Buddhism Zen
The Path of Enlightenment and Mindful Awareness
Zen
Buddhism, a contemplative and profound tradition within the broader tapestry of
Buddhism, has captivated seekers of spiritual insight and enlightenment for
centuries. Rooted in the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the historical
Buddha, Zen Buddhism has evolved into a distinct school of thought that
emphasizes direct experience, mindfulness, and the realization of one's
inherent Buddha nature.
Historical
Context and Emergence:
Zen
Buddhism, known as "Chan" in China and "Seon" in Korea,
originated in India but found fertile ground for development in East Asian
cultures. The 6th century Chinese monk Bodhidharma is often credited with
introducing Zen to China. Seeking a way to transmit the essence of Buddhism
beyond mere textual knowledge, Bodhidharma emphasized direct experience and the
realization of one's own mind as the true path to enlightenment. This emphasis
on experiential understanding set the foundation for the Zen tradition.
Core
Principles of Zen Buddhism:
At
the heart of Zen Buddhism lie several foundational principles that distinguish
it from other Buddhist schools:
1.
Direct Experience: Zen encourages individuals to directly experience reality
without the interference of conceptual thinking. It urges practitioners to go
beyond words and concepts to grasp the ineffable nature of existence.
2.
Mindfulness and Presence: The practice of mindfulness is central to Zen. By
being fully present in each moment, individuals can cultivate awareness and
insight into the nature of their own minds and the world around them.
3.
Koans and Paradoxes: Zen employs koans, paradoxical statements or questions, to
provoke deep contemplation and challenge conventional thinking. These puzzles
are designed to break down logical reasoning and trigger moments of insight.
4.
Zazen (Seated Meditation): Zazen, a distinctive form of meditation, plays a
crucial role in Zen practice. Through disciplined sitting and breathing,
practitioners aim to calm the mind and awaken to their true nature.
5.
Teacher-Student Relationship: Zen emphasizes the significance of a
teacher-student relationship. The transmission of wisdom is often passed down
through direct, personal interaction between a qualified teacher (sensei) and
their students.
Practices
and Rituals:
Zen
practices are geared towards cultivating a heightened state of awareness and
awakening. These practices include:
1.
Zazen: Practiced in a formal setting, zazen involves seated meditation marked
by focused attention on the breath, posture, and the arising and passing of
thoughts.
2.
Kinhin (Walking Meditation): Integrating mindfulness into movement, kinhin is a
slow, mindful walking practice often done in between periods of zazen.
3.
Teisho (Dharma Talks): Teachers offer insights and guidance through dharma
talks, shedding light on complex concepts and sharing their own experiences.
4.
Sesshin (Intensive Retreats): Sesshin are extended periods of intensive
practice, lasting several days or even weeks, during which participants engage
in prolonged meditation and self-inquiry.
Impact
and Influence:
Zen
Buddhism's influence extends beyond religious spheres, leaving an indelible
mark on various aspects of Eastern and Western cultures:
1.
Art and Aesthetics: Zen-inspired art, such as Japanese ink painting and the Zen
rock garden, reflects the simplicity, impermanence, and profound insight of the
tradition.
2.
Philosophy and Psychology: Zen has inspired philosophical inquiry and
influenced psychological practices like mindfulness-based therapies,
emphasizing present-moment awareness and personal transformation.
3.
Martial Arts and Mind-Body Practices: Zen principles have found their way into
martial arts and other mind-body practices, where focus, discipline, and the
embodiment of awareness are vital.
4.
Literature and Poetry: Many renowned poets and authors, both in Asia and the
West, have drawn inspiration from Zen teachings, integrating its themes of
impermanence and enlightenment into their works.
Conclusion:
Zen
Buddhism stands as a testament to the human quest for inner truth and spiritual
awakening. Its emphasis on direct experience, mindfulness, and non-conceptual
awareness offers a unique approach to understanding the nature of reality and
one's place within it. As it continues to resonate with individuals seeking
profound insight and liberation from the confines of ordinary thought, Zen
Buddhism remains an enduring and influential tradition that bridges the gap
between ancient wisdom and modern understanding.
THE " TRANSCENDENT" THEORY OF
REALITY
Preamble
The
Buddha Nature
Ignorance
True
Zen and a Step-by-Step Approach, Kenso, Satori, Bodhi
Awakening
Preamble
The
Right Approach to Buddhism is not through rational inquiry and comprehensible
clarification. It is done through a specific experiential behavior, which has
been tested and verified by those who have gone before on the Path.
