ILLOGICAL ZEN
themidstofpouringrainIamnotwet".Thesoulisthusmade
whole,perfect,andfilledwithbliss.
Zendeals\s-ithfactsandnotwiththeirlogical,verbal,pre-
judiced,andlamerepresentations.Directsimplicityisthesoulof
Zen; henceits vitality,freedom, and originality. Christianity
speaksmuchofsimplicityofheart,andsodootherreligions,but
thisdoesnotalwaysmeantobesimple-heartedortobeaSimple
Simon. InZen itmeans not to get entangled inintellectual
subtleties,nottobecarriedawaybyphilosophicalreasoningthat
issoofteningenuousandfullofsophistry.Itmeans,again, to
recognizefactsasfactsandtoknowthatwordsarewordsand
nothing else.Zen oftencompares themind toa mirrorfree
fromstains.Tobesimple,therefore,accordingtoZen,willbeto
keepthismirroralwaysbrightandpureandreadytoreflect
simplyandabsolutelywhatevercomesbeforeit.Theresultwill
betoacknowledgeaspadetobeaspadeandatthesametimenottobeaspade.Torecognizethefirstonlyisacommon-sense
view,andthereisnoZenuntilthesecondisalsoadmittedalong
withthefirst.Thecommon-senseviewisflatandtame,whereas
thatofZenisalwaysoriginalandstimulating.EachtimeZenis
assertedthingsgetvitalized;thereisanactofcreation.Zenthinkswearetoomuchofslavestowordsandlogic.So
longasweremainthusfetteredwearemiserableandgothrough
untoldsuffering.Butifwewanttoseesomethingreallyworth
knowing,thatisconducivetoourspiritualhappiness,wemust
endeavouronceforalltofreeourselvesfromallconditions;we
mustseeifwecannotgainanewpointofviewfromwhichthe
worldcanbesurveyedinitswholenessandlifecomprehended
inwardly. This consideration has compelled one to plunge
oneselfdeepinto theabyssofthe"Nameless" and takehold
direcdyofthespiritasitisengagedinthebusinessofcreatingthe
world.Hereisnologic,nophilosophizing;hereisnotwistingof
facts tosuitour artificialmeasures; hereis no murderingofhumannatureinordertosubmitittointellectualdissections
;theonespiritstandsfacetofacewiththeotherspiritliketwo
mirrorsfacing each other, and thereis nothingto intervene
betweentheirmutualreflections.
InthissenseZenispre-eminentlypractical.Ithasnothing
todowithabstractionsorwithsubdetiesofdialectics.Itseizesthe
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