Introduction
Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that emerged around 6th
century into China by Indian Monk Bodhidhamma and that introduced into Japan
around 12 Century. Zen Buddhism is emphasis on sitting meditation for the
realizing of truths, no-self, emptiness and mind. The differences between Zen and
other Buddhist sects is that Zen Buddhism exists as illogical and
anti-intellectual which made students confused about how can Zen Buddhism be
illogical and anti-intellectual? Today Zen Buddhist teaching becomes one of the
most popular in the west and westerners are more likely to follow Zen
teaching.
All about Zen Buddhism is
practice and experience it, not just idea, concept, theory, and dogma. We can assume that Zen may be the most
non-verbal of the Buddhist teaching, supporting self-discipline as a way going
on self-discovery.
Practical
Zen
In fact, Zen is inner or spiritual tradition that support simplicity
the way of life and Zen teach people simply to observe the thought and feeling
passing through the mind. Zen masters have found that enlightenment cannot be
achieved by just following scripture, concepts and ideas but by practical
action which is meditation.
There
are the three main schools in Zen Buddhism which are Rinzai school, Soto school
and Obaku school. Each school has its own methods of mediation.
Rinzai
school takes the Koan method for meditation which focus on question. Koan
literally means “a public document”. It now denotes some anecdote of an ancient
master, or a dialogue between a master and monks or statement or questions put
forward by a teacher, all of which are used as the means for opening one’s mind
to the truth of Zen.[1]
By
following Koan method of meditation, Zen practitioners can eradicate the selfishness,
ego consciousness, achieve the higher level and attain enlightenment.
And Soto
school emphasis on sitting meditation for the attainment of enlightenment.
Generally, there are three steps in Zen meditation which are the adaption of
body, the adaption of breathing and adaption of mind. If somebody wants to
practice Zen meditation, the master suggests them to observe and follow three-steps
of meditation procedure and acquire these three steps in order to attain
enlightenment.
Adaption
of body
Adaption of body is important and necessary for those who practice Zen
meditation in order to experience practical benefit of doing meditation. Zen
Buddhism has two postures in doing meditation which are the lotus posture and
the half-lotus postures. Zen Buddhism takes them to be successful for stilling
the mind.
Adaption
of breathing
In doing meditation, breathing exercising is one of the most important
one in Zen meditation, it is unlike yoga. It is observation of breath count
and the practitioners are supposed to
count breathing in and breathing out in order to be stilling the mind.
Adaption
of mind
And the third step is to try to adjust the mind, this is the difficult
one that practitioners are supposed to train the mind till achieve the
enlightenment. At beginning, the practitioners can hear the sound of breathing
in and out. And the practitioners can notice and feel the way of breathing in
and out. Then they aware of that breathing become subtle, so that the
practitioners cannot be hear the sound of breathing in and out due to deep
concentration. Once practitioners sink into deepen concentration, there is no
more feeling of breathing in and out.
When Zen
wants you to taste the sweetness of sugar, it will put required article right
into your mouth and no further words are said.[2]
It is
true that if we want to know the taste of durian, we have to eat it, we cannot
know the real taste of durian by explanation of somebody or description. We
ourselves have to experience it to know. Likewise in Zen Buddhism, one can
achieve the goal by practicing himself, not by reading and studying the
scripture.
Zen
Buddhism has become popularity in the west because the teaching methods
emphasis on the right here and right now. The goal of Zen Buddhism is to
achieve personal enlightenment through meditating. Zen Buddhism more emphasis
on self-effort, experience, and self-discovery which we cannot learn from books,
or concepts or ideas but we are able to achieve only by experience it
ourselves.
Zen
purposes to discipline the mind itself, to make it its own master, through an
insight into its proper nature. This getting into the real nature of one’s own
mind or soul is the fundamental object of Zen Buddhism.[3]
Everyone
has the Buddha-nature that can be achieved by practicing meditation and through
a realization of self. So the most important thing is to discover the truth by
ourselves. For the searching of ultimate truth, we have to look inside of us,
we cannot find the true answer by searching outside ourselves, and we cannot
find this truth by rational thought. There are no any cardinal doctrines or
sacred books or dogmatic principles in Zen Buddhism to teach people. Therefore
whatever teachings there are in Zen, the teachings are from their own mind. So
that we can know that Zen Buddhism is something that not rely on ideas,
concept, words even books but it has to be experienced in order to understand
it and practice it to know the essence of Zen teaching. Zen Buddhism does not
emphasis much on scripture than they practice with various ways. The most
common and popular practice in Zen Buddhism is that direct communication
between master and pupil in order to achieve enlightenment. According to
Bodhidhamma, Zan is a special transmission outside of the scripture, not based
on words or letters, a direct pointing to the heart of reality so that we might
see into our own nature and wake up[4].