Understanding
Zen presupposes sufficient knowledge and experiential experience of the
"previous" teachings of Buddhism.
The
Central Perception-Teaching-View of Zen is a further "deepening" and
expansion of the "Idealistic" View of Mahayana (Yogara). The
"Subject" of Yogacara Emerges in Universal Nature is the Buddha
Nature, the Buddha Essence, which constitutes the True Essence of all
"beings" that appear as beings. This Essence is no longer Mind (in
the "sense" of Citta, Vijnana), it is non-mind.
This
Mahayana Buddhist Conception comes to merge with the Taoist Conception of
Wu-Hsin (No-mind). This is why Chan appeared in China with the introduction of
Buddhism from India (Bodhidharma) and its fusion with Taoism (as in the Shaolin
Temple).
The Buddha Nature
There
is only Buddha Nature, Perfect Wisdom, Sunyata, Asamskrita (Nirvana). There is,
This Essence Alone, This Alone the Absolute Subject (which is Emptiness). This
means that since every 'being' is This Buddha Essence, the Absolute Subject,
every being is from the beginning and forever 'Enlightened'. From this comes
the understanding, the teaching, that since all "beings" have Buddha
Nature, they do not need to "enlighten" or realize or achieve
Enlightenment, no practical effort is needed. Herein lies Dōgen's teaching that
Enlightenment and "practice" are identical, that "simply
sitting" is Enlightenment, the behavior of the Buddha.
In
reality the Buddha Nature, the Buddha Essence, the Absolute Subject is
Stillness Flowing in Eternity. Everything else that seems to move, change,
etc., belongs to the Subjective dream.
To
Feel your Buddha Nature means to be "Still" and not
"caught" in any movement, in any process. What "moves" is
"phenomena", the flow of "phenomena". Perception (Mind) is
aware of "phenomena", without being "caught" anywhere. This
is Enlightenment. It is the "Immovable Wisdom". If it is
"caught", then, it "travels" in the dream state with the
"object" as a "vehicle". This is ignorance, delusion,
misery.
Ultimately,
if the "being" Feels its Buddha Nature, it works like that and needs
no practice. But when he "doesn't feel" his Buddha Nature then
obviously he has to "realize" it and here "practice" is
needed (what this "practice" is is another matter).
But
if you do not "Feel" your Buddha Nature you cannot seek Enlightenment
because it will be a false enlightenment. Then; Do you remain in the state of
ignorance? Obviously not. You just change "level" The "how"
is exactly the "practice". This is Zen.
Ignorance
Let's
repeat it: To Feel your Buddha Nature means to be "Still" and not
"caught" in any movement, in any process. What "moves" is
"phenomena", the flow of "phenomena". Perception (Mind) is
aware of "phenomena", without being "caught" anywhere. This
is Enlightenment. If it is "caught", then, it "travels" in
the dream state with the "object" as a "vehicle". This is
ignorance, delusion, misery.
To
be "caught" by something means, in fact, that volitional energy is
present, the will is "involved" and the activity takes on a
"personal" character. This is how we sink into ignorance.
To
put it another way, to get "caught" is to enter into ego-rational
biased activity, with all that that entails.
True Zen and a Step-by-Step Approach
Since
the Buddha Nature is the True Nature, i.e., it is innate in every being, it is
natural and next to emphasize the direct insight of this nature, its
realization and its practical expression. This is Prajna (the non-conceptual
insight). This leads to a differentiation of the "concept" of
Meditation. The "perception", the "awareness" of our True
Nature depends entirely on us (on the Absolute Subject), on our Will and Attention.
It does not depend on "external" factors, or time, or some activity
or process. It is therefore immediate as an event, "sudden" and not
gradual or revealed successively over time. Enlightenment occurs as an
instantaneous transformation, total and instantaneous.
What is the Basis, the Foundation of Zen:
"Here, Now, Me":
There is nothing but the Now (Time is
"realized" in the Now).
There is nothing but Here (Space is
"manifested" in Here).
There is nothing but the Ego, the True Self,
The Infinite "appears" in the Ego).
The Absolute Subject is Enlightenment, the Gate
of Eternity, the Freedom of Endless!
The True Goal of Zen is to See, to Realize the
True Self. Thus, it is wrong to set a goal other than the Self. When you set no
other goal, this is the true goal.
If you find the True Self you don't need to
find anything else, it is the All, everything, everything. When you experience
the All, you experience it always, everywhere, in everything. This is Ethics!
