Zen

Forrest Saye

Mr. Ross

Core Composition 1

12 October 2011

A Zen Perspective

How will your face look when you die? Contemplating that question, or koan, could be one way an individual participates in Zen. Zen is typically defined as a spiritual practice, but defining Zen becomes much more abstract and extended when used in a non-conceptual personal sense. This sort of personal involvement makes it difficult to define Zen exactly. “To define Zen is difficult. To define is to limit, to make a 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.” (Hartman 1) Of course, there is a standardized definition of Zen in the dictionary, and the word can be traced through its etymology and usage; however, upon looking deeper into Zen and the way it uses koans, meditation, and the beginners mind, one will realize that the definition of Zen is extended to being indefinable, as if to say that there is not a way of defining it.

Chinese problems or inner challenges called Koan were developed in order to make the Zen students gather their thoughts and attune their mind in a certain way. Instead of words, the Koan deal with state of mind. If the question “You can hear the sound of two hands when they clap together, now show me the sound of one hand.” (Reps 41) is asked of a new student, it may take anywhere from a day to years to come to their own understanding of the answer that will satisfy the teacher. The answer is much closer than one may think. An empty mind

will quickly realize that the sound of one hand is not a sound at all, and that a first hand needs a second to make a clap, yet a different persons mind will have to come to the answer in a different way, such as trial and error or something else. In this way the student can separate him or herself from subjectivity and objectivity, therefore eliminating attachment and desire. Of course everyone is going to have different attachment and different desires, and especially different views on things, so obviously their path to Zen will be different from another path to Zen. All these different questions will have different answers from almost everyone. Since most koans do not have a right or wrong answer, and since people answer these questions differently, the point of the questions will come across on a more personal level, thus eliminating a whole defined form or a definite answer in most cases. Koans are not the greatest staple in Zen practice however, for a more “in depth” form of concentration is required.

For those who practice Zen, meditation is very important. They meditate by sitting in a position called zazen which is to cross the legs in full lotus style with the spine straight. There is a standing Zen style and a laying Zen style as well. This style of holding one’s body this way is meant to be uncomfortable in order to keep the mind focused and in the moment. If one slumps then their mind will be somewhere else, and not in their body, and this is not how the proper mind state for Zen is said to be achieved. It takes years of practice to be proficient in just holding the body right to meditate on Zen, so by no merits should words read in a few seconds define Zen. Meditation can be equated to emptying the mind, but this is not

completely true, for the mind should be concentrated on the moment, and in meditation the moment is sitting in zazen and breathing in and out. Through enough meditation one should be closer to Zen because of the pure concentration of simple existence that meditation brings. The meditation will bring body and mind closer together. In meditation there is to be no goal. One is to meditate for the sake of meditation for themselves and nothing else. If a goal is set for meditation, then one has already failed because they will be sacrificing themselves for something else. In this way Zen is not definable because if someone does anything while in meditation, then it is not really meditation, and this is funny since sitting in the meditative position is considered to be the true Zen mind set. Even to think of it this way is a no-go because of the standards pre-set for the meditation. Most people should realize at this point that a clear mind is necessary for this practice, and that is true.

A very important part of Zen is the principal of the beginners mind. The innocence of the first discovery is needed all the way throughout Zen. For a beginner their mind is ready, waiting to receive instruction and experience. While an expert will never be open to all of the possibilities, for the expert is too focused on what is known as right or wrong. To have a beginners mind is to do something as straightforward as possible, as if one was discovering what they are doing for the first time. The reason this works is because if a certain conceptual function is unknown, then the possibilities for this concept are limitless, so one is always in the moment, divorced from what has happened and what will happen. The point of this is to always be open to the possibilities. This way, when something unexpected happens we will not

be upset anymore, for that thing has already passed. “You see: the opposite of craving is saying ‘baby, this is the way it is, yea, ok, here & now, this is it, I ACCEPT THE HERE & NOW FULLY! As. It. Is. Right at this moment!“ (Alpert 40). That means if we keep things undefined that we can hopefully lead a “different” life; therefore Zen is not a good thing to define, for the beginners mind would be lost before the practice has ever begun!

This practice of “Zen” should never be truly defined, yet if we did not define Zen through writing then how would we ever know of its existence? The truth is that we don’t know about its existence until we truly experience it and understand it. Even though there is a definite definition of Zen, and many different ways to explain it, we still do not have a certain grasp on what this is, hence all of the different ways of explaining it. Even with things that actually define Zen, like Koans and their ability to stretch the mind, meditation and its ability to unify mind and body, and the beginners mind which will keep us fresh and never dwelling on one thing in particular; we will still never fully understand the entire scope of Zen, for these things are very elusive and paradoxical themselves, yet they are in plain sight for all of us. So how does one go about practicing Zen? First one must understand why the definition of Zen is that it has no true definition.

Has a dog Buddha-nature?

This is the most serious question of all,

If you say yes or no,

You lose your own Buddha-nature.

(Reps 116)

Works Cited

Alpert, Richard. Be Here Now. 10th ed. N.Y.: Lama Foundation, 1971. Print.

Hartman, Abbess Zenkei Blanche. "Beginner's Mind." intrex.net, 2001. Web. .

Paul, Reps. Zen Flesh Zen Bones. Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 1998. Print.

Suzuki, shunryu. Zen Mind Beginner's Mind. 13th ed. N.Y.: Weatherhill, Inc., 1997. Print.

Image Credits

http://www.zazzle.com/zen_archery_koan_tshirt-235565085176879527

http://www.mkzc.org/zen/

http://www.tipsylights.com/tuned-to-zen/cathode-long-pig