If Asked, Most Religions can be EXPLAINED,including Buddhism. But Can ZEN? What is ZEN put simply??

ashcatman

If someone asked what buddhism is. Buddhists could all answer, and they would probably give simular answers as to what it was and teached.

But Whats the deal with ZEN? Can ZEN be explained easily? Is Zen a specific thing? (without talking in riddles - even if the riddles are not really riddles, they are still riddle-like) So talking in complete English, WHAT IS ZEN?

Is it something that cannot be explained?
Is it something that one can only have an opinion about it?
Is it just living in the NOW (if so then why dont Zen masters just say this - like Eckhart Tolle in Power of Now Book)

Is it about realizing that we actually know nothing - (if so, thats also what Socrates said and taught)
Is it about doing everything Mindfully? (if so, again why not just teach people to live with full awareness instead of riddle talking)

Do you KNOW what Zen is or is this just going to be your opinion?
Please state both if you can, Whether its your opinion on Zen or whether It is Fact about Zen.

Thanks everyone.

:coffee: :coffee: :coffee: :coffee: :rant: :coffee:

ashcatman

Sorry about all them faces. ^^^^(im still quite new) lol

taiyaki

zen is just this. but minds avoid what is. thus the buddha spoke, but he didn't really say much.
he just spoke to help your sick mind. a sick mind is one that is stuck with delusion, aversion, and greed.
zen points at just this. one must learn that all teachings and all words point to things that are not definable, yet the grass is still green.

zen is not a religion, nor is truth a religion. what zen points to is beyond religion, beyond dualistic thinking, yet encompasses the bubbles.

direct experience is what zen aims at. no dogma, no memorization of scripture. directly experience and study your mind right now. zen is not a philosophy. zen is a process of letting go by being and watching our minds. all the dharma is presented right in front of us, yet we avoid it. the rules have been in play for a long time and we've been burned by the fire many times, yet here we are. we keep touching fire expecting new results.

shut up and sit.

this is my opinion and nothing else. who is the one reading this?

aura

Zen is a practical method of jumpstarting and emptying the lazy self-absorbed mind in order to begin the realization of higher mind, especially for those who think they already have all the answers (often for everyone else but themselves).
It is not the only method of doing this, but it is a valid method of doing this.

As for fact v. opinion...
if I say the sky is blue, would you consider that "a fact" or an "opinion"?

Cinorjer

Believe it or not, but you will get different answers depending on what school of Zen you follow. Some would say that Zen is only meditation, and that anything else said about it is trying to cram the ineffible into words. You might as well silently hold out a flower in answer.

However, an honest attempt at answering what distinguishes Zen from other Buddhist practices would be to say that Zen is a process of discovering the Buddha-nature within each of us, through meditation and cultivating compassion. We see this Buddha-nature as being the essential nature of the mind itself.

In my own branch of Zen, this is referenced by saying Zen is asking "What am I?", nothing more or less. Other schools of Zen will put it different.

Hope this helps.

Cloud

Zen just cuts out the intellectualism. It's not about reading books/sutras, but about the meditative path and the master directly pointing you toward reality. It's a simplified method, but not for everyone obviously.

And you do need a teacher/master for Zen, for just that reason. They play a more central role in the student's development than other traditions.

seeker242

Zen is the direct experience of the explanations, which is why such heavy emphasis is placed on actual meditation practice and personal interaction with a teacher. As for the question of "Can Zen be explained", I like the strawberry analogy which goes something like this: How can you really explain to someone what a strawberry tastes like, if that someone has never tasted a strawberry before?

Vincenzi

Zen is Satori.

zenff

Can most religions be explained?
That’s only true on a superficial level I suppose.

Take the concept of “God” for instance. Is He a man? If so what does that imply? Does he have a long white beard? Certain chromosomes maybe; genitals even? Or at least he has two legs? Does He think in Hebrew or in Latin or in Arab?
What kind of nonsense is it really to make an image of God?
Okay so we know what He wants? How exactly does that work?
I don’t know but I have to stop myself here before I lose connection to your post. But I hope I make a point: the concept of God is not so simple to explain. Not if you’re going about it with a questioning mind.

Now we’re getting to Zen.
It is the practice (not the theory) of liberation.
On this path you must bring this questioning mind, which means there will be no simple explanations any longer. But that’s not all of it.
You also need a compassionate heart.
And some determination.
And maybe a good sense of humor?

Shutoku

A special transmission outside of the scriptures
No dependance upon words and letters
pointing directly at the essence of man
Seeing one's nature.

That of course was Bodhidharma's description, and I think it is fairly acurate.

I am Jodo shinshu, but started off practicing Soto Zen for a few years first. For me "just sitting" showed me that everything is perfect just as it is. I actually remember the precise moment I knew this, after zazen, looking out the window at an apple tree. Nothing special, just a moment of seeing things as they are and not covered over with my opinions and ideas and distractions.
The only thing I would be big headed enough to quibble with Bodhidharma on is the word "Transmission." Now of course that word is important in Zen lineage, but I think maybe the word "realization" might be better.
But again...who am I to say when it isn't even my tradition.