Artifacts on existance
				The Zen philosophy
		WHAT IS ZEN? "Lightning flashes, Sparks shower, In one blink of your eyes, You have missed seeing." A Hindu story tells of a fish who asked of another fish: "I have always heard about the sea, but what is it? Where is it?" The other fish replied: "You live, move and have your being the sea. The sea is within you and without you, and you are made of sea, and you will end in sea. The sea surrounds you as your own being." So the only true answer to the question "What is Zen?" is the one that you find for yourself. ZEN PHILOSOPHY Zen is a philosophy that originated in Japan in about 520 AD, by a man named Bodhidharma. Its aim is to assist us to transcend, or expand beyond our present individual viewpoint, and gradually allow us to perceive existence itself. Zen means waking up to the present moment. That is, perceiving this moment exactly as it is, rather than through the filter of our ideas, opinions, etc. One way to practice this is to ask yourself a Big Question, such as "What am I?" If you ask such a question strongly and sincerely, what appears is "Don't Know." This don't-know is before thinking. If you keep it moment to moment, then everything is clear. Then, each moment, whatever you're doing, just do it. When you're sitting, just sit; when you're eating, just eat; and so on. According to Zen, existence is found in the silence of the mind (no-mind), beyond the chatter of our internal dialog. Existence, from the Zen perspective is something that is only happening spontaneously, and it is not just our thoughts. All of life that we perceive is constantly in a state of change. Every atom in the universe is somewhere different every millionth of a second. What then is existence? Zen says that it is instantaneous. Since the earth is constantly moving, and our thoughts and our bodies are constantly in a process of fluctuation, then what we really are, can only be experienced in each moment. Think of a view. Is it what it was a second ago, or what it is now? In fact the moment we say the word “view", the view has already changed into something new. In fact, anything that we can explain, according to this viewpoint, must be past-tense. Even if it’s about our most immediate feelings and thoughts, it is not the same experience the second after it passes through our minds. Researchers estimate that our minds perceive 12,000 separate impressions every second. This is in terms of everything that we see, hear, smell, taste, and feel. So, what is our reality really? Isn’t it always a very limited view of what we are even actually experiencing around us? And that which we are aware of, is only our own minute impression of the world itself. Are any of our views then actually true in the absolute sense of the word, or are they all just our subjective impressions, based on an individual experience of what we are perceiving? For example, a person may think that the Sun moves through their sky, and that the earth is stationary. Is this actually true? It may seem true for a person at the moment they make the observation, but how true is it from an absolute perspective of the universe? Can we even know what is the absolute perspective? In this example, from another perspective the earth appears to travel around the Sun. Obviously, with this in mind, there are an infinite number of viewpoints possible at each moment, from an infinite number of perspectives; therefore there are an infinite number of existences, and in any absolute sense, existence itself is inexpressible. Can we actually experience existence then? Perhaps from the Zen perspective the question is, "Why do we not experience it?" Zen says that if we entertain no personal version of what we think existence is, in other words, if we hold no subjective interpretation of what existence is, at the moment we are free of any notion at all, we will experience existence instantaneously, spontaneously. Do you see this point? Zen says that we don’t really experience existence, because we are too busy experiencing our own subjective, version of existence. How then can we experience existence itself? If we don’t create existence, then existence simply IS. The problem is, that we are usually trying to create our own model of the world. Whatever existence we create, it will be an extremely limited view, and that isn’t existence itself. In Zen a less subjective awareness is cultivated through silent meditation, and contemplating on certain sentences, known as Koans. A koan is defined in "The Three Pillars Of Zen" as, "Formulation, in baffling language, pointing to ultimate Truth. Koans cannot be solved by recourse to a logical reasoning, but only awakening a deeper level of the mind beyond the discursive intellect." An example of a Koan would be, “The sound of one hand clapping”, or perhaps you remember this one from grade school, “Does a tree that falls in the forest make a sound if there isn’t anyone there to hear it?," and so on. Through these more abstract thoughts, the Zen student may find that they gradually suspend with their reasoning altogether (this is called no-mind), and this clears the way for an actual experience of existence itself. Unanticipated, spontaneously, without