What Is Zen

What is Zen? Well this discussion could go on forever, or it could not. I will attempt to keep it short and relate the idea of Zen to concepts and examples you may already be familiar with, so that you may draw your own map of the idea. It is important to note, however, that no answer to this question can help you become closer to enlightenment or awakening; it is only through practice and devotion that one arrives at, and maintains, perfect presence. Also, as much as I describe Zen, the words cannot truly reach and grasp the full meaning of Zen.

In the most descriptive sense, Zen is a way, or path to achieve freedom from the judgmental, transient, regretting self, and the ‘maya,’ or concepts and constructs our minds create which actually do not exist. It was created for this very purpose; to escape our perceptions of the future and past, and to live peacefully in the present, recognizing the teaching in every moment. The idea of a ‘way’ to achieve this comes from the Chinese Tao, later to be sculpted by Confucianism and the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, before its migration to Japan. These ways, or ‘Dos’, are simple activities that have surpassed their utilitarian purposes and have risen to the level of an art. The practice of a Do puts one on a path to insight and action with the essential nature of things. Skill in a Do comes from integrating the mind and body; mastery of a Do is achieved when there is no mind and no body, just one functioning entity. The ultimate goal of Zen is a state of non-dualism, an escape from the Cartesian Divide, and an acceptance of the universal nature of inherent wisdom and virtue, through mindfulness of daily experiences, and meditation (zazen) or practice of another Do. Practicing a Do, and constant mindfulness, provide new insights and perspectives on existence, which lead to this non-dual, enlightened state. Ultimately, Zen is concerned with seeking the same answers that all humans seek, only Zen searches for these answers...