Zen definition free#
We can, through consistent zazen, free ourselves from that imposter self and discover the true self-the being that is open, confident, and unhindered, flowing with all that exists in this very moment. Who do we think we are, anyway? When we really look deeply, it becomes the koan “Who am I?” We find that the conditioned views and compulsive traits we have come to call “self” have no fixed substance. This simple yet profound practice can release us from the shackles of past and future, as well as from the self-imposed and imprisoning barriers we erect around what we erroneously consider our separate and unchanging identities. To do so with conscious awareness, on a regular basis, is the transformative practice we call Zen. Receiving and offering-this is what we are doing each time we inhale and exhale. Breathe in with gratitude breathe out with love. Now breathe out, slowly, with equal appreciation.
Stop trying to get an intellectual lock on something that is vast and boundless, far more than the rational mind can grasp. When the Dalai Lama was asked about Buddhism, he simply said, “My religion is kindness.” We don’t make a big deal about it we don’t even call it religion. Out of this realization flows a natural compassion and wisdom, a peaceful and intuitively appropriate response toward whatever circumstances may arise. Through a dedicated and consistent meditation practice, we can realize that self and other are One, that the conditioned and unconditioned are simultaneous, that absolute and relative are identical. Indeed, the historian Arnold Toynbee said that one of the most significant events of the twentieth century was the movement of Buddhism from East to West. Over the past few decades, it has become very much a part of Western culture. In China, it merged with Taoism and evolved into Ch’an, the Chinese word for meditation, which became “Zen” in Japan. With this flexible and accommodating attitude toward the various cultures and beliefs it encountered, Buddhism was embraced throughout Asia. “Buddha” simply means “awakened one.” His great teaching was that we can all awaken that fundamentally, we are all buddhas- Jewish buddhas, Christian buddhas, Hindu buddhas, Islamic buddhas, Ashanti buddhas, Haudenasaunee buddhas, secular buddhas. It was this path toward realization that was shown some 2,500 years ago by the Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama, who came to be known as Shakyamuni Buddha. The practice of zazen-meditation-is a way of realizing the non-dualistic, vibrant, subtle, and interconnected nature of all life. This direct experience is our birthright. Zen is the direct experience of what we might call ultimate reality, or the absolute, yet it is not separate from the ordinary, the relative. It is not a belief system to which one converts. What is Zen? It’s both something we are-our true nature expressing itself moment by moment-and something we do-a disciplined practice through which we can realize the joy of being.
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