Zen and Buddhism
Author: Ulc Seminary
In Buddhism, I have learned an appreciation for the universal truth of the Dharma. I personally see the Dharma as a living entity that
exists beyond the boundaries of remembered teaching and as a common reality between potentially opposing philosophies and
beliefs. It is the way of practice and not theory and speculation. It is the way things are. I can find it in most of the worlds religions and
spiritual teachings as well as in art, poetry, music and works of compassion. Buddha's journey appears free from attachment to
dogmatic views and shows the importance of a personal approach and the avoidance of a non-authoritian perspective.
Some say that because the Buddha found it necessary to leave home and seek enlightenment, his message is that it is only possible
to be enlightened if your are a monk. I disagree! I see everyone's journey to enlightenment as a personal and autonomous endeavor.
Buddhism is far from external forms. You don't have to study long and involved scriptures, eat only special kind of food, wear any
special clothes, attend a church, chant or even meditate.
Buddha's realistic statements as to the realities of life are explained well in the Four Noble Truths. Many people appear to advocate a
personal existential approach with the attraction being permanent bliss free from suffering. But the Buddha emphasized that both
happy and sad times come to an end and that we suffer by worrying about what we might lose or gain. This advocates an attitude in
me that is open to experience including the awareness of personal attachments that perpetuate suffering. We all crave sensations of
various kinds and if they are pleasurable, we crave their repetition. What I appreciate about Zen is its emphasis on clearing the mind.
As the Buddha put it in the Dhammapada, "everything is based on the mind, is led by the mind, is fashioned by the mind". In other
words, if you speak and act with a polluted mind, suffering will follow you as the wheels of ox cart follow the footsteps of the ox. If you
speak and act with a pure mind, happiness will follow you as a shadow clings to form. I find that the Zen idea of a polluted mind is quite
different from the traditional Christian perspective, which dictates that "impure" thoughts be rooted out and eliminated.
What pollutes the mind in Buddhist view is our desire to get life to conform to our peculiar notion of how things should be as opposed
to how they really are. The point of Zen practice is to make you aware of the thoughts that run your life and diminish their power over
you. One of the fundamental tools for doing that is a form of sitting called "Zazen". In Zazen practice, concentration comes not from
trying hard to focus on something, but from keeping your mind open and directing it at nothing. Sitting zazen, I learned to trust the
moment - to be as mindfully as possible so I could react spontaneously to whatever was taking place.
Another aspect of Zen that intruged me was it's emphasis on compassion. The goal of Zen is not just to clear the mind, but to open the
heart as well. The two are interrelated and I would say that awareness is the seed of compassion. As we begin to notice ourselves and
others, just as we are, without judgment, compassion flows naturally. When I was a boy, I was caught up in the mental aspects of
worship, sort of building a wall in my mind with prayer and quotations from the Bible, that I lost track of the essence of Christianity. By
practicing Zen, I was able to clear my mind of all that interference and look upon my heart again. It is also clear to me that the Buddha
recognized the Dharma would be subject to change as all things are. The teachings of Siddhartha changed as they traveled. As
aspects of the Dharma were emphasized and developed within separate sangas, new schools of were encouraged. As a result of this
development, sects were created holding opposing beliefs, some which separated the ordained monks and nuns from the lay people.
Because influences and teachings come from a variety of traditions and countries, it appears to me that we do not have a coherent
Western sanga. In my opinion, what we have instead is a number of sanga's held together with the label "Buddhism". From this, I'm
inspired to think of Western Buddhism as an objective Buddhism developed by observing the many fractions as a whole.
By Rev. Stephen Satonick
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/new-age-articles/zen-and-buddhism-5331306.html
About the Author
Amy Long is the President of the Universal Life Church Seminary and author of several wedding books. I also have several sites that
allow people to get ordained. I provide a wide variety of minister supplies and I offer extensive ministerial training. We also share
articles provided by ministers who have taken courses through the seminary.