Reviews for Rebel Assault: Official Insiders Guide

The average rating for Rebel Assault: Official Insiders Guide based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-04-17 00:00:00 Sarah K Imaginary portrait of Lin-chi by the Japanese Zen master, Hakuin Ekaku (1686-1769) You don't drive a nail into the empty sky! In Buddhism, as in every other serious endeavor to deal with the riddles of our brief existence on this little planet in the midst of an enormity one can hardly fathom (even as a trained physicist), there are serious disagreements concerning the means of attaining the desired goals. For some elitists (shall we say) what is required is a detailed study/memorization of the canonical texts and the attainment of a polished command of the techniques of dialectics and logic in order to arrive at the Truth; for others, more folksy (shall we say), what is required is regular attendance of church and performance of rites, regular payment of tithes, and regular recital of a few magical formulae prayers; for yet others, all the eggs are placed in the basket of attaining sudden enlightenment through the dedicated exercise of various meditation techniques supplemented by shocks to the mental and physical system (through koans and sudden smacks with a wooden rod, respectively) in order to disturb the complacent habits to which all human beings are prey.(*) In Buddhism, the latter school of thought is referred to as Ch'an in China and as Zen in Japan, and its texts are thus primarily concerned with technique and not with dogma(**), though its masters have produced some rather recondite texts. In The Zen Teachings of Master Lin-Chi (1993/1999) Burton Watson translates one of the most important texts in the Ch'an tradition, the Lin-chi ch'an-shih yü-lu (The Recorded Saying of the Ch'an Master Lin-Chi) and includes a useful introduction providing historical and cultural context, as well as explanatory notes to the text itself. Lin-chi I-hsüan (Línjì Yìxuán, d. 866) founded the only branch of Ch'an Buddhism that still survives, and, in Watson's words, [] his is the oldest and most authentic voice that has come down to us from the early tradition of Chinese Ch'an or Zen, the fullest exposition of its teachings, particularly as they are associated with the line of transmission that honors his name, the Lin-chi or Rinzai school of Zen. The early figures in the Zen lineage in China who precede him are veiled in legend, their sayings fragmentary and often difficult to interpret. But how can one briefly summarize this very unique text to an audience with little foreknowledge of Zen? KHAT ! Watson tells us that it is with such a shout that Lin-chi answered disciples' questions about the nature of Buddhism. I'd like to leave it at that, but as it probably won't have the desired effect I guess I'll have to say a few things. Lin-chi (and recall that essentially all of Ch'an and Zen Buddhism since his death has been commentary on and use of his approach) distrusted humans' ability to express the Truth with words (as did the Taoists), and so, though it is evident from this text that he was familiar with the main texts of Mahayana Buddhism, his primary purpose was to exhort his disciples to ignore all the external trappings of religion, disregard the words of the "Masters" (including his own) and realize that the Buddha nature is already within them; they need but go within themselves and make the connection in order to find nirvana - direct and total communion with Everything. But habit and many other things complicate this apparently simple matter, so Lin-chi suggests (one cannot write "explains") in his homilies and illustrates in his reported interactions techniques students can use to overcome the many obstacles within and without us to the simple realization that Everything Is One and all the rest is transitory illusion, i.e. of no real concern to us. Once that is done one experiences the peace and mindfulness of the enlightened, a state that is indistinguishable to me from the ataraxia of Pytho, Epicurus and Epictetus. Aside from the blows and the shouting, the primary tool for breaking up the icepack of mental habit is the use of pregnant paradox, of apparent or real non sequitur. There is much of this here, but the unsuspecting reader should be forewarned that though some of these apparent riddles have "solutions," many are expressed just to startle, to perplex, to intrigue, in short to get one to jump over one's own spiritual shadow. The incidents of pedagogical exchange are in the same spirit. The master ascended the hall. A monk asked, "What is the basic meaning of Buddhism?" The Master held his fly whisk straight up. The monk gave a shout. The Master struck him. Another monk asked, "What is the basic meaning of Buddhism?" Again the Master held his fly whisk straight up. And the monk gave a shout. The Master also gave a shout. The monk was about to say something, whereupon the Master hit him. In other words, KHAT ! (*) Some well-timed shouting at the top of the master's voice can also be observed. But not all is shock and awe: during a long session of za-zen (sitting in lotus position and meditating), one's body develops some remarkable pains and cramps; when the session master observes that they are impeding the meditation, he steps behind the person meditating, slaps his hands together sharply and places them roughly on a suitable portion of the meditator's body, whereupon a startling sensation of great warmth will ease the latter's suffering beyond my limited means of expression. (**) Just like those of the Roman Stoics such as Musonius Rufus and Epictetus; indeed, there are many parallels between Ch'an Buddhism and Stoicism.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-06-13 00:00:00 Arrenia Dory Master Lin Chi really liked to shout and beat the shit out of his students. My type of guy.