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Like, what is the history and ideology of Zen Buddhism and its offshoots? What do its practitioners seek to achieve? What do people think about it?
Good, academic questions. Which, from the point of view of Zen, means they miss the point. Like Daoism (from which it is partially derived), Zen has a mistrust of being spoken about. The chatter of analysis gets in the way of doing it, which is the only way of knowing it.
From the alt.zen FAQ - a few answers:
In a nutshell, [the Buddha] realized that everything is subject to change and that suffering and discontentment are the result of attachment to circumstances and things which, by their nature, are impermanent. By ridding oneself of these attachments, including attachment to the false notion of self or "I", one can be free of suffering...Around 475 A.D. [a Buddhist teacher] traveled from India to China and introduced the teachings of the Buddha there. In China Buddhism mingled with Taoism. The result of this mingling was the Ch'an School of Buddhism. Around 1200 A.D. Ch'an Buddhism spread from China to Japan where it is called (at least in translation) Zen Buddhism.
The history of Zen, Ch'an, and Buddhism is tumbled and confused by claims of precedent and by religious politics. It's like trying to get the name of the man who invented Tai Chi or the writer of all the books of the Chuang Tzu. Many people know the Real Answer, but sadly all of them know a different one.
From 'The Tao of Zen' by Ray Grigg:
The way that is common to Taoism and Zen escapes definition. In both traditions it is undefinable and unexplainable, elusive, frustratingly near and far, always so close yet just outside intellect's reach. Indeed, the essential enigma of Taoism and Zen is the source of their wisdom and profundity - a freedom that is never enclosed by a system of understanding.
The books of Daoism reject the use of words ("The way which can be spoken of is not the true way"). Zen deploys the koans, paradoxical statements whose (re)solution or comprehension requires a moment of immanent understanding. The most famous of these is probably the question 'What is the sound of one hand clapping?' Zen is sometimes referred to as 'the gateless key'.
If you think anything 'about' Zen at all, you're mistaken. This whole lecture takes us further from Zen, not closer to it. Hence my initial response: consider the title of the thread. It's a far better guide to Zen than the FAQ. If that earlier aphorism about doing Zen is mine, I'm not embarrassed by it - it's not a bad one, though it yields too readily to an actual answer under analysis: the conscious 'doing' of Zen would blow your Zen out of the water. In a Zendo, you'd get clobbered with a bamboo stick.
But ultimately, I'm look for the Dao, which is far more forgiving of meandering. |
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