warning, the student may suddenly experience that 'Peace' beyond thought, words, or description. All that anyone can really say who has experienced this is, “All is one, and one is all”. This is what Zen calls the experience of Nirvana, or Enlightenment. When Tired A student once asked his teacher, "Master, what is enlightenment?" The master replied, "When hungry, eat. When tired, sleep." Empty Your Cup A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked about Zen. The master poured the visitor's cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. "It's overfull! No more will go in!" the professor blurted. "You are like this cup," the master replied, "How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup." Moving Mind Two men were arguing about a flag flapping in the wind. "It's the wind that is really moving," stated the first one. "No, it is the flag that is moving," contended the second. A Zen master, who happened to be walking by, overheard the debate and interrupted them. "Neither the flag nor the wind is moving," he said, "It is MIND that moves." It Will Pass A student went to his meditation teacher and said, "My meditation is horrible! I feel so distracted, or my legs ache, or I'm constantly falling asleep. It's just horrible!" "It will pass," the teacher said matter-of-factly. A week later, the student came back to his teacher. "My meditation is wonderful! I feel so aware, so peaceful, so alive! It's just wonderful!' "It will pass," the teacher replied matter-of-factly. Holy Man Word spread across the countryside about the wise Holy Man who lived in a small house atop the mountain. A man from the village decided to make the long and difficult journey to visit him. When he arrived at the house, he saw an old servant inside who greeting him at the door. "I would like to see the wise Holy Man," he said to the servant. The servant smiled and led him inside. As they walked through the house, the man from the village looked eagerly around the house, anticipating his encounter with the Holy Man. Before he knew it, he had been led to the back door and escorted outside. He stopped and turned to the servant, "But I want to see the Holy Man!" "You already have," said the old man. "Everyone you may meet in life, even if they appear plain and insignificant... see each of them as a wise Holy Man. If you do this, then whatever problem you brought here today will be solved." I Don't Know The emperor, who was a devout Buddhist, invited a great Zen master to the Palace in order to ask him questions about Buddhism. "What is the highest truth of the holy Buddhist doctrine?" the emperor inquired. "Vast emptiness... and not a trace of holiness," the master replied. "If there is no holiness," the emperor said, "then who or what are you?" "I do not know," the master replied. Is That So? A beautiful girl in the village was pregnant. Her angry parents demanded to know who was the father. At first resistant to confess, the anxious and embarrassed girl finally pointed to Hakuin, the Zen master whom everyone previously revered for living such a pure life. When the outraged parents confronted Hakuin with their daughter's accusation, he simply replied "Is that so?" When the child was born, the parents brought it to the Hakuin, who now was viewed as a pariah by the whole village. They demanded that he take care of the child since it was his responsibility. "Is that so?" Hakuin said calmly as he accepted the child. For many months he took very good care of the child until the daughter could no longer withstand the lie she had told. She confessed that the real father was a young man in the village whom she had tried to protect. The parents immediately went to Hakuin to see if he would return the baby. With profuse apologies they explained what had happened. "Is that so?" Hakuin said as he handed them the child. Nature's Beauty A priest was in charge of the garden within a famous Zen temple. He had been given the job because he loved the flowers, shrubs, and trees. Next to the temple there was another, smaller temple where there lived a very old Zen master. One day, when the priest was expecting some special guests, he took extra care in tending to the garden. He pulled the weeds, trimmed the shrubs, combed the moss, and spent a long time meticulously raking up and carefully arranging all the dry autumn leaves. As he worked, the old master watched him with interest from across the wall that separated the temples. When he had finished, the priest stood back to admire his work. "Isn't it beautiful," he called out to the old master. "Yes," replied the old man, "but there is something missing. Help me over this wall and I'll put it right for you." After hesitating, the priest lifted the old fellow over and set him down. Slowly, the master walked to the tree near the center of the garden, grabbed it by the trunk, and shook it. Leaves showered down all over the garden. "There," said the old man, "you can put me back now." We'll See... There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. "Such bad luck," they said sympathetically. "We'll see," the farmer replied. The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. "How wonderful," the neighbors