According to Robert Aitken (1991):
You've heard of Zen. You may even have had moments of Zen—instances of insight and a feeling of connectedness and understanding that seem to come out of nowhere. But what exactly is Zen?
The scholarly answer to that question is that Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that emerged in China about 15 centuries ago. In China, it is called Ch'an Buddhism. Ch'an is the Chinese rendering of the Sanskrit word dhyana, which refers to a mind absorbed in meditation. "Zen" is the Japanese rendering of Ch'an. Zen is called Thien in Vietnam and Seon in Korea. In any language, the name can be translated as "Meditation Buddhism."
Some scholars suggest that Zen
originally was something like a marriage of Taoism and traditional Mahayana
Buddhism, in which the complex meditative practices of Mahayana met the
no-nonsense simplicity of Chinese Taoism to produce a new branch of Buddhism that
is today known the world over.
Be aware that Zen is a complicated
practice with many traditions. In this discussion, the term "Zen" is
used in a general sense, to represent all different schools.
A Very Brief Zen History
Zen began to
emerge as a distinctive school of Mahayana Buddhism when the Indian sage Bodhidharma (ca.
470–543) taught at the Shaolin
Monastery of China. (Yes, it's a real place, and yes, there is a historic
connection between kung fu and Zen.) To this day, Bodhidharma is called the
First Patriarch of Zen.
Bodhidharma's teachings
tapped into some developments already in progress, such as the confluence of
philosophical Taoism with Buddhism. Taoism so profoundly impacted early Zen
that some philosophers and texts are claimed by both religions. The early
Mahayana philosophies of Madhyamika (ca.
third century A.D.) and Yogacara (ca.
third century A.D.) also played huge roles in the development of Zen.
Under the Sixth
Patriarch, Huineng (638–713
A.D.), Zen shed most of its vestigial Indian trappings, becoming more Chinese
and more like the Zen we now think of. Some consider Huineng, not Bodhidharma,
to be the true father of Zen since his personality and influence are felt in
Zen to this day. Huineng's tenure was at the beginning of what is still called
the Golden Age of Zen. This Golden Age flourished during the same period as
China's Tang Dynasty, 618–907 A.D., and the masters of this Golden Age still
speak to the present through koans and
stories.
During these years, Zen
organized itself into five "houses," or five schools. Two of these,
called in Japanese the Rinzai and
the Soto schools, still exist and remain distinctive from each other.
Zen was transmitted to
Vietnam very early, possibly as early as the seventh century. A series of teachers
brought Zen to Korea during the Golden Age. Eihei
Dogen (1200–1253) was not the first Zen teacher in Japan, but he was
the first to establish a lineage that lives to this day. The West took an
interest in Zen after World War II, and now Zen is well established in North
America, Europe, and elsewhere.
How Zen Defines Itself
Bodhidharma's definition:
"A special transmission outside the
scriptures;
No dependence on words and letters;
Direct pointing to the mind of man;
Seeing into one's nature and attaining Buddhahood."
Zen is sometimes said to be
"the face-to-face transmission of the dharma outside
the sutras." Dharma refers to the teachings, and sutras,
in a Buddhist context, are sacred texts or scriptures, many of which are
considered to be transcriptions of the oral teachings of the Buddha. Throughout
the history of Zen, teachers have transmitted their realization of dharma to
students by working with them face-to-face. This makes the lineage of teachers
critical. Genuine Zen teachers can trace their lineage of teachers back to
Bodhidharma, and before that to the historical
Buddha, and even to those Buddhas before the historical Buddha.
Certainly, large parts of the
lineage charts have to be taken on faith. But if anything is treated as sacred
in Zen, it's the teachers' lineages. With very few exceptions, calling oneself
a "Zen teacher" without having received a transmission from another
teacher is considered a serious defilement of Zen.
Zen has become extremely trendy in
recent years, and those who are seriously interested are advised to be wary of
anyone proclaiming to be or advertised as a "Zen master." The phrase
"Zen master" is hardly ever heard inside Zen. The title "Zen
master" (in Japanese, zenji) is only given posthumously. In
Zen, living Zen teachers are called "Zen teachers," and an especially
venerable and beloved teacher is called roshi, which means
"old man."
