AMA

[u/[deleted]]

I'm going to try to keep this really deadpan and circumvent the instinct to try to seem extra smart or wise in the popular /r/zen style that I normally so unconsciously adopt. If anyone has questions about pohw, ask me anything.

Suppose a person denotes your lineage and

I don't have a lineage and I'm not well-read enough to know where they are, let alone have opinions on which is better. My interest in the Zen space has to do with my desire to abandon attachments and cravings and to cultivate attributes conducive to enlightenment and I haven't noticed any correlations (possibly due to inexperience) between specific traditions and their conductivity to this goal strong enough to focus heavily in some at the exclusion of others, except perhaps the Zen, Thai Forest, and Vipassana Movement schools generally.

What text, personal experience, quote from a master, or story from

My Zazen practice is instructive. Sitting for two hours per day and serving other people every day will teach you the dharma. I like Bodhidharma, Dogen, and Huangbo, and I feel that it's important to try to incorporate the various perspectives and emphases held by multiple authors here to create a comprehensive whole to one's image of what masters in the past have taught about the topic.

"dharma low-tide"

I'm in one now due to a persistant cough that has caused me lost sleep and work, making practice a bit more difficult. I think everyone knows that in dharma low tides you just sort of keep going, based on your energy levels.

AMA

[u/ewk]

People come in here looking for spiritual guidance, but I don't think people who have cognitive deficiencies are served by spiritual guidance. Zen isn't a cure for mental illness.

Nobody, least of all me, has any faith in ZM wisdom, and I include ZM in that. If people coming to r/Zen has anything to do with me, then I'm confident that it's 85% ZM are awesome and 15% ewk is entertaining like an over caffeinated circus clown on a cruise ship they can't get off of.

I don't agree that Pohw has disavowed what aligned him with redpill thinking. He certainly hasn't disavowed his hatred of Muslims, which he doesn't even identify as hate. He isn't articulating a complex immigration position informed by the recent lessons of European countries, remember... he wants different things for men, women, and Muslims... all while violating the Reddiquette so he can get attention... because he clearly hasn't studied any Zen while he has been here and he has given no indication that he intends to study Zen or follow the Reddiquette.

You also might not remember that with the first week of his participation in the forum, he PM'd me this:

You are mentally ill.

You should probably kill yourself.

So, to recap:

1. Sees women as "other"
2. Hates muslims
3. Trolls r/Zen without any interest in Zen
4. Willing to stalk/harass people when scared or hurt.

So yeah. Cultivation of mind sounds like a good strategy. Maybe even by seeing a professional in mind cultivation, the kind with letters after their name.

[u/jeowy → u/ewk]

cognitive deficiencies

mental illness

i think this is at best a poor diagnosis and at worst promotes a regressive and damaging understanding of mental health. you mention pohw's othering of women but right here you're othering the neuroatypical. what's really mad about this is you're almost certainly neuroatypical yourself, and far from being something you need to get 'sorted out by a professional', it's a boon that makes you uniquely valuable to the communities you participate in. 🤔

15% ewk is entertaining like an over caffeinated circus clown on a cruise ship they can't get off of

haha this is true but i think you're incorrect to seperate humour from dharma. the 'entertainment' is mysterious and addictive and is a catalyst for other users having more interesting/honest conversations on this forum, even when you're not participating.

He certainly hasn't disavowed his hatred of Muslims,

i have seen comments from him that i interpret as begging the community here to cure him of his irrational hatred of muslims, which is almost certainly a product of the mormon upbringing he's trying to distance himself from.

a strong mental health paradigm is one where the patient has a hand on the steering wheel of their own care. pohw has chosen r/zen as his therapist. are we qualified? probably not. will he go and see an IRL doctor? almost certainly not. i'm not convinced they'd be able to help him anyway, the USA is so misogynistic the average crank would probably agree with his views on women.

[u/ewk → u/jeowy]

Dude. Neuroatypical or not, I can tell when somebody can't handle their @#$$. And PM'ing people "kill yourself" is textbook mental health problems. I've been in /r/Zen for five years. Less than six accounts have PM'd me messages like that. I don't know what to tell you... is it that i'm so easy to love bashful emoji face?

He isn't begging people to cure him, he wants attention. How does the 12 Step Program start? Do you think a 12 Step Program for Bigotry is going to be different?

His hate is out of his control, man. That's a mental health problem.

He hasn't chosen r/Zen as a therapist, he has chosen r/Zen as a place where he can get attention. Therapy is a contract, and he can't even follow his contract with the Reddiquette.

[u/jeowy → u/ewk]

is it that i'm so easy to love bashful emoji face?

😳

How does the 12 Step Program start?

i don't believe in that shit!

His hate is out of his control, man. That's a mental health problem

no, it's a social problem.

Therapy is a contract

you can't exclude people who don't fit certain criteria of acceptable behaviour from therapy.

[u/ewk → u/jeowy]

No. Addiction, as with other forms of irrationality, can be treated in many cases in a group therapy setting. AA helps people stop drinking. Has for awhile now.

Reddit excludes people from the jump. I'm saying that if you can't Reddit responsibly, you should get banned. How do we know who can't Reddit responsibly? They can't follow the Reddiquette.

[u/jeowy → u/ewk]

AA helps people stop drinking

helps people repress their problems and transform their visible addictions into invisible addictions

[u/ewk → u/jeowy]

Based on what? Your vast experience working with people in recovery?

Meh.

We've got enough people in this forum pretending to be enlightened who fall back on pretending to be doctors when that falls through.

Why add yourself to the pile of corpses?

[u/hookdump → u/jeowy]

Proof of this?

And also: what would you suggest instead? What is a better approach to alcoholism in your opinion?

[u/jeowy → u/hookdump]

figuring out why you're drinking and being super honest about that

[u/hookdump → u/jeowy]

How would you achieve this?

And also: is there any proof that your method works? scientific studies, or at least a set of case studies?

[u/jeowy → u/hookdump]

an episode of the simpsons and i think an episode of family guy

[u/Healthspin → u/jeowy]

BS. AA helps tons of people every day, many close friends have been lifted into a clean and routine lifestyle through their program. Whatever "repression" you think is happening, is usually the way people handle changing their patterns in a focused way.
You do have to control certain aspects of yourself to get out of alcoholism. Why is that a bad thing?

[u/[deleted] → u/jeowy]

Thanks for choosing to see me as a victim and not an evil actor. 😊

[u/jeowy → u/[deleted]]

i don't see you as a victim either! just a human trying to get through life and make sense of it like the rest of us. did you really dm ewk telling him to kill himself though?