An introduction to Zen Buddhism

FOREWORD

complainofanylackoffollowingamongus.Butifthe"Master"

setsahardtask,whichrequiresmorethanalotofparrottalk,

theEuropean beginstohavedoubts,forthesteeppathofself-

developmentistohimasmournfulanddarkasHell.

Ihavenodoubtthatthesatoriexperiencedoesoccur also

intheWest,forwetoohavemenwhoscentultimateendsand

willsparethemselvesnopainstodrawneartothem.Butthey

will keep silence, not onlyout ofshyness but because they

knowthatany attempt toconveytheir experiences toothers

wouldbehopeless.Forthereisnothinginourcultureapproach-

ingthese aspirations, not eventhe Church, thecustodian of

religious goods. It is in factherfunction to oppose allsuch

extremeexperiences,forthesecanonlybeheterodox.Theonly

movement within our culturewhich partly has, and partly

shouldhave,someunderstandingoftheseaspirationsispsycho-
therapy.Itisthereforenotamatterofchancethatthisforeword
iswrittenbyapsychotherapist.
Taken basically, psychotherapy is a dialectic relationship
betweenthedoctorandthepatient.Itisadiscussionbetween

twospiritualwholes,inwhichallwisdomismerelyatool.The

goalistransformation;notindeedapredetermined,butrather
an indeterminable,change,theonlycriterionofwhich isthe

disappearanceofI-ness.Noeffortsonthepartofthedoctorforce

theexperience.Themosthecandoistomakeeasythepath

ofthepatienttowardstheattainmentofanattitudewhichwill
opposetheleastresistancetothedecisiveexperience. Ifknow-
ledge plays nosmall partin ourWestern procedure, this is
equivalenttotheimportanceofthetraditionalspiritualatmo-

sphereofBuddhisminZen.Zenanditstechniquecouldonly

existon thebasisofBuddhistspiritual culture, andthis isits

premise. You cannot destroy a rationalist intellect that was

neverpresent.AZenadeptisnottheoutcomeofignoranceand

lackofculture.Henceevenwithusithappensnotinfrequently
thataconsciousegoandaconscious,cultivatedunderstanding
must firstbeproducedby therapybeforeonecaneven think
aboutabolishingI-nessorrationalism.Moreover,psychotherapy

isby nomeans dealing withmenwho, like Zenmonks, are

readytomakeanysacrificeforthesakeoftruth,butveryoften

with themost stubbornofall Europeans. Thus thetasks of

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