The Meaning. . .

1. The Meaning of Zen

Zen and its culture are unique to the East, and until recently the West knew little about them. Some Americans and Europeans who have learned of Zen have become deeply interested in it.

The interest stems possibly from Zens ability to communicate new life awareness. Western culture is oriented primarily toward Being; Eastern culture, toward non-Being. Being can be studied by objective logic. Non-Being must be existentially understood; it is the principle of absolute negation that enables one to loosen bonds and turn toward limitlessness.

This culture of non-Being developed in the Far East with the points of emphasis differing from country to country. In India it was pre dominantly intellectual and philosophical; in China, practical and down to earth; and in Japan, esthetic and emotional. Zen linked up with these various cultural characteristics as it spread. What then is Zen?

To define Zen is difficult. To define is to limit to make a neat conceptual package that abstracts from the whole and gives only part of the picture. This would not capture Zen, for it is rooted in our deepest life flow and deals with the facts of unfettered experience.

The non-conceptual nature of Zen is apparent in the catch phrases that became popular in Sung China. Zen trainees took their cues from such expressions as:

1. No dependence on words and letters;
2. A special transmission outside the classified teachings;
3. Direct pointing to the mind of man; and
4. Seeing the mind is becoming the Buddha.

Zen is not bound by the words and letters of the sutras and satras. It passes from mind to mind outside the classified and systematized doctrines. Systematizing the Buddhist scriptures was a characteristic of Chinese Buddhism. But Zen basically eluded systematization. It does not lean on the classified teachings. It concentrates on penetrating to the inherent nature of man, and this is called becoming the Buddha.

Of course, Zen does not dispense with words and letters altogether. It is merely not be enslaved by them. In fact, very few religions have produced as many fresh literary works as Zen. Much of the material, naturally enough, deals with awakening from the word-bound state. This experience does not lend itself to long discourses, so Zen expressions are usually epigrammatic and poetic. One of Ummons most famous sayings was: Every day is a good day. Hoen said: When one scoops up water, the moon is reflected in the hands. When one handles flowers, the scent soaks into the robe.

From the outset Zen emphasized human dignity. This is the dignity deriving not from the ego but from the "natural face" we all have. We gain vital freedom by becoming aware of this "natural face" and living in terms of it. Technically, this makes Zen a religion of immanence, but to stop here leaves only a concept "a pictured mochi (rice-cake)."

The important thing is the actual experiencing of Zen. Such an experience would contribute significantly toward allaying the anxieties of modern man, beset as he is with the deadening impact of mass communications and the mechanical life.

Because modern man needs some sort of conceptual guideline to start out with, an effort to put Zen in sharper focus may serve a purpose. In olden times some Zen masters responded to questions with: Zen is Zen. While terse and to the point, this definition hardly offers any help to modern seekers of Zen understanding. Therefore, I venture to define Zen tentatively as follows:Zen is a practice that helps man to penetrate to his true self through cross-legged sitting (zazen) and to vitalize this self in daily life.

This definition, of course, does not cover all of Zen. But it does include the important elements. The three basic points in the definition are:

1. The practice of zazen,
2. Penetrating to the true self, and
3. Vitalizing the true self in daily life.

[1. The Meaning of Zen] [3. True-self] [4. Zen in Daily life] [5. Zen and Art]

2. Zazen

Zazen arose in ancient India. To escape the oppressive heat, Indian thinkers went into forests and hills. There they meditated under huge trees. If they stood, they tired; if they lay down, they fell asleep. So they adopted a method of cross-legged sitting with back straight.

The word Zen derives from dhyana, meaning, "to think." Human beings are a thinking animal. They are like a reed in their weakness, but they are the "thinking reed" of Pascal.

The word dhyana appears in the pre-Buddhist Upanishads. This was the form of zazen used by the Buddha, although his philosophic standpoint differed.

In China, dhyana was rendered as shii-shu (thinking practice) in the Old Translation (pre-Hsuan-tsang) and as Joryo (tranquil thinking) in the New Translation (Hsuan-tsang and after).

Joryo means calming the mind and thinking of ultimate truth. Sitting cross-legged, the Buddhist trainee considered the true meaning of the world and of human existence.

In zazen the important point is to harmonize body, breathing, and mind. The half or full paryanka posture is used. Exhaling and inhaling settle to a calm rhythm. Breathing plays a vital role; in India it is called prana, or life. To harmonize the mind is to dissolve the t perplexities and delusions that disturb our minds.

There is an orthodox and a simplified form of zazen. In the orthodox method the right foot rests on the left thigh, and the left foot on the right thigh. The left hand is placed in the right hand with palm upward. The thumbs touch and the right hand in turn rests on the left foot. The trainee sits upright on a thick cushion, leaning neither forward nor backward or from side to side. This method is described by Dogen in Fukanzazengi and by Keizan in Zazenyojinki. English translations of both are included in mySoto Approach to Zen.

In the simplified form the right foot only is put on the left thigh. The Test is the same as in the orthodox method. But even the simplified form may present some difficulties for the average Westerner. Young Japanese have trouble with it, too.

Upon completion of zazen the hands are placed over the chest with the right hand clasping the left fist A slow walk follows in half step with one breath for each step. This procedure-called Kinhin (canka in Pali) - helps to keep the mind calm and relieve the stiffness in the legs.

In zazen nothing is sought, not even enlightenment Bodhidharma called it the non-seeking practice. But the results are substantial. Repeatedly practiced zazen seems to invigorate the involuntary nervous system. It strengthens the solar plexus. Some Japanese psychologists have credited zazen with

1. facilitating recovery from some illnesses,
2. strengthening spiritual resources and lessening neuroticism,
3. changing mental attitudes to eliminate bad habits,
4. restraining destructive impulses,
5. developing greater insight into situations, and
6. fostering freedom from anxiety.

Results of recent scientific experiments indicate that zazen also reduces the modulation of brain waves. Zazen, in short, prepares the body and mind for the next stage of vital activity.

For further reading: http://www.zenki.com/index.php?lang=en&page=Masunaga01