Basho Morals

Buddhism is a major Asian religion studied and practiced in countries such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Although Buddhism is a growing religion throughout the world, in particular, the practice of meditation is spreading in the West. The United States has a center for Buddhists in Hawaii and New York and also a Buddhist community has been established in California. (Hewitt, 13-14) But even closer to home for most is the practicing of Zen Buddhism on the basketball court by former Chicago Bulls and present Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson. In this essay I will discuss how Jackson has incorporated some of the practices of Zen Buddhism into his and the players of his teams lives and how it has been effective for the

Bernie Glassman, founder of the Zen Peacemakers Order, grew up in a Jewish family and was working as an aeronautical engineer before beginning to study Buddhism under Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi Roshi in 1967. Since becoming a Zen teacher in 1976, Glassman has changed the face of Socially Engaged Buddhism in America through his efforts to increase awareness of social issues by bearing witness to them, and through that, minimizing suffering. The main purpose of the Zen Peacemakers’ Order is the same as the main purpose of Buddhism: to minimize the suffering experienced in the world, both for oneself and for others. The ZPO views social action as a form of spiritual practice. Bernie Glassman and the rest of the American founding teachers of this organization

Marc Rosenbush’s film, Zen Noir (2004), is at first glance a film thoroughly ensconced in the themes of Zen Buddhism. Set in a dark and brooding film noir atmosphere, the film depicts the story of a deeply troubled detective, at the end of his rope, who finds himself at a Zen monastery in order to solve a murder. But once there, he realizes that things are not quite what they seem to be. As the film unfolds, we find that the world Rosenbush has created for us is wildly symbolic, and it becomes clear that the monastery is a symbol of the detective’s psyche and that he was not investigating a murder, but his own fear of death and loss. If this introspective, psychological element of the film is recognized, the Buddhist themes of the film become conflated with allegories of navigating the Western psyche. It is the contention of this paper that when the psychological themes of this film are investigated, we will find that the alleged Buddhist theme of enlightenment in the film must compete with a symbolic depiction of Jungian individuation.

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,

Buddhism originated in the early Fifth century BCE, from the teachings of Siddhartha Buddha (Fisher, 2005). Plagued by the desire to help end human suffering, Buddha reached a state of pure enlightenment showing him the way to end earthly suffering. Through meditation, people can control the desires of their human nature. By gaining control of our desires we can end our suffering. He taught his wisdom to all that wanted to learn. After his death, three main forms of Buddhism emerged; there was the Theravada’s, the Mahayana’s, and the Zen Buddhists (Fisher, 2005). For the sake of this report, the local Buddhist

The book Buddhism Plain and Simple, by Steve Hagen, caught my attention and became more interesting to me than I thought. I have always heard of the religion Buddhism, but I never knew what it was all about. I never thought that Buddhism was as huge as it is. I knew that it existed in other countries, but I never knew what exact countries. Many of the views in this book surprised me and the book taught me a lot about morals and better ways to live your life. The word “ Awareness” is talked heavily all through this book. For Buddhists, this is probably the most important aspect in their religion.

Buddhism is a major Asian religion studied and practiced in countries such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Although Buddhism is a growing religion throughout the world, in particular, the practice of meditation is spreading in the West. The United States has a center for Buddhists in Hawaii and New York and also a Buddhist community has been established in California. (Hewitt, 13-14) But even closer to home for most is the practicing of Zen Buddhism on the basketball court by former Chicago Bulls and present Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson. In this essay I will discuss how Jackson has incorporated some of the practices of Zen Buddhism into his and the players of his teams lives and how it has been effective for

Soko Morinaga was a Japanese liberal arts student who called up to the front line during World War II. At that time, he lost his parents, family’s land, and his trust in the world. Soko idled away his time for some days and decided to go to Zen temples. First, Soko went to meet Goto Zuigan Roshi, Master of Daishuin temple. After his master training him with trust, he retook his trust for others, especially for Master Roshi. Also, he made a vow to his master that to become a Zen monk. Then, Soko went to Daitokuji monastery. After few days of ordeal, Soko was allowed to enter to Daitokuji monastery. Soko had hard training and became a monk at Daitokuji monastery. At Daitokuji，Master Zuigan showed the meaning of trust for Soko. Trust can be categorized into three classes: trust in the world, trust in others, and self-confidence. In the essay “My Struggle To Become A Zen Monk, ” by introduced theme of trust and how it relates to the human problem of social trust.

Zen in the Art of Archery, by Eugen Herrigel describes the ritualistic arts of discipline and focus that the Zen religion focuses around. In this book, Herrigel describes many aspects of how archery is, in fact, not a sport, but an art form, and is very spiritual to those in the east. The process he describes shows how he overcame his initial inhibitions and began to look toward new ways of seeing and understanding. In the beginning of the book Herrigel tells us that he is writing about a ritual and religious practice, “whose aim consists in hitting a spiritual goal, so that fundamentally the marksman aims at himself and may even succeed in hitting himself.” (Herrigel p. 4) Through his studies, the author discovers that within the Zen

“What does Eastern Religions mean to Americans?” Starting in the 19th century, Buddhism began to make its way to America through the immigration of the Chinese whom brought their religious traditions with them. Buddhism continued to gain popularity in America when Buddhist texts, as well as Buddhist teachers, were brought here to share and spread their religion. It wasn’t until the late 1950’s/early 1960’s that we see the interest in Buddhism, particularly Zen Buddhism, blossom throughout the country. Through the memoir “Sacred Hoops” by Phil Jackson, an NBA player and coach, we are able to see how Zen Buddhism not only altered his life, as well as his players, but how the religion also adapts to American culture. From reading both “Sacred Hoops” and learning about Buddhism throughout this semester, I would argue that Eastern religions, specifically Zen Buddhism, is not only a way for Americans to escape the reality of American culture but also provides a complete alternative to Christianity and other similar religions that are predominate in America.

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, 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.

Zen Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism are considered as two popular schools in Mahayana Buddhism. The two are regarded as polar opposites. In this paper, I argue that Zen Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism are not entirely different, they still have underlying similarities instead.

Even though Zen and Pure Land Buddhism are usually considered to be quite different, they are actually part of the same type of Buddhism, Mahayana, and thus have an underlying similarity. This essay will argue that, in particular, the Mahayana concepts of non-duality and no-self are present in both schools, and that the ways employed in each school to reach their respective goals can be analyzed in a similar fashion, proving that these two schools are part of, rather than deviations of, Mahayana Buddhism.

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.