exclaimed. "We'll see," replied the old man. The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune. "We'll see," answered the farmer. The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son's leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. "We'll see" said the farmer. The Nature of Things Two monks were washing their bowls in the river when they noticed a scorpion that was drowning. One monk immediately scooped it up and set it upon the bank. In the process he was stung. He went back to washing his bowl and again the scorpion fell in. The monk saved the scorpion and was again stung. The other monk asked him, "Friend, why do you continue to save the scorpion when you know it's nature is to sting?" "Because," the monk replied, "to save it is my nature." Working Very Hard A martial arts student went to his teacher and said earnestly, "I am devoted to studying your martial system. How long will it take me to master it." The teacher's reply was casual, "Ten years." Impatiently, the student answered, "But I want to master it faster than that. I will work very hard. I will practice everyday, ten or more hours a day if I have to. How long will it take then?" The teacher thought for a moment, "20 years." The Moon Cannot Be Stolen A Zen Master lived the simplest kind of life in a little hut at the foot of a mountain. One evening, while he was away, a thief sneaked into the hut only to find there was nothing in it to steal. The Zen Master returned and found him. "You have come a long way to visit me," he told the prowler, "and you should not return empty handed. Please take my clothes as a gift." The thief was bewildered, but he took the clothes and ran away. The Master sat naked, watching the moon. "Poor fellow," he mused, " I wish I could give him this beautiful moon." Transient A famous spiritual teacher came to the front door of the King's palace. None of the guards tried to stop him as he entered and made his way to where the King himself was sitting on his throne. "What do you want?" asked the King, immediately recognizing the visitor. "I would like a place to sleep in this inn," replied the teacher. "But this is not an inn," said the King, "It is my palace." "May I ask who owned this palace before you?" "My father. He is dead." "And who owned it before him?" "My grandfather. He too is dead." "And this place where people live for a short time and then move on - did I hear you say that it is NOT an inn?" Without Fear During the civil wars in feudal Japan, an invading army would quickly sweep into a town and take control. In one particular village, everyone fled just before the army arrived - everyone except the Zen master. Curious about this old fellow, the general went to the temple to see for himself what kind of man this master was. When he wasn't treated with the deference and submissiveness to which he was accustomed, the general burst into anger. "You fool," he shouted as he reached for his sword, "don't you realize you are standing before a man who could run you through without blinking an eye!" But despite the threat, the master seemed unmoved. "And do you realize," the master replied calmly, "that you are standing before a man who can be run through without blinking an eye?" Surprising the Master The students in the monastery were in total awe of the elder monk, not because he was strict, but because nothing ever seemed to upset or ruffle him. So they found him a bit unearthly and even frightening. One day they decided to put him to a test. A bunch of them very quietly hid in a dark corner of one of the hallways, and waited for the monk to walk by. Within moments, the old man appeared, carrying a cup of hot tea. Just as he passed by, the students all rushed out at him screaming as loud as they could. But the monk showed no reaction whatsoever. He peacefully made his way to a small table at the end of the hall, gently placed the cup down, and then, leaning against the wall, cried out with shock, "Ohhhhh!" Knowing Fish One day Chuang Tzu and a friend were walking by a river. "Look at the fish swimming about," said Chuang Tzu, "They are really enjoying themselves." "You are not a fish," replied the friend, "So you can't truly know that they are enjoying themselves." "You are not me," said Chuang Tzu. "So how do you know that I do not know that the fish are enjoying themselves?" Water heats gradually and boils suddenly. We cannot force the natural course of events; everything happens in its 'right' time. The process is gradual, and hence may appear slow to us as we are often too impatient with expectations, but the change takes place within an instant. Similarly, awakening can not be forced, but may be encouraged; just like a seed which sprouts naturally when the right conditions prevail. Do what you will; but not because you must. Often our habits shape our decisions and choices in life. What we fail to realize is that our habits link us to the past and prevent us from making the most of life's offerings within the present moment. But life is fresh in each moment and changes take place within the present moment. So, in order to experience the mystery and the magic of "now", we must break the habitual patterns of 'must's and 'must not's