WHY ZEN?

For all of my adult life, Zen Buddhism has been the metaphor that resonated with me. I spent more than 10 years studying with Geshe Kaldan (a Tibetan teacher). However, for the most part, I communicated with him using Zen Buddhist terminology. He accepted this completely and the small differences between our approaches to the Dharma were never an issue. In fact, both of us enjoyed the interplay between the two traditions.

At this stage of my life and my practice, I find it very difficult to fault, or favor, any system (religious, political, or philosophical).

Think about it. If a system is run by informed, well-intentioned, compassionate, generous people, it will work. If a system is run by greedy, angry, dishonest people, it will not work.

You can’t legislate honesty, compassion, or wisdom.

Zen Buddhism is not better than Christianity, or Islam, or Hinduism, or almost anything else you can name. The key is less the system and more the mind of the practitioner. If an individual is prepared to let go of biases, preconceptions, and self-hood, and tries to find the heart of compassion and the 'connection with life' that likely initiated a system, then that system will probably work for her.

When you come down to it, if a system disconnects you from people, from the world, and from life, then it will become a source of pain and distress.

Simply consider how your beliefs make you feel. Do they make you angry, encourage greed, frighten you? Do they isolate you from people who don’t agree with you? Do they lead you to making decisions that hurt family and friends, people in general and this earth that we share? If they do, then you need to consider the nature of your beliefs and/or, perhaps, the nature of the system you have adapted.

As I have said, for me the Zen metaphor has been a consistent source of help throughout my life. Zazen, which is simply another word for 'sitting meditation', has always supported me and helped me grow – even in my stupidest, most deluded moments – and I have had, and still have, plenty of those.

In the beginning, the word ‘practice’ meant ‘sitting meditation’, but as I grew in my understanding of Zen and Buddhism, the idea of ‘practice’ grew with me. Now, everything in my life is part of my ‘practice’ – and, everything is connected to, and is an extension of, my ‘sitting meditation’.

It is easy to partition off our ‘spiritual life’ and isolate it from 'everyday' life. However, if we examine things carefully, I think we will find that there are no partitions anywhere. When we cook, or clean, or perform our tasks at work, or interact with family, friends and acquaintances, we should act from a mind of compassion, generosity and understanding. When that is the case, it is possible to act skillfully. We will all still make mistakes, but the more mindfully and compassionately we act, the fewer the mistakes we will make and the better we will make the world.

A Zen master's life is one continuous mistake - Dogen Zenji

The following video is an eloquent introduction to exactly what ‘Zen Practice’ is, and how it relates to our ‘real’, lives.