An introduction to Zen Buddhism

FOREWORD

nomoretroubledbyangerandhatred,nomorebittenby

envyandambition,nomorestungbysorrowandchagrin,

nomoreoverwhelmedbymelancholyanddespair,"etc.

ThatishowanOriental,himselfadiscipleofZen,describes

the essence ofenlightenment. It mustbe admitted thatthis
passagewouldneedonlythemostminutealterationsinorder
nottobeoutofplaceinanyChristianmysticalbookofdevo-

tion.Yetsomehowitfailstohelpusasregardsunderstanding

thesatoriexperiencedescribedbythisall-embracingcasuistry.

PresumablyNukariya is speaking to Western rationalism, of

whichhehimselfhasacquired agooddose,andthatiswhy

it all soundsso flatlyedifying. Theabstruseobscurityofthe

Zenanecdotesispreferabletothisadaptation:adusumDelphini;

itconveysagreatdealmore,whilesayingless.
^enisanythingbutaphilosophyinthe Westernsenseoftheword.^
ThisistheopinionexpressedbyRudolfOttoinhisintroduction

toOhasama'sbookon ^en,whenhesaysthatNukariyahas

fittedthemagicorientalworldofideasintoourWesternphilo-
sophiccategories,andconfuseditwiththese.Ifpsycho-physical

parallelism, the most wooden ofall doctrines, is invoked in

order to explain this mystical intuition of Not-twoness
{^fichtzweiheit)andOnenessandthecoincidentiaoppositorium,one
is completelyejectedfrom thesphereofkoanandkwatsuand
satori}Itisfarbettertoallowoneselftobecomedeeplyimbued

beforehandwiththeexoticobscurityoftheZenanecdotes,and

tobearinmindthewholetimethatsatoriisamysteriumineffabile,

asindeedtheZenmasterswishittobe.Betweentheanecdotes

andthemysticalenlightenmentthereis,forourunderstanding,

agulf,thepMDSsibilityofbridgingwhichcanatbestbeindicated

butneverinpracticeachieved.'Onehasthefeelingoftouching

up>ona truesecret,notsomethingthathasbeenimaginedor

pretended;thisisnotacaseofmystifyingsecrecy,butratherof

'"Zenisneitherpsychologynorphilosophy."

OttoinOhasama:^<n,p.viii.

*IfinspiteofthisIattempt"explanationa"inwhatfollows,Iamstill

fullyawarethatinthesenseofsatcriwhatIsaycanonlybeuseless.Icouldnot

resist,however,theattempttomanoeuvreourWesternunderstandingatleast

intotheproximityofanunderstanding—atasksodifficultthatinsodoing

onemusttakeupononeselfcertaincrimesagainstthespiritofZen.

II