What Is Zen?
sitar...@my-deja.com
What Is Zen
"Zen" is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese character "chan,"
which is in turn the Chinese translation from the Indian Sanskrit
term "dhyana," meaning "meditation."
Zen, like Tao, cannot be totally explained in words. Much of your grasp
of Zen must necessarily depend on your own intuition. Bodhidharma (528
A.D.) had this to say about it:
Not dependent on the written word,
Transmission apart from the scriptures;
Directly pointing at one’s heart,
Seeing one’s nature, becoming Buddha.
Given that’s the case, the closest we can come to describing Zen in
words may be as follows:
Zen is more of an attitude than a belief.
Zen is the peace that comes from being one with an entity other than
yourself.
Zen means being aware of your oneness with the world and everything in
it.
Zen means living in the present and experience this reality fully.
Zen means being free of the distractions and illusory conflicts of the
material world.
Zen means being in the flow of the universe.
Zen means experiencing fully the present, and delighting in the basic
miracle of life itself.
Paradox is a part of Zen and the teaching of Zen. A paradox nudges your
mind into a direction other than the routine. It helps you disengage
the rational mind and free up the intuition. It also points to a truth
that cannot be rationally derived through the use of logic.
Therefore:
Zen is nothing and yet everything.
Zen is empty but full.
Zen encompasses all and is encompassed by all.
Zen is the beginning and the end.
It's easy for some to dismiss Zen as a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, devoid of
real meaning. These would be the people who aren't yet ready to move up
to this particular level of spiritual development. That's alright. Such
things should not and indeed cannot be rushed. Michael Valentine Smith,
the main character from Stranger in a Strange Land, would say that one
must "wait for fullness" and that "waiting is."
For those who are ready to tackle the concept of Zen, here are some
stories that will illustrate the meaning of Zen perfectly
<b>Tao and the Ocean</b>
Once upon a time, a young fish asked an old fish: "Everyone talks
about this thing they call 'ocean.' What the heck is it?" The older
and wiser fish answered: "The ocean is this thing that surrounds you on
all sides." The younger fish didn't understand: "There's nothing around
me! Why can I not see this 'ocean?'" "Of course you cannot," the old
fish was patient. "The ocean is both inside and outside of you. You
were born in the ocean and chances are you will die in it. The ocean
flows around you, just as your own skin does."
Confucius once said, "Fish forget they live in water; people forget
they live in the Tao." We all live in the ocean of Zen. It flows over
us; it is within us and all around us. It enfolds us like our own skin,
and yet we cannot perceive it... indeed, most of us have no idea what
it is. Let us think of Zen as the universal flow of reality. This will
take us another step toward true understanding of Zen.
<b>A Conversation of Waves</b>
There was once a small wave who was unhappy. "I'm so miserable," it
moaned. "The other waves are big and powerful, while I'm so little and
weak. Why is life so unfair?" Another wave passing by heard the small
wave and decided to stop by. "You only think so because you haven't
seen your own 'original nature' clearly. You think you're a wave and
you think you're suffering. In reality you are neither." "What?" The
small wave was surprised. "I'm not a wave? But it's obvious I'm a wave!
I've got my crest, see? And there's my wake, little as it is. What do
you mean I'm not a wave?" "This thing you call 'wave' is merely a
temporary form you assume for a short time. You're really just water!
When you understand completely that this is your fundamental nature,
you will no longer be confused about being a wave, and you will be free
of your misery."
"If I'm water, what about you?" , said the small wave.
The large wave answered: "I'm water too. I'm temporarily assuming the
form of a wave somewhat larger than you, but that doesn't change my
fundamental essence--water! I'm you and you're me. We're part of a
greater self."
Most people, mired in the illusion known as the material world,
mistakenly assume they belong only to themselves. Therefore they
compare themselves to other people. When they perceive some sort of
lack or inequity, they become totally miserable. They would feel quite
differently if they see clearly that all of us are part of nature.
Everyone of us is connected to one another in a fundamental way beyond
the explanation of science. We're part of a greater whole--the
Oversoul, the Universal Sentience, God....
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