It's pretty common in /r/zen. The mods basically allow ewk to hold the entire sub captive and derail almost every thread posted to the sub (though at this point the other posters are at fault too for taking the bait every time). A good portion of /r/zen now consists of metaposts complaining about ewk and his fanboys and begging the mods to actually do something about it.
It is a mystery, in the 4 or so years he's been posting, he's given literally zero details about who he is. Somebody with a lot of free time on his hands, given that he posts in almost every thread and gets into multiple arguments a day on top of writing a book.
how do they do this
He has a really, really peculiar interpretation of what Buddhism and Zen are and a seething hatred for Soto Zen, which he thinks isn't Buddhism but rather a religion. So he baits Soto practitioners and constantly peddles his own interpretation of Zen while disparaging others. He also throws around a lot of personal attacks to people who engage him, calls them "alt-trolls", accuses them of using alts, invokes reddiquette, and incessantly links to a list of texts he's compiled in lieu of actually making an argument. On top of that, he has a gigantic ego and refuses to entertain the idea that he isn't right about literally everything. He even refers to himself in the third person, lol.
Dude's completely nutso and single-handedly has made /r/zen a hostile place (along with the mods I guess since they allow it). He's like the Kimmo Alm of /r/zen.
though at this point the other posters are at fault too for taking the bait every time
Aren't those people be supposed to be pretty good at noticing that they are being distracted like by emotions, and then not doing whatever? Like, the entire point of breathing meditation is sitting there, noticing that you're thinking about things (that are not your breathing) and focusing on your breathing again.
Maybe it's all intentional by the mods? If a bunch of people who claim to be enlightened as shit can't ignore stupid bait, then they are not enlightened and should better shut up and deserve to be upset?
When Zen Masters slap people around, aren't they instructing them?
Cletus Jr. from Podunk, West Virginia, must be the most respected Zen master then, seeing how he instructs his wife all the time (but especially when he's in his cups).
No. Your mistake is in thinking that it's one what does that makes one enlightened... that's Buddhist faith-based enlightenment that involves prayer and all kind of crazy crap. Save everybody to Buddha-Jesus heaven global human extinction sorta stuff.
Zen Masters teach an enlightenment where what you say and do isn't bound by any rule or standard or principle... Zen Masters make fun of people repeating Zen sayings, and then after some slapping people around, repeat some Zen sayings themselves.
Yeah, right, so Cletus Jr. from Podunk, West Virginia, must be the most respected Zen master then, seeing how he instructs his wife all the time (but especially when he's in his cups). He doesn't do all those things fake Buddhists do and he does what Zen masters do.
Did you not understand that Zen isn't about obedience?
Wouldn't this hypothetical person's obedience to a) consumption of cups; and b) instructing people tend to defeat your argument? You know, by your own account?
Did you not understand that Zen isn't about obedience?
Exactly, that's why both you and Cletus Jr. are Zen masters, but he beats his wife in real life, while you talk shit to people on the internet, so he's a great Zen Master and you're a dime-a-dozen Zen Master.
Perhaps you don't know any other means of interacting with people? Perhaps because you struggle with ordinary conversation?
Must Zen masters of yore have been struggling with ordinary conversation? They were beating people in the way of Zen, I'm pointing out that you're metaphorically fucking a blow-up doll in your way of following them.
You follow their living example, obviously. As you understand it. But, I edited the above comment just as you replied to it, so I repeat it here again: I'm pointing out that you're metaphorically fucking a blow-up doll in your way of following them.
I mean, it's still fucking, that dude did leave your subreddit, what I'm saying is that it's a sort of poor substitute for actually having a wife and instructing the living shit out of her.
Prove what? You more and more resemble a scratched record, confused and posting random arguments that served you well to get a rise from easily baited /r/Zen rubes, but seem increasingly irrelevant and erratic in the context of this here discussion.
When whackadoodle trolls try to convert me to faith-based Buddha-Jesus worship 24/7 and demand I get banned for quoting Zen Masters in the Zen forum, sure, the record tends to repeat for those people.
