Favorite Zen spot

What is your favorite place to go and read a book or just enjoy peace and quiet while sipping a cup of joe?

Mine:

The Market Basket
A quaint local cafe with a ton of character and some really good coffee.
Situated near a small stream and with helpful employees.
The art is local and so are the fresh picked apples. Noise is minimal.
Great place.

A zen spot is within you...not without. That's the whole point of zen

Originally Posted by uhurit

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A zen spot is within you...not without. That's the whole point of zen

Actually zen is meditation....therefor Zen spot would be meditation spot.

Zen's etymological root means 'meditation,' but through 2500 years of evolution in China and Japan it has come to mean something very different and profound. OP, you clearly have no idea what that is, and a good many people would find your post blasphemous and insulting. The patriarch of Zen spent 9 years in a cave altering his consciousness, screwing a nail into his thigh to keep from falling asleep; countless later patriarchs have almost died from starvation or illness trying to realize the truth of Zen. If I or you think we have any association with them because of our glutinous, bourgeoisie fiddlings in some crappy local coffee shop, we are indeed smug and unbelievably shallow.

OK, that being said, it's probably an honest mistake on your part, due to the fact that western culture has so poorly interpreted eastern thought. Just tread lighter next time

Originally Posted by KPO89

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What is your favorite place to go and read a book or just enjoy peace and quiet while sipping a cup of joe?

Mine:

The Market Basket
A quaint local cafe with a ton of character and some really good coffee.
Situated near a small stream and with helpful employees.
The art is local and so are the fresh picked apples. Noise is minimal.
Great place.

theyre a chain, pshhhhh

Originally Posted by Svenn

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Zen's etymological root means 'meditation,' but through 2500 years of evolution in China and Japan it has come to mean something very different and profound. OP, you clearly have no idea what that is, and a good many people would find your post blasphemous and insulting. The patriarch of Zen spent 9 years in a cave altering his consciousness, screwing a nail into his thigh to keep from falling asleep; countless later patriarchs have almost died from starvation or illness trying to realize the truth of Zen. If I or you think we have any association with them because of our glutinous, bourgeoisie fiddlings in some crappy local coffee shop, we are indeed smug and unbelievably shallow.

OK, that being said, it's probably an honest mistake on your part, due to the fact that western culture has so poorly interpreted eastern thought. Just tread lighter next time

First off. You admit to the fact that it means meditation. So I was correct in the way I used it(I actually looked it up first to make sure it meant meditation).

Second. If you find that blasphemous or insulting then I'm sorry. But the way I used it is in no way different than people equating a piece of cheesecake with heaven.

Third. If indeed this does offend you and you have the right to call me out on it then I would like to point out that every time someone uses Jesus Christ in such a way other than my savior, or the savior of all who have faith in Him, I am offended. (In no way shape or form do you I believe you don't have the right to say this but if we are gonna talk about people getting their feelings hurt over faith then by all means I have a right to state this).

Originally Posted by fcuknu

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theyre a chain, pshhhhh

I must correct myself on the name. It is not the name I quoted(I have only been there a handful of times and it was more of a "i know how to get there and thats all that matters" ideas).

The name is: The Farm Basket


Part of the reason I am misquoted it is because I am just beginning to learn about the local flavor in my town because I have only lived here 2 months...the reason for my thread was just to find out if there were any other forum members who frequented these types of establishments and to find out about their experiences.

Quite frankly it has been a waist of my time trying to be friendly.

hahaha, dont get so angry. That place actually looks really cool. I love finding quaint little places like that

Originally Posted by fcuknu

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hahaha, dont get so angry. That place actually looks really cool. I love finding quaint little places like that

I apologize...I was probably just a tad heated from what I wrote before.

Originally Posted by KPO89

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First off. You admit to the fact that it means meditation. So I was correct in the way I used it(I actually looked it up first to make sure it meant meditation).

Second. If you find that blasphemous or insulting then I'm sorry. But the way I used it is in no way different than people equating a piece of cheesecake with heaven.

Third. If indeed this does offend you and you have the right to call me out on it then I would like to point out that every time someone uses Jesus Christ in such a way other than my savior, or the savior of all who have faith in Him, I am offended. (In no way shape or form do you I believe you don't have the right to say this but if we are gonna talk about people getting their feelings hurt over faith then by all means I have a right to state this).


Part of the reason I am misquoted it is because I am just beginning to learn about the local flavor in my town because I have only lived here 2 months...the reason for my thread was just to find out if there were any other forum members who frequented these types of establishments and to find out about their experiences.

Quite frankly it has been a waist of my time trying to be friendly.
Wait now, I admit my reply was over the top, I wasn't trying to be unfriendly to you specifically (the pronoun 'we' doesn't really do a good job at that). The posters on internet forums tend to be a bit thick-skinned, so I erroneously assumed you were trying to belittle Zen. Actually, there is a an art of tea-drinking associated with Zen, so I guess the association with a coffee place is not too extreme. I've actually never lived in a city big enough to even have a starbucks, so I can't address the topic. Svenn, humbly, out.

Originally Posted by Svenn

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Wait now, I admit my reply was over the top, I wasn't trying to be unfriendly to you specifically (the pronoun 'we' doesn't really do a good job at that). The posters on internet forums tend to be a bit thick-skinned, so I erroneously assumed you were trying to belittle Zen. Actually, there is a an art of tea-drinking associated with Zen, so I guess the association with a coffee place is not too extreme. I've actually never lived in a city big enough to even have a starbucks, so I can't address the topic. Svenn, humbly, out.

So I'm the thin skinned one now? You are the one saying what I said was blasphemous.

Normally a good rule of thumb for forums is keeping the posts along the same line of what the OP would like to discuss.

We've all done it but some times we get something under the collar and we tried to prove our point, which is really made possible by our self-centered egos, through flaunting our asinine vocabulary when in reality the logic is flawed...so in the end...tread lightly

The whole idea of a "zen spot" is not to have any : i.e. have the ability to reach within regardless of the environment, whether its peaceful or turbulent.

Back to the topic: the best spot for my meditation is at an airport.

Originally Posted by uhurit

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The whole idea of a "zen spot" is not to have any : i.e. have the ability to reach within regardless of the environment, whether its peaceful or turbulent.

Back to the topic: the best spot for my meditation is at an airport.

I like airports...

They make me think about people and life...and how people fit into life in their natural roles. Something about watching when they are at their busiest makes me calm.

I understand completely.

Originally Posted by StephenHero

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I knew that was gonna come up sooner or later.

#1. Toilet.

#2. War Spur Overlook. http://www.roanoke.com/outdoors/hiking/44334.html