[If someone wants to cross-post any relevant information from this post]
regarding RandomStu, he does not put forward intellectually honest arguments, as noted previously, and as stated by a number of people. [
forum.culteducation.com]
Also note, that the analysis of the Byron Katie LGAT seminars in that Guruphiliac forum thread, has been completely disrupted and derailed by the intrusion of RandomStu, exactly like he attempted in this thread.
Why is RandomStu pushing himelf in there? When he "claims" to know nothing about Byron Katie or Stephen Mitchell?
Disrupting honest analysis, distracting, and killing the discussion...mission accomplished.
In this case regardling Stephen Mitchell, RandomStu even goes even further than that, as anyone with basic common sense can see.
His first comment about Stephen Mitchell in the Guruphiliac forum appear to be rather cautious and "restrained", which is not characteristic!
Why the careful spin-control?
Its pretty amusing...RandomStu says..."as best as I understand it" about the connections with Stephen Mitchell. That is literally laughable. Its like a politico saying, as best as I understand it, Dick Cheney met George W. Bush a few times.
Stephen Mitchell was Seung Sahn's FIRST WESTERN MONK, his right hand man for many years, was deeply involved with Seung Sahn and Kwan Um School, and later edited books for Seung Sahn.
It seems that Stephen Mitchell himself is trying to minimize his deep connections with Seung Sahn. Stephen Mitchell appears to have been his right hand man from at least 1973-1989? Until the Seung Sahn sex scandals?
And then after that was editing the books? If someone has time, could they check into that timeline in more detail?
How can RandomStu try to pretend he doesn't know that?
Of course he knows all about it, and has for many years, right from the beginning.
How can he try to pull such a transparent bluff-tactic?
Again, due to the nature of how these Kwan Um Zen folks literally see life as a poker-chess-zen game and WAR, they believe they can literally say anything they like, including bluffs, and complete fabrications. Its all part of the game/war of life for them. And it goes way further than that, as they also believe they can DO anything they like, without any regard for general standards of "ethics". To them, life is a war, and anything goes, so beware.
As far as RandomStu, if a person is looking for a reason to defend harmful and dishonest Guru's you are on "Staff" for, you can always fabricate reasons and excuses, like for Muktananda, Gurumayi, Seung Sahn...
A few minutes of basic research turns up plenty of information.
There are LETTERS on the Kwan Um website in which Seung Sahn talks about Stephen Mitchell. There are all kinds of links to Stephen Mitchell, and probably more with his Kwan Um Zen name...Mu Gak Sunim.
There would be masses of internal information which are not as easily available.
They say in their own information in 2002 that Stephen Mitchell was Seung Sahn's FIRST WESTERN MONK.
Teaching Letters of Zen Master Seung Sahn
[
www.kwanumzen.com]
QUOTE: "Stephen Mitchell has become a monk. He is now studying Zen in Korea. His Buddha name is Mu Gak Su Nim. He will come back to this country July, 1976"...
"Please convey my best to your students, especially to Stephen Mitchell. Tell him that I have just finished my thesis for Harvard (at long last) and that I.."
[
www.kwanumzen.com]
QUOTE:
"Mu Gak is thirty-two years old. His worldly name is Stephen Mitchell. His parents live in New York, and his father is a doctor, the third generation doctor in the family. Stephen, the oldest son, studied French literature at Yale University and after his graduation became known as a young poet. But he always had doubts about life which made him turn to the study of religious philosophy. Still he was not able to resolve his doubts. Finally he came to know about Zen Buddhism, and travelled from Zen Center to Zen Center until he met Seung Sahn Su Nim one and a half years ago. He then studied Zen very hard and qualified himself as a Dharma teacher. Soon afterwards he established the Cambridge Zen Center, where he is now Director. Wanting to go a step forward, he cut off his hair and became a monk, thus renouncing family life."
[
www.kwanumzen.com]
QUOTE:(1974) "In the autumn of that first year in New Haven, Zen
Master Seung Sahn and his first Western monk, Mu Gak
Sunim (now Stephen Mitchell) came to Yale. Mu Gak
Sunim delivered a stunning dharma talk, followed by Zen
Master Seung Sahn taking questions and answers.
QUOTE: Fortunately, in November of that year I was browsing
in a rather famous bookstore in New Haven called Book
World. In the basement of Book World there was a quite
large collection of books on Eastern religions. That
particular day I was perusing a book by Ramana Maharshi
when suddenly a voice came from behind me and said,
“So, you like Ramana Maharshi?” I turned around and
said, “Yeah, I really like Ramana Maharshi.”This person
then said, “I know somebody that knows everything that
Ramana Maharshi knows.” I replied, “Well, that is, indeed,
interesting. By the way, who are you?” He said, “I’m Mu
Gak.” Then I said, “Mu Gak?” He replied, “That means
‘no enlightenment.’” Now that was really interesting,
because I had been searching for enlightenment for a very
long time and this guy was named “no enlightenment.”
It turned out that Mu Gak Sunim actually was Stephen
Mitchell, the famous poet and translator, who many of
you in this audience know quite well. The two of us went
out and had a cup of coffee. In the ensuing conversation
he told me a great deal about Zen Master Seung Sahn and
finally he said, “If you would like to meet him I can arrange
for him to come to Yale and give a public talk.” I, of course
agreed and about a month later Zen Master Seung Sahn
and Mu Gak Sunim came and gave a talk at Berkeley
College. Zen Master Seung Sahn was answering questions
after Stephen’s opening remarks."
AUDIO: December 1982 with Sonia and Stephen Mitchell
[
www.kwanumzen.com]
[
www.kwanumzen.com]
Praise for The Compass of Zen
"The Great Way and a dozen side paths: all are present in The Compass of Zen. However lost it may get you, it always points to true north, because it issues straight from the great bodhisattva heart of Zen Master Seung Sahn."
-- Stephan Mitchell, translator of the The Gospel According to Jesus
[
www.kwanumzen.com]
by Stephen Mitchell. A delightful, irreverent, and often hilarious record of interactions with Western students. 244 pages.
The website for Kwan Um School of Zen, sells these 2 books by Stephen Mitchell
[
www.kwanumzen.com]
- Dropping Ashes on the Buddha, Teachings of Zen Master Seung Sahn, by Seung Sahn and Mitchell, Stephen
- The Whole World is a Single Flower: 365 Kong-ans for Everyday Life with Questions and Commentary by Seung Sahn and Stephen Mitchell (Paperback - 1992)
Zen is Understanding Yourself [
www.kwanumzen.com]
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/20/2009 03:32AM by The Anticult.