No. I bet you are thinking about a kind of evangelical Buddhism popular in the West right now that calls itself Zen but really teaches a kind of Buddhist prayer-meditation.
/r/Zen gets a lot of New Age religious trolls that claim to be "Buddhist" but aren't affiliated with any church or organization or anything and can't even say what "Buddhists believe".
Zen Masters aren't Buddhists. They do stuff like chop cats in half, kick people in the face for bowing, and humiliate church elders into an early grave. Zen Masters aren't interested in ignoring people.
You try to bait them and they'll eat the bait, take away your fishing pole, break it over their knee, and then beat you with it while lecturing you on manners. Like this:
The monk said, "You succeeded to the late teacher; then do you agree with him or not?"
Dongshan said, "I half agree, half don't agree."
The monk said, "Why don't you completely agree?"
Dongshan said, "If I completely agreed, then I would be unfaithful to my late teacher."
If all of you who complain about ewk just stopped posting in his threads and ignored his comments, how long do you think he would last?
You can't 'prove' ewk wrong, as he's completely delusional. You people enter into 'rational' arguments with ewk and deny the evidence of your own senses.
EWK posts
Time to have a rational argument with EWK about AMA and reddittque
This link was full of people talking like EWK and EWK was somehow the least crazy one.
To argue that, for a parallel example, discussion about the fraud/dishonesty/lies associated with the vaccination/autism connection shouldn't be discussed in a science forum when it comes up is absolutely absurd.
Seriously what the fuck is this place Snally.
I told someone that once, and I pointed out that if they kept going it was going to get physical.
ZEN
ZEN
What does this have to do with Meditation? Who the fuck is going to Reddit to learn how to become Zen and getting in arguments with people.
Why not just go to a Benedictine Monk and learn how to meditate from them like normal people do, like God intended.
I think you'll find that you are talking about Buddhism. Buddhists believe in peace and love and sitting quietly and being obedient to their Buddha-Jesus by following the Eightfold Path.
Zen Masters don't teach the Eightfold Path though, that's the problem there. So your idea about who is a bitch turns out to be a problem with your Buddha-Jesus goggles distorting your vision.
Zen Masters teach stuff like "a good thing is not as good as nothing", which, of course, isn't something that good church people can tolerate.
We get lots of people with literacy problems over at /r/Zen too.
Like you, they seem to get through a church newsletter okay, but when someone tries to engage them in an actual discussion involving anything written, like you they chicken out.
You sound confused. First you admit you didn't read my reply, then you claim you comb through my reply carefully, and now you are apparently trying to pass yourself off as a... guidance counselor?
Let me give some evidence for why your claims of scholarship is bogus. Since you are a man who prays at the altar of facts, let me show you some graphs. These graphs show your commenting activity on /r/zen for a 10-day period last month (Jan 2017).
TLDR, for those who have trouble interpreting graphs.
You comment for 18hrs. a day, on all weekdays. Your activity starts around 17:00 GMT and terminates at 09:00 UTC. For the first 5 hours, your participation is aggressive and for the following hours, your commenting tapers off gradually. You rest periods are between 9:00GMT to 15:00GMT.
You make anywhere between 100-200 comments during that period. i.e, You average a comment, every 10 mins.
The above pattern is not peculiar to that period, but representative of your overall participation in the last 6-7 months.
With the above facts against you, convince me how you get any reading, (leave alone any thinking) done.
I also have your posting history right from the days you appeared on /r/zen. I see a very notable shift in your posting hours which is suggestive of a relocation or a significant change in job / responsiblities in some 2-3 years ago. Ask me for the exact year and I will be able to give you the exact year.
