The hyper-idealized, super-human images of the Buddha and Ancestors contained in the Sutras and other Buddhist storybooks have (in many ways) done Buddhism a great disservice. I think. People writing such religious legends dip the hero in gold, place him on a platform, and omit the humanity and rough edges (give me the imperfect Greek or Norse Gods over that!) .

Surely, if we were to travel back in time to meet the actual Buddha and others, we’d find people who were people …

… wondrous, spiritual, good, wise people perhaps, but people nonetheless. Not statues, not gods, not all-perfect saints. Assuming that even the best of human beings will have a few pimples, bad habits, fears, prejudices and all scattered imperfections, would they not too? Should we, thus, be disappointed at who we’d find?

No! In fact, it gives me hope: For so many Buddhist Practitioners misunderstand the point as the attainment of unreal, extreme, otherworldly, emotionally removed, bizarre states. No wonder some folks talk of countless lives required to achieve such fantastic goals. Instead, our Buddhist practices and Buddhist philosophy have survived for millenia simply because real people find real benefits in this world, in ordinary life.

Our Zen practice is for our living as truly “human” human beings … not unerring saints, not robots, not machines.