and live life as it comes. When walking - walk. When sitting - sit. But don't wobble! When asked how he disciplined himself in Zen, a master replied, "When hungry, I eat. When tired, I sleep." The questioner responded in a surprise, "But that is what everyone does!" "Not at all," replied the master, "Most people are constantly distracted from what they are doing." We should try to live and appreciate every moment in complete awareness. Zen is not 'trying' to follow a certain way, it is just being what you are and doing what you do according to your true nature. Know who you are. Be what you know. We should seek to understand our intrinsic nature and then attempt to live with what we know. It is easy to have a momentary insight into our essential nature, but then only to hold on to it as a philosophical idea. What we should do is to return to this insight constantly to make it a living reality. The wise don't strive to arrive. Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki says, "What is more important, to make a million dollars, or enjoy your effort, little by little, even though it is impossible to make that million? To be successful, or to find some meaning in your efforts to succeed?" We should give up goal orientation and simply be. Life is not about getting somewhere in a hurry, but enjoying the journey to the full. We stand in our own shadow and wonder why it is dark! When we think there is a problem in life, we should realize that the problem actually lies within us. We may not be able to transform the situation, but we can transform ourselves and how we perceive our lives. When we look at things from the view point of our separate ego-self, we cast a shadow which obscures the light of our essential self and everything seems dark. If we turn and face the light, we rise above our limited self-interest and can see the whole picture. You smile and the world changes. If we smile simply out of love, we bridge our separateness, which is the root of all sufferings in the world. Joy is infectious. When we are joyful, we create a field of goodness around us which spreads out in ever-increasing circles, like a ripple in a pond. And it all starts with a smile... To find yourself is to lose yourself. To know our true Self, we must cease to identify with the illusory identity which feels separated from the whole under the survival instincts fed by the ego. For the real to come, the false must leave... The wave and the sea are One. Our seemingly separate life is like an individual wave that rises and falls on the great sea of existence. Like a wave, we are propelled forward by the powerfull currents of life. If we only experience the surface of things, we will live like a wave, pushed around by invisible currents and regularly crashed down onto the rocky shore line. But if we choose the depths where motion slows down and the silence sets in, we will sense the connectedness and the Oneness of all beings. Waves come and go, but the ocean remains... Everyday, life is the path. Joshu asked Nansen: "What is the path?'" Nansen said: "Everyday life is the path.'" Joshu asked: "Can it be studied?" Nansen said: "If you try to study, you will be far away from it.'" Joshu asked: "f I do not study, how can I know it is the path?'" Nansen said: "The path does not belong to the perception world, neither does it belong to the nonperception world. Cognition is a delusion and noncognition is senseless. If you want to reach the true path beyond doubt, place yourself in the same freedom as sky. You name it neither good nor not-good." At these words Joshu was enlightened. Look and see with your own eyes. If you hesitate, you miss the mark forever. If we know how to look and see into the nature of life, the present moment provides all the signs and answers to help our journey. Hesitating means missing the present moment and hence all it has to offer. If we hold back from fully embracing life today, we will miss it forever; because "now" is the only reality and life is experienced "now". Without anxious thought, doing comes from being. If the mind is full of irrelevant thoughts and anxieties, our natural decision-making process is slowed down and we become painfully aware of each step in the deliberation. If we can still the mind through practices such as meditation, it frees up our mental powers to respond quickly and efficiently, so that we spontaneously know what we do. Gaze at the stars, but walk on the earth. The Zen teacher D.T. Suzuki writes, "With all our philosophy, with all our grand and enhancing ideas, we cannot escape life as we live it. Star- gazers are still walking on the solid earth." Spiritual philosophies may sometimes lead us to the final frontiers of abstract thought, but the "truth" sought actually lies in everyday life. The key word is "balance", in the sense that we should live our lives with all the practical aspects, yet keep the "big picture" in mind all along and feel the miracle of existence all around us. The "Way" is not difficult for someone without preferences. What makes the journey difficult is the intrinsic tendency of our duelist minds to classify things, events, people as good and bad, desired and undesired, pleasant and unpleasant, and