48 comments
n/a AttackTheMoon 2017-02-16
that reads like nothing else ive ever seen on reddit
n/a snallygaster 2017-02-16
It's pretty common in /r/zen. The mods basically allow ewk to hold the entire sub captive and derail almost every thread posted to the sub (though at this point the other posters are at fault too for taking the bait every time). A good portion of /r/zen now consists of metaposts complaining about ewk and his fanboys and begging the mods to actually do something about it.
n/a AttackTheMoon 2017-02-16
Who is this person and how do they do this
n/a snallygaster 2017-02-16
It is a mystery, in the 4 or so years he's been posting, he's given literally zero details about who he is. Somebody with a lot of free time on his hands, given that he posts in almost every thread and gets into multiple arguments a day on top of writing a book.
He has a really, really peculiar interpretation of what Buddhism and Zen are and a seething hatred for Soto Zen, which he thinks isn't Buddhism but rather a religion. So he baits Soto practitioners and constantly peddles his own interpretation of Zen while disparaging others. He also throws around a lot of personal attacks to people who engage him, calls them "alt-trolls", accuses them of using alts, invokes reddiquette, and incessantly links to a list of texts he's compiled in lieu of actually making an argument. On top of that, he has a gigantic ego and refuses to entertain the idea that he isn't right about literally everything. He even refers to himself in the third person, lol.
Dude's completely nutso and single-handedly has made /r/zen a hostile place (along with the mods I guess since they allow it). He's like the Kimmo Alm of /r/zen.
n/a toynbeeidea16 2017-02-16
But Buddhism IS a religion...?
n/a toynbeeidea16 2017-02-16
Oh noes, /u/ewk/, what say you to these nefarious charges?
n/a Works_of_memercy 2017-02-16
Aren't those people be supposed to be pretty good at noticing that they are being distracted like by emotions, and then not doing whatever? Like, the entire point of breathing meditation is sitting there, noticing that you're thinking about things (that are not your breathing) and focusing on your breathing again.
Maybe it's all intentional by the mods? If a bunch of people who claim to be enlightened as shit can't ignore stupid bait, then they are not enlightened and should better shut up and deserve to be upset?
n/a -jean-paul- 2017-02-16
Funny, I had the same thought. Not just intentional by the mods but by /u/ewk as well.
That, or he's seriously mentally ill.
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
When Zen Masters slap people around, aren't they instructing them?
Even if we aren't enlightened, why shouldn't we follow the tradition of instruction established by the Zen Masters?
n/a -jean-paul- 2017-02-16
There you go.
n/a Works_of_memercy 2017-02-16
Cletus Jr. from Podunk, West Virginia, must be the most respected Zen master then, seeing how he instructs his wife all the time (but especially when he's in his cups).
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
No. Your mistake is in thinking that it's one what does that makes one enlightened... that's Buddhist faith-based enlightenment that involves prayer and all kind of crazy crap. Save everybody to Buddha-Jesus heaven global human extinction sorta stuff.
Zen Masters teach an enlightenment where what you say and do isn't bound by any rule or standard or principle... Zen Masters make fun of people repeating Zen sayings, and then after some slapping people around, repeat some Zen sayings themselves.
They aren't like church people.
n/a Works_of_memercy 2017-02-16
Yeah, right, so Cletus Jr. from Podunk, West Virginia, must be the most respected Zen master then, seeing how he instructs his wife all the time (but especially when he's in his cups). He doesn't do all those things fake Buddhists do and he does what Zen masters do.
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
Did you not understand that Zen isn't about obedience?
Wouldn't this hypothetical person's obedience to a) consumption of cups; and b) instructing people tend to defeat your argument? You know, by your own account?
n/a Works_of_memercy 2017-02-16
Exactly, that's why both you and Cletus Jr. are Zen masters, but he beats his wife in real life, while you talk shit to people on the internet, so he's a great Zen Master and you're a dime-a-dozen Zen Master.
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
It sounds to me like you really believe that beating people is instruction. Is... this... can I ask... a personal issue for you?
Perhaps you don't know any other means of interacting with people? Perhaps because you struggle with ordinary conversation?
n/a Works_of_memercy 2017-02-16
Must Zen masters of yore have been struggling with ordinary conversation? They were beating people in the way of Zen, I'm pointing out that you're metaphorically fucking a blow-up doll in your way of following them.
