From Connection - to Detatchment - to Connection
A Zen writer once addressed the criticism that Zen Buddhists are too focused on being detached. A student asked: "Isn't Zen all about being 'one with everything'? So why are Zennies always talking about staying detached?" The author responded that there was a progression in which the student at first has an unhealthy connection to their emotions and sensations, and has to learn to detach from this connection. But that eventually the student comes back to truly comprehending the unity of everything. It sounded like a bunch of gobbledygook to me. The other day my piano teacher started to talk about those moments in playing when you lose your ego, and it's "as if the music is playing you." I got a little glimmer of what he was talking about, and I even saw the relationship to the idea of being connected vs. being detached. So, let's see if I can explain it in a way that even I can understand. Connection Most people are used to lettin...