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Here’s an interesting description of the process of entering a Japanese Zen monastery, EE. More here.
In approaching a traditional Japanese Zen monastery to begin practice, you would be expected to have abandoned everything that you hold dear so that you could face yourself unencumbered. You would have a few personal necessities in a backpack. In front of the monastery, there would be a high wall with a large, ornate and heavy gate called the Sanmon or Mountain Gate.
Beginning Zen is like climbing a mountain; it requires effort to clamber free of our illusions and beliefs, until we reach the clear air and vast vantage of the peak. Knocking on the gate, eventually the door would swing open to reveal the gatekeeper, usually a huge and unbelievably ugly monk. Making your request for admittance, you would be politely but briefly told that the monastery was full, too poor to accept another student and that, in any case, you wouldn’t like it. If you persist in knocking after the gatekeeper had closed the door on you the first time, the monk would return and begin to berate you for being too stupid to understand this simple statement, swear at you, and would most likely swat at your head a few times. After a while, the monk would refuse to answer your knock.
Now what will you do? Do you really want to do this after all? If you do, you would neatly lean your bundle against a step and sit with your knees up and your face against your knees. The angle of the posture would be silently noted in detail by the watching gatekeeper, who might intermittently chase you off a few more times. When night falls, you might have to remain seated on the steps until morning, or you might be allowed into the monastery to sleep in a hallway overnight and be given a small meal. In any case, the next morning would find you on the steps again, going through the same business. On the second night, you might be allowed to stay “overnight” in the tanga, a semi-open reception area. The next day you would be expected to sit in a lotus posture in the tanga, and to be found in that posture should anyone happen by. This excruciating and lonely experience is called tangaryo.
At the end of the day, you might be introduced to the godo or head monk, a senior student of the Teacher, who would question you closely about your background and your motives for coming to the monastery. If the head monk feels that you are sincere, you would be given a place in the Zendo on a probationary basis and shown how to do zazen. It would be anywhere from several weeks to a year before you would be formally introduced to the Teacher and begin to actually practice Zen.
The Buddhists I know seem to have found a way to keep the lid on "snarky", EE. Took them years of work though. But they all had to start somewhere, and I'm sure feeling the need had to come first. If you'll pardon me saying so, "demonstrating sincerity" would seem like the biggest challenge you face here. |
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