True Meditation (the Essence of Zen) is
"the Immersion of the 'spirit' into the center of the 'Heart'." Here
is the "Original Mind", the Self, our True Nature, the Root of the
Subject, the Absolute Subject. Within the Body, Beyond the Body (Non-temporal,
non-local, non-perceived).
The Absolute Subject is Always Pure,
Unadulterated, Transparent, without "dust", True Zen consists
of experiencing the Absolute, realizing the Absolute and acting the Absolute in
our daily activities.
Sikandaza
(to 'sit still') means to Remain 'Still' no matter what you do or what happens.
Perception (the Mind) "watches" the "phenomena", without
getting "caught" anywhere. At first you may need to sit in a
meditative posture (Zazen, sitting meditation) but at some point, you can
become independent of this and remain in "Stillness" even when you
are in activity (Qinqin, walking meditation). So, to "sit simply"
means not to get caught up in processes of the body, the senses, the mind, all
of which belong to the dream.
Sikandaza
(to 'sit still') means to Remain 'Still' no matter what you do or what happens.
True Zen, (the Essence of Meditation) is not 'no-thought', sitting still like a
grassy stone on the mountain or like a log at the edge of the forest or like a
straw scarecrow in the field. Zen is Life, it is being alive on all levels of
being. Therefore, where the term "no-thought" (no-mind, no-mind) is
used it is used in the sense of cessation of egoic thought and not in the sense
of nothingness.
To be "Still" is to be in fully
concentrated alertness (samadhi), in an unbroken "clarity," and in that
state to "see (everything) and act." It is the perception of the
world from the perspective of samadhi. It is the State of Concentration (jyo)
and to see thus is Prajna (Wisdom). There is nothing but the Subject, all else
is phenomena that come and go. If you become absorbed in something, if you
"follow" something the Subject changes (becomes "mind") and
the object emerges, you are immersed in dualistic perception, life and
experience.
In this State of "Stillness"
without changing you are one with all. How is this possible? You act like a
mirror that reflects everything without holding anything back. There are
"signs" that you are actually in "Stillness", in samadhi
(absolutely focused alertness) when you sit in Sikindaza:
1) You feel like you are "floating"
(you feel like you are "floating" because there is no sense of the
body as only the minimum necessary energy is channeled into the body).
2) You feel everything without
"reacting" to anything.
3) The thought worships unhindered
without being "seduced" or "absorbed" into something.
4) Your Action (your reaction to the
world) depends entirely on your Will. Even when you 'react suddenly or
'instinctively'. The strange thing about the State is that you automatically
follow the Light Path of Dharma and never slide down the downward dark paths of
ignorance, passion and loss.
Dharma (Right Action on all Levels of
Existence) is Objective. The confused subject perceives it and accepts it as an
objective rule. The liberated subject perceives and accepts it as an Essential
Law of Nature. The Absolute Subject Recognizes it as an Expression of His Own
Nature.
…
The Stepwise Approach
Of
course, some argue that the awareness of our True Nature can be sudden, but a
gradual deepening of insight, and of our understanding, a
"maturation" is required. This simply means that one does not see,
does not perceive clearly and needs time to get rid of one's
"limitations". Most people operate this way, even those who frequent
the "spiritual" space.
The
Basic Concept here is that the Essential Nature, is the Innermost Nature (What
We Experience in the Depths of Self) that Transcends and "encloses"
the "I" with which we usually identify. The "I" is a useful
tool for manifestation and activity in outer life but it has no relation to our
Real Nature. That's how we have to "get over it". So, where it was a
"fossilized" mechanism (the "I" with its ideologies, its
memories and its "knowledge, its prejudices) a free, spontaneous and
unhindered relationship with the outside world is established.
So, it is clear that only through ignorance or denial of our
true nature can enlightenment be seen as something to seek, a destination that
we may someday reach.
The dissolution of ignorance of Buddha Nature can be achieved
Here, Now, by Mindful Observation, by the dissolution of all illusory
perceptions.
Phased Approach:
To
"see" our True Nature (as Timeless Space) is called Kenso.
The
Living of the " Void " is Satori
But
we should quite naturally and effortlessly "settle" permanently in
this state in order to say that we have reached final "liberation"
(Bodhi).
Levels of “Meditation:
Perception of the world. Kenso.
Inner Perception and Absolute Perception.
Satori.
Bodhi.
Analytically:
There
are two ways of perception.
1)
To see things that exist within the "Space".
