An Introduction To Zen Buddhism Research Paper

After its creation in India in the sixth century B.C.E., Buddhism gained popularity in China around the first century C.E. Buddhism was accepted and pursued wholeheartedly by a portion of the Chinese population; however, many were largely opposed to the doctrine and believed it should be eradicated. The hostile way in which the Chinese imperialists treated the growing number of Buddhists in their country contradicted with the ideals of Buddhism: to create a better society. They sought out to respect others and do good works; however, they were disrespected and rejected from society. Due to the spread of Buddhism to China, believers of the teachings of the Buddha were hated because they were different; however, they changed the ways of their society for the better.

A Japanese philosopher we have studies extensively is Dogen. He is a 13th century Japanese’s Buddhist priest who founded the Sōtō School of Zen in Japan. Dogen focused on the importance of the sitting meditation of zazen as a method of achieving Zen and enlightenment though not thinking/ thinking beyond. Dogen’s ideas differed to that of the Sixth Patriarch in The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch. This Buddhist script that was composed in China during the 8th to 13th century focused on teachings and stories of śīla (conduct), dhyāna (meditation) and prajñā (wisdom). The interesting points of discussion between these two different approaches to Zen teaching are the Buddha nature, method of attaining enlightenment, self and other,

Buddhist religion there is one “minister” type of spiritual being that every buddhist worship and

How can we begin to understand such a diverse and ancient religion? The width of Buddhism is immense. It is a religion without any written rules. Buddhism is based on self-discovery. Buddhists are born with the quest to find their true form. They believe that they are prisoners of the physical plain until they reach nirvana. Nirvana is the ultimate goal for a Buddhist (Buddhism, 2007). It is the state that saves them from all suffering and evil. They believe that only nirvana can remove them from the never-ending circle of life.

Let go and enlightenment will come to you. This is the same underlying concept that Zen and Buddhism rely on. If one focuses too much on meditation then he will never actually clear your head and reach the blissful goal of enlightenment. His master explains this as, “The right art is purposeless, aimless! The more obstinately you try to learn how to shoot the arrow for the sake of hitting the goal, the less you will succeed in the one and the further the other will recede.” (Herrigel p. 31) So, for Herrigel to learn the art of archery he must cease to strive towards hitting the target and stop grasping at his goal. Instead he must focus only on the moment and let the goal come to him.

The topic of Zen Buddhism and understanding how it fits into a framework that was designed to

Later on, the Japanese adapted another religion, Buddhism. Like Shinto, Buddhism is also a polytheistic religion. Moreover, because Shinto does not explain the afterlife while Buddhism does, these two religions co-existed in Japanese culture. Many people adapt to both religions' belief system at the same time. Zen Buddhism became widely adapted by the samurais later on during the Warrior Period. Zen Buddhism focuses on the discipline of individuals, one of the many reasons why samurais are seen as very refined warriors. They are often portrayed as being able to sense an enemy's attacks before they actually happen. This is an exaggeration of a samurai's ability to concentrate and focus on a goal. The samurais often use a Zen Buddhism technique called "Za Zen" to help clear their mind. A practical religion, Zen Buddhism helps to enhance self-discipline and improve one's self-concentration. One of the teachings of Zen Buddhism is "Bushin," meaning the clarification of the mind. A cleared mind allows the samurais to concentrate better on the task at hand and respond faster to enemies' attacks, make Zen Buddhism a very attractive religion to these warriors. Martial arts in Japan today also stress the importance of concentration. However, Bushin no longer applies to solely concentration in combat, but to all forms of concentration. For example, practicing martial arts is said to effective for improving one's performance at work due to better concentration

Zen Buddhism teaches of a concept called no thought, or “no-thought”. This is, of course, not a literal absence of thought. It is rather a detachment from the thoughts of one’s own mind. This is echoed in Hagakure, in the doctrine of “No Mind”. “No Mind” is a mind that is pure, free of anger, fear or self-importance. A mind that is not occupied by complications such as emotions or worrying about the morality of a situation, is open to anything, and is a state in which a person is totally free to react to an opponent quickly and decisively. This state is essential to a samurai, and without it he cannot serve his master to the best of his ability.

