So You Want To Learn…Zen Buddhism
I am in search of something.
Yes?
However, I am slightly apprehensive to ask.
Fear not.
My hesitation stems from my belief that your response will revolve around jugs.
Jugs?
Yes. I recall a person inquiring about the path of Zen and receiving the answer, "A cloud in the sky and water in the jug."
Ah, I see what you mean. But what is it that you wish to know?
Is this the Zen course?
I can confirm that it is. Would you like to join us?
I am uncertain about what it entails.
Zen is a Buddhist discipline that found its origins in China and subsequently evolved in Japan by blending the Mahayana Buddhism of India and Chinese Daoism.
Can you elaborate?
Zen comes from the Sanskrit term dhyana and denotes a state of mind comparable to contemplation or meditation without the inactive connotations.
Really? Why is that?
Dhyana specifically refers to the state of awareness of a Buddha whose mind is free from the presupposition that both his self and other things are genuinely distinct.
Meaning we are all the same?
Buddhism teaches that individual entities only exist in relation to one another, which is their "voidness" or "sunyata." It does not imply that the universe is void, but instead, that reality is incalculable and beyond any categorization.
So there are no discrete Zen doctrines?
Zen is a distinctive Chinese-Japanese technique striving for a perception of the world as it is with a mind devoid of grasping thoughts or sentiments. This mindset is known as "no-mind," a state of consciousness where thoughts come and go without leaving any traces.
Amazing! How can one achieve it?
Unlike other Buddhist sects, Zen maintains that true liberation of the mind is not achieved by gradual progress but by immediate perceptiveness. Zen drops the inclination towards abstraction and spiritual exercises and presents its understanding of truth through a method called "direct pointing."
How does that function?
Zen authorities answer religious inquiries or persuasive questions with non-symbolic utterances or activities. The answer is the deed itself and not its representation. Thus, when the Zen master Yaoshan was asked, "What is the way of Zen?" he replied, "A cloud in the sky and water in the jug!"
Is there no practice at all?
Zen learners prepare themselves by practicing meditation and observing, with no mental judgment, whatever is occurring.
That sounds fascinating!
Zen is primarily taught in semi-monastic arrangements that permit laypeople for limited durations. However, the Zen monastery is a rigid training school that joins meditation with considerable manual labor.
I might have to decline.
This is a beginner’s course, no labor involved.
No back-breaking work required?
No, only one jug at a time.
Additional resources:
· The Buddhist Society UK: www.thebuddhistsociety.org.uk
· International Zen Association: www.zen-izauk.org/azi.htm
· Virtual library: www.ciolek.com/WWWVL-Zen.html
· Courses: web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/bbcourse.htm
www.horne28.freeserve.co.uk/budclass.htm
www.thebuddhistsociety.org.uk/courses.htm
birminghambuddhistcentre.org.uk/page_2.htm
· FAQs: www.chinapage.com/zen/zenfaq.html
