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Chan
The religion of Buddhism travelled from India to
China before moving on
to Japan.
In China the prevailing way of thinking was
Taoist. Hence, the Chinese saw Buddhism in terms of
Taoism and created 'chan'.
Somewhere along the line, chan would later be known as 'Zen'.
Zen adheres to the insights of Taoism, and represents an attempt to live
in the spontaneous moment of the immediate.
Buddhist?
It is not necessary to become a Buddhist in order to understand and appreciate
Zen.
The process of formalising Zen is a contradiction in terms, as it removes the
natural simplicity of just being.
Zen is a sensibility not a religion. The Tao of Zen by Ray Grigg explores this
question at length, as does Zen in the Art of
Archery by Eugen Herrigel.
Beyond words
Tao Te Ching begins with Lao Tzu proposing a discussion of 'the Tao'. He admits
that the Tao is not a thing, an object or a subject, and that it cannot be
verbalised or thought.
The inexpressible cannot be articulated with words. Yet he proceeds to chat
anyway. 81 chapters follow.
The truth
Admitting the limitations of thought and language is a principle theme in Zen.
Nothing is more immediate than the actual.
The word for car is not a car, and if you eat a menu it will not taste like the
food it describes. Krishnamurti explored this same topic extensively in his
teachings.
See
Zen is about seeing things as they really are. Seeing what is right in front of
you. To accomplish this you need to clear your mind.
Adding clutter such as a special new name, a costume, a special place to
meditate etc will not help you to accomplish this. In fact, the more you add,
the further away you get from the truth.
Zen is about paring away the things that occlude reality, not substituting one
thing for another.
Manifestations of Zen
Tao flourished in China but Zen reached its peak in Japan where sects and
religious groups existed for centuries.
At some point in history the sensibilities of Zen attained a life independent of
Buddhist religion. Examples of Zen influence could be seen in gardens, pottery,
clothing, mannerisms and customs.
Common Zen themes: simplicity, essentials, depth, naturalness, composure,
suggestion, asymmetry and transcendence. There is also an appreciation of that
which endures and that which fades.
The cherry blossom is a classic Zen symbol, and was adopted by the samurai.
Zen in the martial arts
The raw immediacy advocated by Zen suits the martial arts. Superfluity has no
place in combat, and Zen is an ideal way to trim your art down to the
fundamentals.
A student who is absorbed in the doing is said to be in a condition of 'shen',
where no division exists between the art and the individual.
We advocate a Zen approach to the study and practice of the internal martial
arts. If you are not sure what this means, read Zen in the Art of Archery - it
reflects our approach very well.
I can't get a handle on the
tai chi fighting method
Why do you expect to? The syllabus is an introduces the internal martial
arts incrementally. You are not expected to understand it straight away.
Understanding takes time.
People often try to understand the internal martial arts in terms of something
else: boxing, judo, karate, wing chun. This is like considering Tom in terms of
Harry. A new starter initially lacks context.
As they practice, the pieces slowly come together and the art makes sense.
Although Zen is in name a
Buddhist movement, the impact of Taoism was profound and far reaching; and
the two ideologies are closer in nature than are Zen and other Buddhist
teachings.
(Andrew Juniper)
Page created
18 April 1995
Last updated
16 June 2023
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