Zen Buddhism, to Present Some

¶ … Zen Buddhism, to present some introductory notes, practices and the significance of rituals. Besides the actual facts or historical proof, spread around the world, as well as the presentation of significant personalities, the author will try to interpret the data and highlight his own opinion related to the topic.

History teaches us that in 520 CE, an Indian monk and scholar named Bodhidharma arrived in China to transmit the unmodified learning and word of Buddha. The religious spirit is induced by four verses - a special transmission outside the scriptures; Depending not on words and letters; Pointing directly to the human mind; Seeing into one's nature, one becomes a Buddha. Zen comes from the Chinese term - Ch'an - which in his turn comes from the Sanskrit word dhyana, meaning meditation. It is not surprising then that one of the distinctive features of Zen Buddhism is emphasis it places on meditation or, more specifically, zazen (sitting meditation). Zazen is the means to reaching personal enlightenment. The method used to transmit it throughout time is the master-disciple relation. The esoteric role of the master in the teaching of the outsider or disciple is of significant importance, as the teacher opens the eyes of the discipline, teaching him the Zen ways of perceiving things and opens his path to spiritual development. Zen highlights the importance of direct experience and meditation as a mean of obtaining knowledge of the world by clearing your mind of the negative things and aspects and obtaining sound and proper concepts that make your life more pleasant and worth living. The experience of awakening is known as satori, which comes from the Japanese word satoru 'to know'. Knowledge refers to withdrawing the individual from the current environment, which could be characterised as lacking in substance, and finding the real things that are important for a human being - knowledge, the respect of others, morality.

In Zen, the cultural inheritance includes art, poetry, gardening and drinking tea! There is no doubt that this form of Buddhism has a distinctive approach which is challenging, provocative and engaging.

Characteristics

According to the name of its beliefs, Zen Buddhism is a branch of Buddhism that implies that the meditation is the key to achieving all goals and completing all tasks. But where did this religion emerge from? The roots of Zen are set in India, but it was formalized in China and later on it spread to Japan. Nowadays, it is present around the world. Zen Buddhism had emerged through the combination of Daoism and Indian Mahayana Buddhism, representing the central point of a long tradition of Indian and Chinese culture. Zen is a method of obtaining freedom from society's conventions, and also of converging towards the wholly spirit within every one of us. If we take into account the words of a Zen scholar, D.T. Suzuki, 'Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine', we may conclude that Zen Buddhism is a religion or belief centred on the individual and the everyday life. Continuing with the explanations of the Zen, this means " meditation." It refers to the fact that reality is considered a direct and open way, not a focalisation on a particular thing or aspect, but as an understanding of what supposes the world to be, in present and future times. The Zen Buddhism is the opposite of Divinity, of cleavage and dissociation, states of spirit, a parallel between the facts and the symbols. Through Zen, the finality of the facts and action that comprise our whole life is present not by taking into account the human intervention - we can not change the world, but by meditation as through it we might find ways to understand the world, its changes and our place on Earth.

From a non-Buddhist view point, the Zen way of living can be considered a starting point for learning new things about the oriental world and understanding the world from the eyes of people coming from different cultures. This does not mean that they are wrong but just that they perceive things differently from us, the others, the westerners. Also, the Asian culture has focused more on spirituality for achieving enlightenment on crucial aspects - like what is the role of the person within the universe, why certain things happen. The main goal of the belief is solely to open the mind of the followers, through meditation, in order to capture the real meaning of the world. This however contravenes with the Western approach, more practical and based on real facts, not on spiritual ones, like meditation. The occidentals, represented here by people in U.S., Europe or Canada, are more focused on science to deliver the true meaning of the facts and things that surround us. For example, the people from the West consider that the natural disasters, such as floods and fires, are produced by human man, in a direct or indirect manner. Between polluting cars, non-environmental practices of corporation and deforestations, we are the ones causing the floods phenomena. But from a Zen point-of-view, the humans are only spectators; the world plays in front of us, we only see the phenomena as bystanders and accept them as something that could not have been avoided, but as something natural.

The essential element of Zen Buddhism is revealed by its name, for Zen means "meditation." Zen teaches that enlightenment is achieved through the profound realization that one is already an enlightened being. This awakening can happen gradually or in a flash of insight (as emphasized by the Soto and Rinzai schools). But in either case, it is the result of one's own efforts. Deities and scriptures can only offer limited assistance.

