japanese zen/
it’s a commonplace to read comparisons of the credit contraction in japan since the early 1990s to the current problems in the usa. don’t worry. if you’re interested .. there are plenty of places to get it.. I’m not going to comment on it.
what interests me about japan is its take on zen. or rather the zen take on modernity and its synthesis into japanese life.
Buddhism came to japan first from korea then from china usually said to be half way through the first millennium a.d.
the native religion, Shinto, (kami no michi) is associated with nature.. lives alongside as a kind of subtext. it became formalised with the introduction of Buddhism, confuciansim and Daoism.
the origins of zen buddhism have to be sought in India. it is said to have come from the ‘flower sermon’ of guatama buddha. (he held up a flower for his students but said nothing……perhaps it was about direct intuitive comprehension…another level of consciousness..) the word.. zen is from the chinese chan. 禅. which in turn is a translation of sanscrit dhyana (घ्यान )also known as one of the eight stages of yoga according to patanjali..
sects of Mahayana Buddhism developed in japan.. shingon.. (tantric) jodo.. or pureland Buddhism and tendai have been as important as zen.
in the context of Japanese zen, no particular sutra is given paramount importance as in tendai (that emphasises the lotus sutra), but the emphasis is on the unwritten tradition of the dharma passed from the buddha to all masters.
the founder of Japanese zen is said to be eisai 1141-1215 ce. a relative latecomer to Japanese Buddhism, he brought it with him from china establishing a temple in Kyushu. his form of zen is called rinzai-- most recognised in the ‘west’. its well know representative is hakuin.
less well known is the soto sect of zen founded by dogen. his school is characterised by emphasis on seated meditation .. zazen.
a third sect established by bankei holds that any set method is a hinderance . his non-method is spontenaity. which he holds is a reflection of reality.
zen practices were brought to international attention by dr. d.t.suzuki last century. the goal of zen is enlightenment. (satori) .the discovery of the true buddha nature of being…
so it seems that satori is the Japanese for dhyana..
influenced by the rinzai sect, dr. suzuki advocates the koan exercise as the way there. the impediment being the conventional functioning of the mind-- (chatter)... the koans are designed to bring this kind of mental activity to an end. the koan is a puzzle that cannot be solved by conceptual thought…. the master gauges the state of the aspirant and sets an appropriate koan.. for practice. (reminds me of karate kid …i'm serious.. i loved that movie..)
dr. Suzuki, a widely recognised scholar, also wrote on pureland buddhism.. the school that has as its aim rebirth into the pure land of amitabha. (ie enlightenment).. it is achieved primarily by mantra. (escape from the limitations of the concrete mind.)
Suzuki's work is profoundly optimistic. he sought to bridge cultural barriers. in fact the successfully synthetic nature of modern Japanese culture is huge cause for optimism.
its got zen written all over it. ...just shake off the blues!
tf
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