Zen Buddhism is quite an unusual teaching. Historians and philosophers today debate whether it is a religion or a philosophy because Zen denies any external rituals, does not require special clothing or diet, and does not involve philosophical debates or religious revelations.
The entire Zen literature consists of anecdotes from the lives of Zen teachers and their students. These anecdotes, though often humorous and full of wisdom, may appear incomprehensible or even meaningless, but that is not true, of course. Zen Buddhism actually fully follows the philosophical concept of Mahayana Buddhism, relying primarily on the teachings contained in the Prajnaparamita Sutras. Zen does not have books because the teaching essentially boils down to the direct guidance of students by teachers. In this context, anecdotes about teachers served as the basis for practical instruction to new generations of students, but to think that they contain the complete teachings of Zen Buddhism would be completely wrong.
It is impossible to understand Zen without a basic knowledge of Buddhist teachings. According to Buddhism, o The world is an illusion represented by Mara, a deity of extraordinary beauty and allure, which has the power to blind mankind with its radiance. However, this brilliance and beauty are not real, but rather a part of the illusory world. Mara is a synonym for our own vision of reality, which is more a result of our desires and intentions, of how we want it to be, rather than what it really is. In China and Japan, the concept of illusion is presented through paper doors: they exist for those who have not tried to pass through them, as they believe the doors are solid and impenetrable. However, they only pose a problem until we realize that they are made of paper.
Zen Buddhism is a philosophical religion whose main goal is enlightenment, or breaking through the paper doors of illusion. In other words, the goal is to understand oneself and the world around us in order to live in harmony with our own nature. It is necessary to recognize which part of us is made of paper and find the strength to discard it, leaving only what is part of our true being. To succeed in this, It is necessary to bring light into one’s own being, to perfect self-mastery, which is primarily achieved through the realization of virtues. That is why life is understood as a path, a search based on moral rectitude. Only through perfection, when one obtains the brilliance of light devoid of the darkness of illusions, that light gives a person the ability to take an unimaginable step – the realization of the metaphysical reality that exists beyond all deceitful illusions of the world. The moment in which this happens is called satori by Zen Buddhists, enlightenment, and the result is the attainment of nirvana – which literally means “emerging from an impenetrable forest” in which one has dwelled until then.
The metaphysical reality is the root and source of everything, in it there is no duality or any divisions, and nothing can be said about it, nor can it be understood and described in any way comprehensible to the mind. That is why Buddhists simply call it sunyata, emptiness, whereby sunyata does not denote empty space, but rather an incomprehensible whole without parts.
According to Buddhist teachings, the mind is Oh, how differentiates things. In it, always present are the observer and what is being observed. Mind is part of a whole, and since the whole is the sum of different parts and therefore more than any individual part, it cannot be understood by any of its parts. Thus, the nature of the whole is empty of all conceivable concepts related to its parts. That is why Zen Buddhism is not interested in the path of the mind and does not seek a rational explanation of reality. This is the reason why teachings intended for students contain paradoxes and seem meaningless, because the aim is to transcend the limits of the mind and develop the ability for direct perception of reality.
Zen instruction takes place in such a way that the teacher asks a question to which the student needs to give a satisfactory answer. Among the known questions are: “What is the sound of one hand?” “When a bull reaches the edge of a cliff, its head, horns, and hooves go through, why doesn’t its tail go through?” “When you do not think of good and do not think of evil, what does your original face, which you had at the beginning, look like?”
(Note: I have not made any changes to the original text as there are no obvious synonyms that can be used without altering the meaning.) “Before birth?” these questions are called koans. Koan literally means “impassable passage” because it is impassable for all streams of thoughts, but can still be passed when the ability to directly and intuitively comprehend, which Zen Buddhists call prajna, is achieved.
MONDO
Mondo is a private conversation between a Zen Buddhism teacher and student. In some Zen Buddhism schools, an immediate response without thinking was required during mondo. Through mondo, the teacher checks if the student has reached realization. Depending on this, the conversation appears more or less meaningful. Over time, a proper ritualistic form of conversation developed, and the most brilliant of them were remembered and became examples for future generations of students.
* * *
During the Tang dynasty, Yikwan, a master from Kozenji, was asked by his student:
“Does a dog have Buddha nature?”
“Yes, it does,” the master replied.
“Do you have Buddha nature?” was the next question.
“No, I don’t.”
“If it is said that all beings are imbued with Buddha nature, how “Is it that you don’t have it?”
“That’s because I am not what you call ‘all beings’.”
“If you are not that, are you Buddha then?”
“No, I am not even that.”
“Well, what are you then, after all?”
“I am not anything.”
After contemplating, the disciple asked:
“Can that be seen or comprehended?”
The master replied:
“It is beyond conceptualizing or proving and that is why it is called inconceivable.”
***
Juten asked the monk: “Where are you from?”
“I come from a monastery located on the western bank of the river where the Kwannon sanctuary is.”
“Have you seen Kwannon?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Did you see it on the right or left side?”
“When it comes to seeing, there is neither left nor right,” concluded the monk.
Buddhism, like many other teachings, distinguishes between the subjective and objective mind. The subjective mind has an egocentric view of reality, observing the world from one angle – oneself, and therefore has limited ability to see. This is why two observers looking at the same tree from different sides will have different perceptions of that tree. Furthermore, these perceptions will be colored by what one wants to see, or what one gives priority to. The subjective mind, therefore, does not give an accurate picture of reality.
