“The history of Chinese Zen raises one problem of great fascination. Both Rinzai and Soto Zen as we find them in Japanese monasteries today put enormous emphasis on za-zen or sitting meditation . . . We have already mentioned the incident between Ma-tsu and Huai-jang, in which the latter compared sitting in meditation to polishing a tile for a mirror. On another occasion Huai-Jang said:
To train yourself in sitting meditation [za-zen] is to train yourself to be a sitting Buddha. If you train yourself in za-zen, (you should know that) Zen is neither sitting nor lying. If you train yourself to be a sitting Buddha, (you should know that) the Buddha is not a fixed form. Since the Dharma has no (fixed) abode, it is not a matter of making choices. If you (make yourself) a sitting Buddha this is precisely killing the Buddha. If you adhere to the sitting position, you will not attain the principle (of Zen).
This seems to be the consistent doctrine of all the T’ang masters from Hui-neng to Lin-chi. Nowhere in their teachings have I been able to find any instruction in or recommendation of the type of za-zen which is today the principal occupation of Zen monks. On the contrary, the practice is discussed time after time in the apparently negative fashion of the two quotations just cited . . . Perhaps, then, the exaggeration of za-zen in later times is part and parcel of the conversion of the Zen monastery into a boys’ training school. To have them sit still for hours on end under the watchful eyes of monitors with sticks is certainly a sure method of keeping them out of mischief.”
From The Way of Zen, by Alan Watts
Zen is a collection of practices and teachings that help us remember who we really are and how we naturally fit into the infinitely complex and miraculously simple web of existence. Zen aims to do this, as its very name implies, through the practice of meditation. And though it can be any activity, we have, by and large, come to think of meditation almost exclusively as a seated practice (aided, no doubt, by the Japanese addition of the prefix za-, meaning seated or sitting.) In this way, we limit ourselves. Learning to be a sitting Buddha is only useful to the extent that it helps us to become a walking Buddha, an eating Buddha, a sleeping Buddha, and so on and on to everything that we do. If we never move beyond the sitting, we are as children that have never learned to walk, even convincing ourselves that walking is unnecessary – “there is only sitting”.
Why would we do this to ourselves? Is it ignorance? Is it a method of control? Is Alan Watts right – are we merely wayward children that can do no more than hope to be kept out of mischief?
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When training for a marathon, first go for a long walk. After a few of these, go jogging round the block. Then, go for a long jog. Then, start running properly, but on flat land. Finally, run plenty of miles through hilly countryside.
ReplyDeleteFor each of us, depending upon our dispositions, different forms of practice will equate to different stages of the marathon training.
I have a soft spot for that old codger, he gets a lot of bad press from indignant buddhismist types, but, at the same time, what would Watts know about zazen? He didn't do it. It would be like me shooting my mouth off about doing knitting after having read some really good books about it and asking my grannie about it and dabbling in the basics of it.
ReplyDeleteUsing the deep pool of a koan like that to form a rather crudely held and shallow opinion might be a bit like using a Ferrari to try and open a fortune cookie.
There's also a pang of that subtle assumption about 'the Japanese' in what he says (oh, what the hell, I'll call it what it is: racial stereotyping) that has both distorted and defined the big encounter between post World War II Western culture (including what we think of 'the Japanese'), and Zen Buddhism and its practice.
Regards,
Harry.
Hello, Michael,
ReplyDeleteYour analogy seems very promising. Perhaps we should think of sitting zazen as more like stretching or warming up would be for the runner, since it is not something to be left behind, but returned to again and again as part of our practice. [?]
Yes, although I was trying to avoid the suggestion that zazen is the easy, warm-up task before the real thing of practice. Some might find metta easy but zazen is their hill training; for others zazen might be warm-up stretching whilst koan is their boot camp. We're all different.
ReplyDeleteMichael –
ReplyDelete“For each of us, depending upon our dispositions, different forms of practice will equate to different stages of the marathon training.”
Agreed. So why is sitting meditation so prevalent? Are we all at that same ‘stage’? If so, why? If not, why do so many schools and centers rely so heavily on this one aspect, for most or all of their practice? Why the lack of emphasis on other ‘stages’? Even various other practices that you mention, like koans and metta, are rarely done without zazen. Why?
Erik –
“Perhaps we should think of sitting zazen as more like stretching or warming up would be for the runner, since it is not something to be left behind, but returned to again and again as part of our practice.”
Agreed. So what are we warming up for? If this is ‘part of our practice’, what are the other parts, and why are they not being taught or emphasized? Is this the only part that we need help with?
Harry –
Alan Watts did indeed practice meditation, even the seated variety, though perhaps you’re correct in stating that he didn’t do zazen, depending on whatever definition you’re using for that word. Regardless of that, if a man tells me my house is on fire, I’m not inclined to care whether he’s ever seen a house fire before, let alone whether he’s spent years studying them or even starting them.
I’m not so sure that it’s the ‘pool of a koan’ that’s getting deep around here. Attempted discrediting of the source and absurd metaphors aside, are you interested in trying to answer the question?
