I’ve been sitting for meditation with a Zen sangha in the White Plum lineage for a little over 4 years now, and in that time I’ve listened to quite a few talks by various teachers about “the Zen way” (they usually don’t use that expression, but that’s what it amounts to). One important aspect of the Zen-life (you might even call it a philosophy, although they don’t) is “living in the moment”. The Buddha allegedly said that “the secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.”

A recent article found on a British news site says that “emphasis on the present moment is perhaps Zen’s most distinctive characteristic”. And that Sounds groovy, despite the fact that the Buddha may not have really said that the present moment is so great.

As I’ve said before, I am something of a Zen critic despite my loyal participation at zazen every week. I love to meditate, but I’ve come to conclude that “the present moment” is over-rated. To be honest, I believe that modern Zen teachers’ fixation on “the moment” represents another example of  »  continue reading …

For all of you regular readers of my blog (all one or two of you — thank you for your support!), it comes as no surprise to know that I have my problems with Zen. Well, actually any honest person has their problems with Zen; it seems to be designed to be a burr in your spiritual saddle! I’ve been a regular practitioner in a Zen sangha for over 3 years now, and I’ve absorbed a lot of Zen teaching and Zen people over this time. Obviously I’m talking about American Zen. Americanized Zen. But then again, most of the American Zenmasters and populist writers put lots of energy and emphasis on trying to be true to the Eastern traditions, especially the (historically late-stage) Japanese / Buddhist version of the Zen tradition.

(Even though they clearly are guilty of picking out those aspects of J-B Zen that suit their fancy, while ignoring other parts that don’t fit — especially the “educated modernists” who want Zen and Buddhism to support and affirm their secularist, anti-God world views; and yet, most of these people still worship a divine power, one requiring a radical leap of faith . . . doctrinally they call it “psychology“, and the religious manifestation of that doctrine is known as “therapy” . . . the priests and acolytes of that religion are commonly known as “psychologists” and “therapists”, “analysts” in some sects).

I’ve heard a bit about the training that is required for a Zen practitioner to become a recognized Zen “teacher” (a “sensei” or “roshi”, in our lineage). It involves a lot of koan study under the tutelage  »  continue reading …

At the zendo the other day, our sensei gave a talk about enlightenment. He made the point that many people are attracted to Zen because they want and hope to achieve “enlightenment”, as a big whoop, a quasi-orgasmic experience of spiritual realization. Then he went on to say that “it’s not like that”; you can’t achieve enlightenment by work and study. It’s not like getting in shape to do a triathlon or bench-press 300 pounds. Enlightenment is more of a “surprise me” thing. It will happen, or not, in its own way, at its own time.

Our sensei took many of his thoughts from a book by Korean Zen teacher Zeung San, called “Wanting Enlightenment is a Big Mistake”. I pretty much agreed with our local teacher (I don’t always, read on) and with the title that Seung San chose for his book. I take a rather Calvinistic approach to Zen. I.e., that Enlightenment is more a matter of “pre-destination”, or something other than “good works”. From the Buddhist perspective, “pre-destination” might be roughly equivalent to “karma” and the “momentum” of past lives. I would go even further than that. Taking a page from St. Paul, I would proclaim  »  continue reading …