My tryst with Zen

I have been hooked onto Zen for the past week or so. Here are some titbits which may interest you.

Enso, which is 'cirlce' in Japanese is closely associated with Zen. It stands for expression of enlightenment, experience of completeness. The circle is unique for each individual each moment, just as it is unique each time one draws a circle.

For beginners like me, the book titled Essential Zen, by Kazuaki Tanashi and Tensho David Schneider is probably a good way to get introduced to this concept. Most of the stuff in this post is picked from this book.

The most important thing in Zen philosophy, the one thing which stands out clear and loud is that the emphasis laid on nowness, not the past, nor the future, its just you and the present moment. Each one of us is born every morning and die every night.There is no past baggage that you carry. You start every moment, every day afresh. Some (humorously) say that Zen is nothing but Mahayana Buddhism plus a few Chinese jokes. The word Zen (Chan in Chinese) is derived from the word dhyan in Sanskrit.

One of the best ways to appreciate Zen is by reading some of its koans (spiritual puzzles). To quote John Daido Loori :
"A koan is a non-logical statement, question or anecdote most often between a Zen master and a student from the Zen literature. A koan is a means for the student to confront the self, to bypass the logical and conceptual thinking and becomes an object of concentration. "

The first koan has many forms. It could be, "Show me your original face, the one which you had before your parents were born." or "We know the sound of two hands clapping, now, what is the sound of one hand clapping. Dont tell me, show it." :)

Here is a nice one.

Nanquan was on the mountain working. A monk came by and asked him, "What is the way to Nanquan ?" The master raised his sickle and said, "I bought this sickle for 30 cents."
The monk said, "I am not asking about the sickle you bought. What is the way that leads to Nanqan ?"
The Master said, "It feels good when I use it."



And this is my current favourite (not a koan) but a thought from Zen philosophy.

It is hard to even begin to guage, how much a complication of possessions, the notion of "my and mine" stand between us and a true, clear, liberated way of seeing the world. To live lightly on the earth, to be aware and alive, to be free of egotism, to be in contact with plants and animals, starts with simple concrete acts. The inner principle is the insight that we are interdependent-energy fields of great potential wisdom and compassion - expressed in each person as a superb mind, a handsome and complex body, and the almost magical capacity of language. To these potentials and capacities, "owning things" can add nothing of authenticity.

"Clad in the sky, with earth for a pillow".

- Gary Snyder