There are many Buddhist scriptures exist in Buddhism but not in Zen
Buddhism because Zen teaching cannot be found in scripture the cause of Zen is
not based on words or books. Zen teaching is transmitting from master to
followers, mind to mind directly by teaching face to face or practicing
ourselves. It is always practical and
directly go to the point, and never recognize the circumlocutory way in Zen.
Illogical
Zen
Zen
deals with facts and not with their logical, verbal, prejudiced, and lame
representations. Direct simplicity is the soul of Zen; hence its vitality,
freedom, and originality.[5]
It means
that Zen accepts trues as trues, facts as facts, and to understand the words as
words, there is nothing else. If we rely on much of logic and words, we are
still far from liberation and go through much suffering. Mahavaipulyapurnabuddha
sutra (The Perfect Awakening Sutra said that all the Buddha’s teaching are a
finger pointing to the moon.[6]
In order
to understand the true nature of reality, we must experience it to know. Words description never gives the true nature
of reality. To see the moon above, we
use our finger for pointing it but we should know clearly that finger is not
the moon. We used the finger is to guide people toward awakening. For example,
one can describe many ways the delicious of food on menu but menu is not the
food. In order to experience the real taste of food, you must eat it and chew
it to experience delicious food with your own mouths and tongues. Likewise,
Meditation practitioners rely on their masters and teaching for the right
direction but they will not achieve just by relying on teaching but by
realizing themselves and practicing themselves, they could be able to achieve
the final goal.
Not-Self
Buddhist scripture often described the term ‘Not Self’ nature of all
phenomena. We must consider the most important thing that everything is in the
process of changing instantly or gradually into something else, everything is
impermanence in order to aware of non-self and the concept of impermanence.
People have the concept that A is A, A cannot be B or B cannot be A, but
Not-Self describe that A is not A, B is not B, A can be B or B can be A. It is
because A is no longer the A, nothing remains for the same. All things are
perpetual change time to time. Impermanence is refer to not only physical
phenomena but also psychological phenomena.
Emptiness
in Zen
Zen Buddhism accept the doctrine of
emptiness, and according to Bodhidharma, emptiness is the holiest and ultimate
doctrine of Zen Buddhism which means that everything is emptiness including merits, knowing, nobility are empty. And Hui Neng,
the sixth patriarch of the Zen sect in China, wrote this stanza.
The
Bodhi (True Wisdom) is not like the tree; The mirror bright is nowhere shining:
As there is nothing from the first, Where does the dust itself collect?[7]
The
stanza indicated that the doctrine of emptiness is the essence of Zen Buddhism
and it also describe that physical objects, passions, religious teaching to
eradicate delusion are empty.
Conclusion
There is distinction between Zen Buddhist teaching and other Buddhist
school basically. Other Buddhist school more emphasis on studying Buddhist
scripture and trying to understand the teaching of the Buddha but Zen Buddhist
emphasize practice and direct experience rather than learning from scripture.
Zen believes that meditation is only the way out of darkness into glorious
light or to attain higher state of mind. In order to get understanding of
reality, Zen practitioner depend their own experience. Zen Buddhism has a
concept that everyone has a Buddha nature and there is only one way for the Zen
practitioners to aware fully Buddha nature is to experience directly through
meditation practice.
Bibliography
D.T.
Suzuki, An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, Grove Press, New York, 1964.
Thich
Nhat Hanh, Zen Keys, Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, New York 1974.
Dogen, A Primer
of Soto Zen, (tran. Reiho Masunaga) University of Hawaii press, USA, 1995.
Robert Aitken, Taking
the Path of Zen, North Point Press, New York, 1980.
Jean Smith, Beginner’s
Guide to Zen Buddhism, Crown Publishing Group, New York, 1999.
[1]
Suzuki, D.T. An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, New York: Grove Press,
1964, P.102
[2]
ibid P.74
[3]
Ibid P.40
[4]
Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Keys, New York: Doubleday Dell Publishing Group,
1974, P.34
[5]
Suzuki, D.T., An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, New York: Grove Press,
1964, P.61
[6]
Thich Nhat Hant, Zen Keys, New York: Doubleday Dell Publishing Group,
1974, P.51
[7]
Suzuki, D.T, An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, New York: Grove Press,
1964, P.48
0 comments:
Post a Comment