Bodhidharma's definition also says
that Zen is not an intellectual discipline you can learn from books. Instead,
it's a practice of studying the mind and seeing into one's nature. The main
tool of this practice is zazen.
Zazen
The meditation practice of Zen, called zazen in
Japanese, is the heart of Zen. Daily zazen is the foundation of Zen practice.
You can learn the basics of zazen
from books, websites, and videos. However, if you're serious about
pursuing a regular zazen practice, it is important to sit zazen with others at
least occasionally; most people find that sitting with others deepens the
practice. If there's no monastery or Zen center handy, you might find a
"sitting group" of laypeople who sit zazen together at someone's
home.
As with most forms of Buddhist
meditation, beginners are taught to work with their breath to learn
concentration. Once your ability to concentrate has ripened (expect this to
take a few months), you may either sit shikantaza—which means
"just sitting"—or do koan study
with a Zen teacher.
Why Is Zazen So Important?
As we find with many aspects of Buddhism, most
people have to practice zazen for a while to appreciate zazen. At first
you might think of it primarily as mind training, and of course, it is. If you
stay with the practice, however, your understanding of why you sit will change.
This will be your own personal and intimate journey, and it may not resemble
the experience of anyone else.
One of the most difficult parts of
zazen for most people to comprehend is sitting with no goals or expectations,
including an expectation of "getting enlightened." Most
people do sit with goals and expectations for months or years before the
goals are exhausted and they finally learn to "just sit." Along the
way, people learn a lot about themselves.
You may find "experts"
who will tell you zazen is optional in Zen, but such experts are mistaken. This
misunderstanding of the role of zazen comes from misreadings of Zen literature,
which is common because Zen literature often makes no sense to readers intent
on literalness.
Does Zen Make Sense?
It isn't true that Zen makes no sense. Rather,
"making sense" of it requires understanding language differently from
the way we normally understand it.
Zen literature is full of vexatious
exchanges, such as Moshan's "Its Peak Cannot Be Seen," that defy
literal interpretation. However, these are not random, Dadaist utterings.
Something specific is intended. How do you understand it?
Bodhidharma said that Zen is
"direct pointing to the mind." Understanding is gained through
intimate experience, not through intellect or expository prose. Words may be
used, but they are used in a presentational rather than a literal way.
Zen teacher Robert Aitken wrote in "The Gateless
Barrier":
"The presentational mode of communication is very
important in Zen Buddhist teaching. This mode can be clarified by Susanne
Langer's landmark book on symbolic logic called 'Philosophy in a New Key.' She
distinguishes between two kinds of language: 'Presentational' and 'Discursive.'
The presentational might be in words, but it might also be a laugh, a cry, a
blow, or any other kind of communicative action. It is poetical and
nonexplanatory—the expression of Zen. The discursive, by contrast, is prosaic
and explanatory....The discursive has a place in a Zen discourse like this one,
but it tends to dilute direct teaching."
No secret decoder ring will help
you decipher Zenspeak. After you've practiced awhile, particularly with a
teacher, you may catch on—or not. Be skeptical of explanations of koan study
that are found on the internet, which are often peppered with academic explanations
that are painfully wrong, because the "scholar" analyzed the koan as
if it were discursive prose. Answers will not be found through normal reading
and study; they must be lived.
If you want to understand Zen, you
really must go face the dragon in the cave for yourself.
The Dragon in the Cave
Wherever Zen has established itself, it has rarely
been one of the larger or more popular sects of Buddhism. The truth is, it's a
very difficult path, particularly for laypeople. It is not for everybody.
On the other hand, for such a small
sect, Zen has had a disproportionate impact on the art and culture of Asia,
especially in China and Japan. Beyond kung fu and other martial arts, Zen has
influenced painting, poetry, music, flower arranging, and the tea ceremony.
Ultimately, Zen is about coming
face-to-face with yourself in a very direct and intimate way. This is not
easy. But if you like a challenge, the journey is worthwhile (Aitken, 1991).
Source:
- Aitken,
Robert. The Gateless Barrier. North Point Press, 1991.
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