162
have a Buddha mind, freed from
egocentric, conceptual thinking.
This is innate, but hidden by the
clutter of the small mind. People
gain nothing by discovering their
Buddha mind, they simply recognize
what they have had all along.
Zen teacher Dogen said that
the true self is not the superficial
ego that each person has now, but
the original face he or she had
before they were born and molded
by experience. It is only when
people develop their own faces that
they see themselves as separate
entities and become egocentric.
Dogen is therefore suggesting that
people should strive to recognize
who they were before they were
conditioned by life and experience.
Zen in Japan
There are two main forms of Zen:
Rinzai and Soto. Rinzai Zen was
established in Japan in the 12th
century by Eisai, and reformed
in the 18th century by Hakuin.
This school introduced the Zen
view that the world is an illusion
and that reality is in fact a simple,
indivisible unity. Zen has no
scriptures or formal teachings; it
is an oral teaching, a tradition of
meditation passed from teacher
to pupil—hence the importance of
practicing only under the guidance
of an experienced teacher.
A key feature of Rinzai Zen,
introduced by Hakuin, is the use
of koans—unanswerable questions
that shatter conventional thinking.
Probably the best-known koan is
Hakuin’s, “What is the sound of
one hand clapping?” Those who
think they know the answer to a
koan should think again, and let
go of all preconceived notions.
Rationally examining a koan, or a
Zen dialogue (a mondo) is unlikely
to yield great insight, since it is
too easy to view it only within the
parameters of personal discursive
thought. A Zen teacher will try to
guard against that happening.
As a result of Zen practice, a
person may suddenly experience
satori—insight or enlightenment.
This is not a one-time or permanent
state of enlightenment, but a
momentary experience that mayZEN INSIGHTS THAT GO BEYOND WORDS
be repeated many times. It is said
to happen almost as if by accident;
it cannot be forced, because
wanting to achieve satori is a form
of grasping. Zen does not seek to
define reality or the nature of satori.
Soto Zen was developed in
Japan in the 13th century by the
teacher Dogen, who had traveled
in China and there encountered a
meditation tradition called Ts’ong
Tung. His form of meditation is
very different from the Rinzai form.
Instead of trying to trigger sudden
insight, Soto Zen is based on sitting
meditation (zazen) and a more
gradual process of enlightenment.
Soto considered that religious
traditions and rituals could be
dispensed with: enlightenment
could be achieved simply through
the practice of zazen. This involves
periods of sitting in an upright,
cross-legged position, facing
a blank wall, interspersed with
reflective walking, known as kinhin.
In meditation, the mind is cleared
of its flow of ideas, so that the
process of sitting is exactly whatSitting and meditating is all that
is required to achieve enlightenment
in Soto Zen. The stilling of the mind
dispels the illusion of self.If you understand the
first word of Zen you
will know the last word.
The last word and the
first word: they are
not one word.
Mumon