Zen traces its origins to India, but it was formalized in China. Chan, as it is known in China, was transmitted to Japan and rooted there in the thirteenth century. Chan was enthusiastically received in Japan, especially by the samurai class that held the political power in this country, and become the most well-known form of Buddhism between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Zen Buddhism's emphasis on simplicity and the importance of the natural world is another characteristic of the Zen way of life. In the natural environment, the Zen follower has the capability of concentration, inducing a particular state of spirit, meditation, stimulating emotions and senses.

Practices

The Zen practitioner searches enlightenment through discipline and meditation; he awaits his personal salvations, and the salvation of the entire range of beings equipped with a consciousness.

The meditation position-zazen has existed from ancient times as a Buddhist technique for obtaining enlightenment and supreme knowledge. However, the Zen religion, originating from China, was the first belief that claimed that all elements of life, eating, sleeping, walking or sitting could be applied for meditation purposes.

Zen had a strong influence on the Japanese culture. The Rinzai monks had played a crucial role in introducing the Chinese culture. The gozan literature - the writings of the priest from the five temples Zen - have contributed to a great extent to the development of literature in Japan. Also, the Zen influences have made a difference in painting, enabling the elaboration of masterpieces in ink and of some religious portraits. The typical Japanese gardens, with sand and rocks are also Zen creations. The tea ceremony originates from the introduction of the tea powder in Japan, by Eisai, of course from China. The famous masters of tea ceremony, which include among others Sen no Rikyu, were Zen followers.

Nowadays, there are about 3,32 registered Zen followers, below 4% from the entire number of Japanese Buddhists. From approximately 77000 Buddhist temples in Japan, 21.000 belong to the Zen religion. These temples sponsor a variety of activities for propaganda purposes, among which we can consider the Zen studying camps, introducing Zen philosophy in the Western world, and especially in U.S. And Europe.

One of the most important practices of the Zen belief is the zaze - the meditation position, described earlier in this paper. Another important practice of the Zen religion is the contemplation of logically unsolvable riddles, such as 'Who were you before your parents were born'. This is diametrically different from the Western societies, which prefer action instead of meditation. Occidentals like to take matters into their own hands, take action, make a statement or get involved in different actions. The individual is put in the centre of the society; he represents and gets the respect of others according to his establishments and performances. On the contrary, the Oriental society prefers the group, as the entity that holds together the entire society. A group is not just a sum of all individuals, but it also conveys the thoughts and ideas of ancestors and transmits the power and morality. What could be the significance of the riddles? One explanation would be that in this way, the Zen followers unlock their mind, free their thoughts and expect the revelation to appear. Following the revelation, the individual might get a new perspective on the world; get new insights on the current situation.

During Sauzen, or the interview with the Zen master, the student is examined based on the life and spiritual knowledge he has acquired through the educational process. The close relationship between the disciple and the teacher is one of the main elements of the cultural and spiritual transmission

Rituals

The Zen rituals have a background and a history of thousands of years and have as main objective the enrichment of personal experiences. Due to their oriental origins, the ritual may be considered out-of-the-ordinary from the Occidental point-of-view. The ability of the ritual goes beyond the force of the words, and is something that is embraced by the whole community - they are widely accepted and used as a way of cultural experience, personal enlightenment and as social phenomena. A few aspects have to be settled first. These refer to the special terms denoting elements within the ritual and which transmit a particular sense: Zendo - is the place where the Zen ritual actually takes place; Gassho - is the bowing practice in showing of gratitude; Mudra - is the hand gesture of position; Kinhin - is the walking meditation, Dharma - relates to the teaching, Sangha - Community practicioners, showing the importance of the group, in the detriment of the individual, Zazen -sitting meditation, Jikki Jitsu - time keeper and Ino - Chant leader.

In the next paragraphs we shall discuss, in general terms, some rituals that actually take place during the Zen culture. When entering and exiting the Zendo, the place of the ritual, the participants bow with hands palm to palm in the direction of the altar. This is our sign of gratitude to Buddha, the one that is our model of personal enlightenment. Showing signs of gratitude is not a strange or unfamiliar gesture for Christians. They frequently show their gratitude for God or the Church institution in many forms - by saying prayers (which is ritual of the Christian community), performing good deeds, helping the persons in need, educating the children in the holly spirit of the Church and Divinity. As a conclusion to the first ritual, the idea - expressing gratitude is not a strange one, but the modality is different. The different methods of showing gratitude vary greatly according to the cultural dimension and background of individuals.