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
How can anybody follow somebody who doesn't advocate a code of conduct?
n/a Works_of_memercy 2017-02-16
You follow their living example, obviously. As you understand it. But, I edited the above comment just as you replied to it, so I repeat it here again: I'm pointing out that you're metaphorically fucking a blow-up doll in your way of following them.
I mean, it's still fucking, that dude did leave your subreddit, what I'm saying is that it's a sort of poor substitute for actually having a wife and instructing the living shit out of her.
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
You mean eat what they ate, sleep when they slept, say what they say?
Sounds like some kind of church slavery.
n/a Works_of_memercy 2017-02-16
Nah, you obviously choose and pick the parts you like. Like beating people.
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
Can't prove it? Why lie then?
n/a Works_of_memercy 2017-02-16
Prove what? You more and more resemble a scratched record, confused and posting random arguments that served you well to get a rise from easily baited /r/Zen rubes, but seem increasingly irrelevant and erratic in the context of this here discussion.
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
When whackadoodle trolls try to convert me to faith-based Buddha-Jesus worship 24/7 and demand I get banned for quoting Zen Masters in the Zen forum, sure, the record tends to repeat for those people.
It's really all they can hear.
n/a Works_of_memercy 2017-02-16
I'm not one of that people you cray cray.
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
No. I bet you are thinking about a kind of evangelical Buddhism popular in the West right now that calls itself Zen but really teaches a kind of Buddhist prayer-meditation.
/r/Zen gets a lot of New Age religious trolls that claim to be "Buddhist" but aren't affiliated with any church or organization or anything and can't even say what "Buddhists believe".
Zen Masters aren't Buddhists. They do stuff like chop cats in half, kick people in the face for bowing, and humiliate church elders into an early grave. Zen Masters aren't interested in ignoring people.
You try to bait them and they'll eat the bait, take away your fishing pole, break it over their knee, and then beat you with it while lecturing you on manners. Like this:
n/a Works_of_memercy 2017-02-16
lol
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
As I recall you got run out of /r/Zen for making stuff up.
And look! Here you are, still at it.
n/a snallygaster 2017-02-16
What the hell are you talking about? Jesus Christ, your ego really is that big, isn't it.
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
I don't think reading aloud is all that big an accomplishment.
n/a snallygaster 2017-02-16
??
n/a strathmeyer 2017-02-16
Repetitive behavior is calming to autists.
n/a SnapshillBot 2017-02-16
Now with added Cancer!
Snapshots:
I am a bot. (Info / Contact)
n/a Imgur_Lurker 2017-02-16
Amazing Snally.
n/a snallygaster 2017-02-16
Here's some more!
n/a Imgur_Lurker 2017-02-16
This link was full of people talking like EWK and EWK was somehow the least crazy one.
Seriously what the fuck is this place Snally.
ZEN
ZEN
What does this have to do with Meditation? Who the fuck is going to Reddit to learn how to become Zen and getting in arguments with people.
Why not just go to a Benedictine Monk and learn how to meditate from them like normal people do, like God intended.
n/a [deleted] 2017-02-16
[removed]
n/a suspiciouslyofficial 2017-02-16
In the end, communities turn into personal politics and infighting.
n/a rawgrawg 2017-02-16
/u/ewk why are you such a bitch? That isn't very zen.
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
I think you'll find that you are talking about Buddhism. Buddhists believe in peace and love and sitting quietly and being obedient to their Buddha-Jesus by following the Eightfold Path.
Zen Masters don't teach the Eightfold Path though, that's the problem there. So your idea about who is a bitch turns out to be a problem with your Buddha-Jesus goggles distorting your vision.
Zen Masters teach stuff like "a good thing is not as good as nothing", which, of course, isn't something that good church people can tolerate.
n/a rawgrawg 2017-02-16
You didn't answer the question. I'll repeat it (it's short and easy, you should be able to handle it).
Why are you, /u/ewk, such a bitch?
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
Did... you... did you not understand what I said to you?
I look like a bitch to you because you are wearing Buddha-Jesus goggles that make people look funny.
