I am presently retired and living in the southwest. I'm a 100% book/video/audio instructed Theravadan turned Mahayanan turned Zen Buddhist. I've been interested in Zen since I was a teenager, when I read books like The Dharma Bums, Siddhartha, Richard Farina's Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me, and The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test. Although they are cult classics of the 60s counterculture, they started me on a journey of self-discovery that I've never left since.
During the 80s and 90s, I became involved in a Christian movement. Family had a lot to do with that conversion, but in the 2000s I broke free from their religious influences when I had an awakening that led me back to my Zen roots. I've been studying Buddhism ever since, to one degree or another. I've read Nyanatiloka, Chah, Panna, Bodhi and Thanissaro's works and practiced their meditation methods. I also read as much of the suttas and the Dhammapada necessary to lead me to a clear understanding of the concepts of Nirvana and Arahatship.
Despite the thorough grasp I felt I had on the teachings of Theravada, there seemed to be something missing. It was that dharma I had experienced while backpacking across the US during the 70s, the inner spirituality that has helped me pilot through life all these years. It seems I still needed to step off Shishuang's 100-foot pole. I needed to attain enlightenment as described by the Zen masters, and the Buddha in the Diamond Cutter's Sutra. So, I started reading the Mahayana canon along with modern commentary, and books related to koans, like the Mumonkan and Blue Cliff Record.
On studying DT Suzuki's Essays on Zen Buddhism, in its section on Satori, I realized that my awakening from the religious confusion I'd suffered previously was a satori of sorts. That's when I became even more interested in discussing Zen with likeminded people, and others who are more knowledgeable and experienced in the ways of Zen than I am, which is what led me to this forum. I look forward to getting to know all of you and the many great discussions we're sure to have.
Hello from Nevada, USA
Re: Hello from Nevada, USA
Welcome, come on in. We're all bozos on this bus. 
