men have become tools of their tools

- Thoreau

this helps me bridge Thoreau and McLuhan

tools change social patterns, and shift the status quo, and then the status quo settles around a new set of social patterns, except now, the liberating joy of using the tool is replaced by tedium drudgery and soullessness

the explorer who broke out and went into the wilderness and lived in a tent, now finds his tent overtaken by the edge of civilisation, and is no longer wilderness, and has to pay for living there and pay for food and water and electricity even if he doesn't wants to, so he now goes into debt and has to work long hours on high doses of caffeine

there is no escape. however, good news is, the birth rates are plumetting

Anyone feel that Brad Warner's Zen is closer in spirit to Thoreau than any other Zennist out there ? that the entire latching on to Dogen and using that to kill all talk that arises,  is coincidentally both Zen and Thoreau-ic ?