I thought I was clear about that.
Those goggles are a lot like the goggles that evangelical Christians wear, fyi.
n/a rawgrawg 2017-02-16
I didn't read anything you posted. As soon as I saw the wall of text I knew you weren't answering the question. Just like you're doing here.
Last shot...
Why are you such a bitch?
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
lol.
We get lots of people with literacy problems over at /r/Zen too.
Like you, they seem to get through a church newsletter okay, but when someone tries to engage them in an actual discussion involving anything written, like you they chicken out.
n/a rawgrawg 2017-02-16
Clearly you're not going to answer the question. All you know how to do is deflect onto others.
You should consider being a preacher. At least then you'll get paid to deflect.
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
You sound confused. First you admit you didn't read my reply, then you claim you comb through my reply carefully, and now you are apparently trying to pass yourself off as a... guidance counselor?
n/a rawgrawg 2017-02-16
You sound retarded. I never "claimed to comb through your reply".
Making up bullshit and repeating it doesn't make it true, though that may work in your religion.
I asked you a question, you deflected (just like you do in /r/zen as evidenced by this submission). Standard demon behavior.
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
You tried to blame your blurry vision on me and got shut down.
Then you tried to pretend you were a guidance counselor.
I think that's funny.
n/a rawgrawg 2017-02-16
I think we've clearly established why you are a bitch. You were in fact born that way.
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
Is that your professional guidance counselor assessment?
rofl.
n/a rawgrawg 2017-02-16
Why do so many people in /r/zen think you're a bitch?
Are they aware of your genetic predisposition?
Maybe if you shared that with the sub they would be less prone to hating you.
rofl.
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
Other than guidance counseling, do you have any other training?
Palm reading, perhaps?
Or... let me guess! Are you a spiritualist?
Now there's a combo: Guidance Counselor to the Dead.
n/a rawgrawg 2017-02-16
Clearly you lack basic zen training so that offends the community.
But I would think, given that fact, and your genetic defects they would take pity on you and attempt to include in you group activities.
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
Is that a yes on Guidance Counselor to the Dead, or yes on the other one?
n/a Soulwound 2017-02-16
/u/ewk is just helping them practice non-attachment by allowing them to see that clinging to a /r/zen subscription leads to suffering.
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
The pwnage will continue until moral improves.
n/a ac4a23bfe649927f 2017-02-16
From https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/5ukb39/antaiji_about_zazen/ddus7uv/
Let me give some evidence for why your claims of scholarship is bogus. Since you are a man who prays at the altar of facts, let me show you some graphs. These graphs show your commenting activity on /r/zen for a 10-day period last month (Jan 2017).
TLDR, for those who have trouble interpreting graphs.
You comment for 18hrs. a day, on all weekdays. Your activity starts around 17:00 GMT and terminates at 09:00 UTC. For the first 5 hours, your participation is aggressive and for the following hours, your commenting tapers off gradually. You rest periods are between 9:00GMT to 15:00GMT.
You make anywhere between 100-200 comments during that period. i.e, You average a comment, every 10 mins.
The above pattern is not peculiar to that period, but representative of your overall participation in the last 6-7 months.
With the above facts against you, convince me how you get any reading, (leave alone any thinking) done.
I also have your posting history right from the days you appeared on /r/zen. I see a very notable shift in your posting hours which is suggestive of a relocation or a significant change in job / responsiblities in some 2-3 years ago. Ask me for the exact year and I will be able to give you the exact year.
n/a ewk 2017-02-16
I love alt_trolls with a religious agenda!
because...?
r..o...f...l!!
You know why the religious trolls are going nuts for the last few weeks?
https://www.reddit.com//r/zen/wiki/buddhism
https://www.reddit.com//r/zen/wiki/dogen
https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/wiki/dhyana
and most of all...
https://www.reddit.com//r/zen/wiki/critical_buddhism
Perhaps my team of interns did all the reading and created the wiki pages? No matter. The pages are full of quotes and cations and references.
Why not discuss the material?