practice with viriya -- always mindful, purely vegetarian, ultra concentrated, and uber compassionate, with no ego. I mean, you can muscle these things, right? If Dōgen can do it, so can I. Look at these guns! "Nirvana or Bust"! That's what my tattoo is going to say...or my headstone. I'll report on my progress  to my girl guru Ananda. Join me!

What is a sesshin in Zen but a workout session and ordeal? (Great Vow Zendo, Oregon)

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*American Zen: Fighting For Our Lives is an upcoming TV mini-series we're excited about. It is not related to Wisdom Quarterly, Dharma Buddhist Meditation, Ananda, or Doggone.

ANANDA'S ADVICE

Zen Women: Beyond...

See, Doggone, the thing is, you're "efforting." You're trying to muscle it. It doesn't work that way. It just doesn't. But a fool who persists in his folly, there's something to be said for that. There's something to learn by that approach, like Sid did under the first tree. It was a sal (not a bodhi) tree. He pushed it to the extreme ascetic limit and nearly died. So carry on.

If Zen, Taoism, and Chinese Chan are all about being spontaneous and "natural," how can anyone will it? Christians and Jews joke, "If you want to make God (or the Universe) laugh, tell it your plans." Karma works in mysterious ways. How can you push it or "do" it? It just is. Let it be. Allow it rather than forcing it. Here, take a lesson from Zen Women.

• Ananda's further advice:
• The Life of Zen Master Dogen
• Did the Buddha ever talk about "Zen"?