ZEN or THE WAY

Zen Buddhism came to Japan by way of China in the twelfth century. The Mahayana Buddhism, from which Zen has its origins, dates back to Bodhidharma, who came from India to China in 520 A.D. Zen, therefore, has gone through centuries of development before arriving in Japan. We will take only Japanese Zen because its influences can still be seen today on an entire culture.

1. SCHOOLS OF ZEN
   1. Soto
   2. Lin Chi
   3. Amida
   4. Rinzai
      1. Roshi or master
      2. Za-zen (Meditation): One half of left leg over right thigh; right hand on right thigh with left hand on right hand; thumbs are side by side. This is the meditation posture. There is no great struggle in reflection; one remains tranquil but does not "sleep." Sesshin (Monthly): 3:30 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.
      3. Koan (inscrutable saying for meditation): Not in intellectualizing do we come to awareness/awakening. Six stages of koans that usually take about 30 years to master. Examples of koans
         1. A cow passes by a window. Its head, horns, and front legs all pass by. Why did not the tail pass by?
         2. We are all familiar with the sound of two hands clapping. What is the sound of one hand clapping?
         3. What was your face like before your ancestors were born?
      4. Sanzen: Interview with the master. The answer to the koan is given. If it pleases the master, the student goes to the next koan or series. If not...
         
         
2. SATORI (AWAKENING OR ENLIGHTENMENT
   1. Naturalness. Like being one with Nature. Like all Buddhism, Zen stresses that truth lies within, that enlightenment is available to everyone. It is a special kind of Buddhism in that Zen asserts that enlightenment comes like a flash; one becomes aware of the unity of all things.
      1. Typically, as in all Buddhism, one cannot think his way to enlightenment. Zen says:
      2. The struggle for and against is the mind's worst disease. Thoughts that are held on to turn us from the truth.
      3. What is most wonderful of all is that I sit by myself
   2. Zen story of the person chased by a tiger...
   3. Sitting quietly, doing nothing. Spring comes, and the grass grows by itself.
   4. If you define Zen or Satori...(monks setting traps)
   5. Quotation from Religions of Man, Huston Smith: Simply to see things as they are, as they truly are in themselves, is joy enough. Zen brings an experience of one-ness. But it is a one-ness which is at once empty because it dismisses all distinctions as inconsequential. And yet it is a one-ness that is full because it spills over to include everything.
   6. "One should not think about life. One should live it."
   7. Little Grasshopper, who should win the contest?
      1. The body is the Bodhi tree; The mind is like a bright mirror standing. Take care to wipe it all the time, And allow no dust to cling.
      2. There never was a Bodhi tree. Nor a bright mirror standing. Fundamentally, no one thing exists, So where is the dust to cling
   8. Zen in Japanese Art:
      1. Haiku (a 3-line poem, usually in a combination of 5,7,5 syllables for the English language. The haiku is a meditation poem. Ute is a longer poem.
         The man who says, "I do not like children," For him, no flower blooms.
         On a withered branch, A crow is perched In the autumn evening
         Sleet falling; Fathomless, infinite Loneliness. Is lost in its hurried flight.
         A raindrop softly falling Plunging to the wet film of gray dust on the road
         A knife cuts the night With roses and lemons Dawning a new day.
         How admirable, He who thinks not, "Life is fleeting," When he sees the lightning.
         I cracked my bell so I could hear the beautiful Call of the cuckoo.
         From the dark above Lights dart out To join earth.
      2. Wabi (Poverty). In Zen art, as little as possible.
         In the morning, rosy cheeks. In the evening, a pale skeleton.
         The long night The sound of water Says what I think.