Zen Flesh, Zen Bones. Pure Land

Transcription

1 Zen Flesh, Zen Bones Kupperman & Koller 1 Pure Land Started by Honen ( CE) Devoted his life to chanting the name Amida Buddha Namo Amida Butsu means homage to infinite light Practice is called Nembutsu, Japanese for Buddha recitation Started the school because he thought the end times (Age of Mappo) were coming He thought Tien-tai required too much knowledge and discipline for the average person So, he came up with a school that promised an ease of suffering and liberation to the peasant class 2

2 Shinran and Pure Land Shinran, a disciple of Honen, stressed the superiority of faith in Other Power (tariki) over self-discipline, Self Power (jiriki), as a path to enlightenment All that is needed to attain enlightenment is practicing Nembutsu Amita Buddha promised to save all sentient beings Chanting the name will gain one entrance into the Pure Land, the western land beyond Pure Land is not Zen 3 Zazen Zazen (sitting meditation) is a primary discipline of Zen Buddhism Zazen teaches mindfulness and the means of escaping a life of suffering The practice requires complete control of one s appendages and torso Breathing is controlled Using concentration techniques, the mind is calmed, quieted, and unified Similarly, the emotions are brought under control and harmonized with the mind Once achieving the above, the goal is to cultivate a deep silence and let go of dualistic thought and cravings 4

3 Aims of Zazen Three aims: 1. Zazen increases the ability and power of concentration to focus one's thoughts and avoid distractions 2. Zazen is a means of self-realization and enlightenment about the true nature of things It attempts to rid one of dualities resulting from conceptual discrimination 3. Zazen aims to incorporate one's enlightenment into one's daily life and activities 5 Anti-Realism Anti-realism is the claim that the objective nature of the world cannot be described by completely true accounts of it Zen Buddhism argues that the attempt to find true concepts or labels for the world is flawed As we apply labels and concepts, we lose something of value brought to us by uncategorized experience Because there will not be one wholly true account of the world, there are many valuable perspectives, if one will look 6

4 Awareness of Detail Someone who looks at the world without conceptual blinders will notice a world of detail and interconnected complexity ZS 35: Importance of paying attention to immediate details ZS 89: Awareness structured by concepts is not eliminated, but acknowledged for what it is -- subordinate to direct experience ZS 26: Misunderstanding of symbols 7 Seriousness and Brief Comments One ought not take oneself too seriously or think of oneself too highly GG 28: Monk and tea lady Brief comments are sufficient GG 29: Flag and wind, which is moving? GG 33: Mind and Buddha -- no description will be adequate to capture Buddha-nature Since there is no complete description of things, communication inadequately indicates reality GG 6: Silent Buddha with flower 8

5 What happens in life is simply a fact of that life. One should not be upset or surprised. Death is just a fact of life as well. It should not be feared. ZS 78: Everyone dies Attitude Toward Life GG 19: Life is the path (live life and find satisfaction in living a life according to Zen principles) While Zen, like Buddhism generally, warned against grasping or desiring things because of the suffering that ensues, Zen does teach one to find value everywhere ZS 31: "Everything in my shop is the best." ZS 32: Every second is valuable deepening one's immediate experience is most satisfying 9 Emotional Discipline It is best to harness one's emotions and desires ZS 14: Carrying the maiden GG 2: Governed by laws of cause and effect We must recognize that the rise of emotions/thoughts occur. We can either dwell on them and then be governed by them or accept them and release them. ZS 80: Zen training trains the appetites, they don't go away as much as relinquish their dominance in one's life 10

6 Enlightenment Mind and body: while there is a tradition in the West of the separation of mind and body, Zen does not make this distinction In fact, given the belief that one's enlightenment reveals itself through bodily actions, there is good reason for thinking they are seen as not separate GG 26: rolling of mats 11