2)
To see the "Space" within which there are "things".
Starting
from the first case, when you rise to the Perception of "Space" you
arrive at Kenso. The Mirror mirrors things. More specifically, observing things
we see that they are in relation to the environment. In the end, the important
thing is not the thing but the "space" in which it is included. This
is how the "concept of 'space'" emerges as the unifying element of
everything.
From
the perception of "Space" (when you let go of "things") you
rise to the Perception that You Are Space. The Mirror simply Mirrors (but there
is "nothing" to mirror). This is the Pure Unadulterated Essence of
the Mirror. The Satori.
Beyond
that is the One Reality, the Mirror. The Bodhi.
Bhodi
Woo-shin
Bodhi
is wu -shin, not mind, not consciousness, emptiness.
Bodhi is the One Reality. It is not born,
it is not lost, it is not realized, it is the nature of everything and
everything. Within Bodhi, activities and phenomena emerge, quite naturally, and
disappear again, quite naturally.
Bodhi (wu - shin) is One and Only Reality
and there is no difference between rest and activity.
Wu-shin
and Shin
When
the Bodhi (wu-shin) is allowed to function like this, whether in rest or in
activity, Reality is experienced.
When Bodhi (wu-shin) is restrained,
grasped and remains attached to a phenomenon (junji), the natural flow of
wu-shin is interrupted, wu-shin becomes immobilized, becomes shin (mind,
consciousness): we enter an imaginary space and time. This state obeys its own
laws of operation. It seems like a real existence, it has consistency thanks to
the law of karma, there is evolution, reincarnation, a demand for liberation.
This is all fantastic.
Actually wu-shin is the background, it is
not lost, it is our nature, it is Reality, there is nothing to realize, nothing
to liberate. Shin (consciousness) constitutes attachment. It's dreamy. As long
as we stick to the imaginary, this works (and everything seems real). When this
is abandoned then we realize that Reality Is Always One, that we were living in
a dream, we woke up from the dream.
Accomplishment
We
are Bodhi (wu-shin), we possess Bodhi, we don't need to perform anything. Sin
is an illusion.
So, what is needed is to reject the
fantastic, to detach ourselves from the phenomenon. Any movement towards the
phenomenon must be rejected. Every grab from the phenomenon must be cut off.
Any obsession with the phenomenon must be eliminated. (By phenomenon we mean
what we have in front of us at this moment, what we are living at this moment)
When this happens and the wu-shin thus detached from the phenomenon, then it
flows freely, (there is a perfect, unhindered freedom) – the sin disappears...
Then we realize that we are always in this State, that before we lived in the
imaginary, which has its own time – we could be there for a moment or ages,
lifetimes, forever.
Wu-shin has no time - the imaginary has
its own time.
The
Non-Practice of Zen
As long as we are Bodhi (wu-shin) there
is nothing to be realized – just to be detached from the phenomenon (what we
have right now in front of us).
So, Zen is not a process, it is not
something we have to do, to realize (this concept belongs to the imaginary) –
we just have to detach ourselves from the phenomenon.
Zen is Bodhi, there is no other Reality
than Bodhi. Its interruption is immersion in the fantastic. That is, something
that does not exist in reality.
Practicing Zen means simply experiencing
our nature, living our reality, sitting like that, and realizing. There is no
way out of this state, course, evolution, release (this perception belongs to
the imaginary).
What is rejected is the exit from Bondi,
the attachment to the phenomenon.
(What the Zen Masters reveal to their
students is the attachment to the phenomenon, which introduces them to the
imaginary. The impact is this: You are attached, you are in an imaginary space,
do you see it? This is called direct suggestion (upaya). impact can lead to
immediate detachment from the phenomenon, where the wu-shin is detached and we
perceive Reality (this is Satori), or the impact can thus pass into the lost).
Awakening
Zen is a direct way of approaching
Reality. It doesn't analyze anything; it doesn't explain anything. We take for
granted our nature (wu-hsin), that which exists. Wu-shin is the background (not
described because it is emptiness). The only immediate datum is xin
(consciousness, attachment to the phenomenon) Zen is detachment from the
phenomenon. Zen shows our true nature. It leads to Satori, the ultimate
unhindered freedom (wu -shin).
Zen is not a religion, it is not a topic
for discussion, not even a way to approach Reality, a way to live... It is our
nature, it is our daily life, it is in front of us, behind us, it is right,
left, up and down... and try as we might we can't help but see it, ... we just
can't hide from ourselves.