With all of it’s lofty, mystical terms and ideas, Zen Buddhism can seem very hard to talk about much less understand and follow. The beauty of Zen, though, is its practicality,

Zen, also known as Ch’an Buddhism in China, is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that was established in China about 1500 years ago. Zen is a form of religious practice of mainly concentrating the mind to a single point in which then results in self-realization and/or enlightenment. Zen philosophy is interpreted that all humans are capable of reaching enlightenment, which is generally blocked by ignorance. The idea emphasizes enlightened masters over forms of scriptures, and is the least “academic” of all the Buddhist schools.

The Buddhist path requires courage, patience, flexibility and intelligence. Compassion includes qualities of sharing, readiness to give comport, sympathy, concern, caring. In Buddhism, we can really understand others, when we can really understand ourselves, through wisdom. Buddhist teachings can be understood and tested by anyone. Buddhism teaches that they solutions to our problems are within us not outside. The Buddha asked all his followers not to take his word as true, but rather to test the teachings for themselves. (Brian White)

However, it is far from being the only links that one can make between Zen and Pure Land Buddhism. Indeed, most features of the path and the characteristics of enlightenment in Zen have a similar counterpart in Pure Land Buddhism. First of all, and perhaps most flagrantly, conventional teachings are also eschewed in favor of less conventional means in Pure Land Buddhism. Just like Zen, in order to attain spiritual realizations (in Pure Land’s case, shinjin), mind training is necessary. The practice prescribed is extremely similar to Zen. Instead of a “live word”, Pure Land practitioners constantly repeat a phrase (this practice is called nembutsu) for months, years or even decades. Eventually, the repetition becomes automatic, going as far as doing “nembutsu while yawning” (Li, Apr 4., 2016). Just like Zen’s kensho, it is at this point that the Pure Land practitioner can reach shinjin. In Pure Land Buddhism, the realizations also transcend simple logic and reason: “it is not merely belief as intellectual assent, but strong, inner conviction” (Bloom 1999, 230). Because realizations transcend conventional thinking, conventional knowledge is also seen as detrimental in Pure Land Buddhism: “Recognition of our ignorance is connected with our becoming truthful. Since we can become united with each other in truthfulness, ‘genuine trust’ or spiritual oneness is actually truthfulness” (Maida 1989, 32). Also like Zen, spiritual realizations are sudden and not gradual: “Shinran’s teaching is absolute Other Power and transcending or immediate (ocho)” (Bloom 1999, 231). Finally, the traditional monastic practices and rules are also disregarded in favor of a lay life. This is due to another inversion from Shinran. Traditionally, Pure Land Buddhism was regarded as the easy and inferior way for people who couldn’t engage in more serious and demanding practice. However, Shinran, because

In meditation the Buddhist trains the mind to better understand oneself. By constant practice and meditation the more wisdom is gained. As wisdom is gained obstacles preventing enlightenment vanish to the point that the Buddhist can enter a trance like state or altered state of consciousness.

Instead of seeing a "soul" or a "mind" as the seat of personal identity, in Buddhism, the self is to be found in processes. Meditation, then, has the therapeutic effect of disengaging the practitioner from self-consciousness, freeing the mind. The view of the world without the construct of a permanent essence enables one to "experience reality as it really is" (3). It is important to note that Buddhism does not distinguish mental processes from other senses. Just as seeing takes a visual object, the mind takes a mental object (1). Just as the eye is free to take in different visual objects, the mind is free, as well. While meditation aims to develop "single-pointedness of mind," it is ultimately to free it from external objects. The focus is on the process of breathing, in Zen, and, eventually, one can reach a state where one is not considering anything (2). Zen considers the "blank-mind" stage to be a higher form of consciousness because it is free from attachments.

Michael Kampan O' Reilly states in Art Beyond the West that Zen Buddhism teaches one can find