The objective mind is capable of observing things from all angles and getting a much more accurate picture of what it observes, but it is also limited. Since it is always divided into the observer and the observed, the mind is unable to grasp the essence of things and therefore its perception is incomplete. In order for it to be complete, it is necessary for the observer and the observed to merge into one. This can only be achieved through the development of intuition in which the differences between the observer and the observed are lost. Intuition in this context is not a premonition or seeing the future, but the highest form of knowledge available to humans. For Buddhists, it is the possibility of realizing one’s true nature.
A favorite Buddhist illustration of the nature of prajna intuition is the image of the moon reflected in ever-changing forms of water. Prajna is self-realization of the wholeness in which unity exists. A multitude and multitude unity. In this context, prajna and shunyata become synonymous.
It is impossible to explain what intuition is, although – as Buddhists say – every person possesses it potentially. Those who have developed this ability can recognize it in others, but cannot rationally explain it to others because it transcends the logic of the mind. Zen teacher Mumon wrote: “You will know, but only for yourself; like a mute person who has dreamt a dream that they cannot tell anyone.”
Precisely because the nature of direct realization cannot be explained logically, in Zen literature, we find illogical “explanations” of prajna intuition, such as in the Prajnaparamita Sutra: “What is known as prajna is not prajna and therefore it is known as prajna.” “I am not I and therefore I am I.” “Buddha said: my teaching is to think the thought of non-thought, to speak the speech of non-speaking, to practice the discipline of non-discipline.” In this spirit, Fu Daishi wrote a poem:
I go empty-handed,
but I have a shovel in my hands
Walking I, riding on a cow,
When I cross the bridge,
Behold, the bridge flows, not the river.
Another characteristic of the primal intuition highlighted by Zen masters is its fluidity. It is direct, with no room for thinking, because as soon as one starts thinking, the primal intuition withdraws, disappears. Hence, the teacher’s answers sometimes surprise, as in the koan about Tozan where a monk asks Tozan, “What is Buddha?” and he answers without thinking, “Three kilograms of flax.”
The aforementioned teacher Mumon wrote: “He who relies on words and tries to understand Zen through explanations is like a nonsensical person trying to hit the Moon with a stick or scratch his foot through the sole of a shoe.”
Let us, therefore, listen to the advice and refrain from speculating about the nature of intuition. This advice also points to something else, that there is another way of understanding Zen. Mondoi, one-on-one conversations between teacher and student, whose purpose was to verify the student’s level of realization, and koans that were used in those occasions. The teachings were given to the students and were intended for students who had already passed certain stages of internal development because the perfection of prajna is the last in a series of six perfections that the student must master.
The perfections are virtues that the student must fully adopt. The first five virtues are virtues of consciousness, heart, and will, which enable the student to purify and bring light into their own being. Only when these virtues are adopted is the student ready for the great adventure of conquering prajna. Without understanding this, many “explorers” of Zen today think that it is necessary to reject the mind and logic and strive to awaken prajna. But Zen does not speak of rejecting the mind, but rather transcending it. However, one cannot transcend what has not been previously adopted.
Zen Buddhism leaves an impression of ease, kindness, and tolerance, and this is quite accurate in terms of the teacher and student’s interaction with other beings. But if we look at how they were towards themselves, we will see a very strict and uncompromising attitude, in complete harmony with the perfections. The first of them is called Dana – giving, selfless work, as a result of love and mercy for all beings. The second is Shila – moral righteousness that requires harmony of thoughts, words, and actions. The third is Kshanti – patience and perseverance, infused with love in fulfilling responsibilities towards oneself and other beings. The fourth is Viraga – indifference to pleasure and pain, victory over illusion, perceiving only truth. The fifth is Virya – internal energy that enables courage and boldness in fulfilling what is necessary and beneficial, without succumbing to selfish desires. The sixth is Dhyana – meditation, a state of inner peace in all situations, enabling proper focus on oneself and the world around them.
KOAN
In Zen terminology, a koan can refer to an anecdote about an old teacher, a conversation between teacher and student, a statement or question uttered by a teacher, used as a means to realize the ultimate truth of Zen. A koan represents an unsolvable logical problem, a spiritual exercise that allows one to transcend conventional thinking and reach a higher level of understanding. The koan for transcending intellectual awareness, which the teacher assigns to the student at the end of mondo. After contemplating their koan, the student goes back to have another conversation with the teacher, while the contents of their conversation remain secret. A koan is a question that confuses the student’s consciousness, aiming to ignite intuitive understanding within themselves. Although there are many koans, enlightenment can be achieved by solving just one.
* * *
A monk asks Chao-Chou (Joshu):
“Why did Bodhidharma come to China?”
Chao-Chou responds:
“A cypress tree in the garden.”
* * *
Chu (Kokushi), the emperor’s teacher, calls for his servant: “Oshine!”
“Yes,” Oshin promptly replies.
“Oshine!” Chu calls again.
“Yes,” Oshin replies again.
“Oshine!”
“Yes.”
Chu then says:
“I thought I had made a mistake towards you, but actually, you have made a mistake towards me.”
The term “zen” is just the Japanese reading of the Chinese ideogram for “dhyan” – meditation, but this expression should not be understood as a call for asceticism or withdrawal into solitude. as a constant opportunity for growth and self-discovery. It is through facing life’s circumstances, needs, and problems that a person can truly develop their abilities and measure their success. In this sense, one’s achievements can be seen as genuine and authentic. Like a journey, a search, in which one learns to live more and more authentically with each day and each new experience.
To illustrate this truth, let’s tell the story of young students from the West who came to Japan in the middle of the last century to study Zen. One of the first tasks they were given was cleaning the toilets. Thinking that this unpleasant job was intended to test the genuineness of their desire to learn, they were deeply surprised when they found their teacher doing the same. Astonished, they asked, “Teacher, why are you cleaning the toilets?” “Because they are dirty,” was the answer.