so on. Classification leads to comparison, comparison leads to dissatisfaction and hence results in unhappiness... When we completely accept "what IS" as a reflection of a perfect mechanism, we perceive the unity beyond all the dualities and hence preferences lose their meanings and their importance in our lives. Mu! "Mu" is a traditional Zen koan which is supposed to have the power to fully awaken those who meditate on it. "Mu" literally means "not." When asked a question, Master Ekai would often simply exclaim "Mu!" as a way of saying that both 'yes' and 'no' were too limited to be the answer. Mu is neither affirming something nor negating it. It is an illogical answer that points to a profound, intuitive Zen understanding, beyond the limited rational mind. In a way, "Mu" is saying, "Unask that question!", as in the state of full awareness, there are no questions. Immersed in water, you stretch out your hands for a drink. We are surrounded by all that we need and we could ever wish for, but, that, we are not conscious of. We are seeking continuously and desperately for something or someone out of dissatisfaction with our so-called ordinary lives. But if we cannot appreciate the wonder of simply being alive, we will never be truly content in this transitory world. Merely stagnating in duality, How can you recognize oneness? If you fail to penetrate oneness, Both places lose their function. Whenever you make distinctions, your mind is in opposition. Opposition implies duality. Even seeking enlightenment or oneness in itself creates a state of opposition between the searching mind and the "I" within. Just the very process of seeking separates the seeker from the attainment, the object of his search. So, how can we pass beyond the bounds of duality? We must have absolute faith in the fundamental unity and really believe there is no separation. The progress follows this sequence: scattered mind, simple mind, one mind and no mind. First we gather our scattered thoughts into a more concentrated, or simple, state of mind. From this concentrated state we can enter the mind of unity. Finally, we leap from the unified mind to the state of no mind. To go from one mind to no mind does not mean that anything is lost; rather, it means that you are free of the unified state. Someone who dwells in one mind would either be attached to the image of enlightenment, or else would feel identified with a certain method. It is only after you are freed from this unity and enter no mind that you return to your own nature. This in itself is close to a state of unity. If you hold to it, eventually you will reach a point where the method disappears and you will experience one mind. Banish existence and you fall into existence; Follow emptiness and you turn your back on it. In the Sung dynasty there was a famous prime minister by the name of Chang Shang-Yin who was opposed to Buddhism. He wrote many essays purporting to refute Buddhism, and he would spend every evening pondering over how he could improve the essay he was then working on. His wife, observing his obsessive involvement and struggle with his writing, asked him, "What are you doing?" He said, "Buddhism is really hateful. I'm trying to prove there is no Buddha." His wife remarked, "How strange! If you say there is no Buddha, why bother to refute the Buddha? It is as if you are throwing punches into empty space." This comment turned his mind around. He reflected: There may be something to Buddhism after all. Thus if you try to destroy something, you are still bound up by it. For instance, suppose you try to clear a blocked pipe by pushing another object into it. Whatever was originally in the pipe is pushed out, but the new object is now blocking the pipe. When you try to use existence to get rid of existence, you will always end up with existence. When you throw something away, it is gone. But does it cease to exist? Don't search for truth, simply stop having opinions Enlightenment is not an opinion, but a state achieved through the absence of all opinions. It is not an idea, but an awareness of the consciousness that experiences all ideas. This consciousness is vast and limitless, like a clear blue sky, and ideas are clouds that pass across the sky. When we focus on the clouds, we miss seeing the base that holds them all. The fearless hero is a loving child. With the courage of a hero and the innocent, loving heart of a child, one can meet the challenges of life fearlessly, yet not yield to cynicism or defensiveness. We can be polished up by life, rather than being ground down by it. Often we defend ourselves against life by projecting a hard exterior; but the true heroes' strength lies in their compassion and sincerity, not in their armor. Great understanding comes with great love. Wisdom and compassion are inseparable qualities of our true nature. To be wise is to love and to love is to be wise. Wisdom is the quality of mind that sees beyond the limits of the ego-self and knows the ultimate connectedness of life. Love is the quality of heart that unites us with others and all of life, and frees us from our separateness. The path to enlightenment is opening the mind to wisdom and the heart to compassion and love.