Hi Hadashi,
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm discrediting the source on the topic of that tile/mirror koan as he clearly hasn't got a clue about it if he's used it to come to a rather simple conclusion about zazen, or not-zazen or, well, anything really.
What do you think of his take on the koan?
That your house is burning is just another absurd metaphor (at least mine was original... so nah!), and pointing out that people are a bit fucked up is pretty easy work in this world. Taking our own 'fucked upness' and getting to work in sincere practice is quite another matter. This is what the koan is about, its what they are all about really. Watts was more into spouting lofty philosophy though... in often very engaging and entertaining ways.
He is, and will remain, imporatant for a number of reasons (some of 'em not so obvious e.g. as an icon of a Western construction of 'Zen' based in no small part of Western perceptions of 'the orient'). I think he was a very interesting and influential character besides.
Regards,
Harry.
Hi Hadashi,
ReplyDeleteWhy are we all sitting? As a school teacher I believe I have some reasons for this.
1. Is zazen simple to teach? YES.
2. Is it easy to blame the teacher for lack of progress? NO.
3. Is it easy to measure the "value added" of the teaching? NO.
4. Is there siginificant danger of emotional conflict in zazen tuition? NO.
(For those not into pedagogical terminology, "value added" is what the student can do as a result of the teaching that they couldn't do before.)
On the other hand, I know from personal experience that if you're a not very good tai chi teacher, it shows! It's visible in your own form (even my wife can spot I'm rubbish!) and in one's students' form. That's a misplaced apostrophe - I'm so bad, it's "student's"!
And koan practice has the danger of conflict. I'm brutal with my students, so I live in dread of one of them hammering a stake through their copy of the Gateless Gate and becoming a Mormon instead.
But when we're all sitting round the edge of the zendo, so long as we're all upright and nobody's actually snoring,the teacher's a great teacher and all the students are terribly enlightened. How comfortable!
1. I hate being trapped in other people's translations. I would wager good money that much hangs on the fuller options for "make" and "adhere" in the cited passage.
ReplyDelete2. I get that Harry doesn't like Watts' reading of the koan, but I'm curious if anyone can show his scholarship of the masters referred to to be misplaced? Do they not follow the line of interpretation he suggests?
3. Michael, you left out the fact that most of us are too fat and lazy to do anything for an hour at a time besides sitting still! :-D
4. Hadashi had a good point, what are the other parts that aren't getting enough attention?
Hadashi wrote, "various other practices that you mention, like koans and metta, are rarely done without zazen. Why?"
ReplyDeleteIt's not always been this way. If you look at The Record of Rinzai, they were lobbing koans at one another the whole time - they really had to stay on their toes! And I've a friend who's familiar with the Dalai Lama and from him I get the impression that the Dalai Lama is always doing metta, whether sitting, chatting or governing.
Ok, zazen can be a useful stilling aid - but really, after some practice, one ought to be able to centre and calm oneself in any situation - sitting, standing in the supermarket queue, cycling, driving. So perhaps there's some labelling going on.
"I'm a Buddhist. Here's proof - I sit in a funny position!"
Proudly flashing one's club membership card - even if only in the mirror! - is scarcely indicative of liberation.
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteJust for the record: As I'm sure we all know, "The Way of Zen" was a relatively early book. Alan Watts did regularly practise and teach zazen - or some form of meditation - later in his life - after meeting Shunryu Suzuki, I think? So it appears AW changed his mind. Never a bad thing.
Malcolm
It's a sad,sad day for the vitality of zen when I can't be proved wrong! :-)
ReplyDeleteHere's some leads:
1. Malcolm's onto something I think.
2. There may be a certain subversive validity in what Watts was saying: People were falling over themselves to throw themselves at the feet of anyone 'oriental' looking with robes on at the time. It's always valid to question the 'going japanesey' mentality I think, and/or expose and question magical thinking around zazen.
3. There was/is a certain gung ho, macho, militarism to strands of 'official' Soto Zen (TM) that seems to be as much or more about certain events and attitudes of the 20th Century than about sincere Buddhist practice. It deserves poking at at the very least, and maybe Watts was an early pioneer of that?
4. There is a well reported tendency in Japanese social interactions for people to get a tad caught up in group think and formal protocol; maybe Watts perceived a valid basis on which to criticise authoritarian/hierarchical attitudes present in formal zen institutions?
Regards,
Harry.
For me, sitting helps me settle down and regain clarity.
ReplyDeleteBut of course sitting is not the whole story; in fact it is just a small part.
The largest of part is to walk daily life consciously, and contribute toward community.
All –
ReplyDeleteI think Michael and Harry have made some good points, here.
Michael’s four points (‘noble truths’?) seem to me to point to the idea of a lowest common denominator practice, while Harry’s seem to me to point to the dangers of blindly following anything ‘mystical’ or ‘mysterious’ and blindly adopting cultural and institutional methods to do so.
Expanding on these, I think that the emphasis on sitting meditation is, among other things, another symptom of the formation of Zen, Inc. To make a business of selling what is ultimately a personal practice and discovery, I have to convince people that they can’t really do this on their own. They have to follow a specific practice, and they have to do this under the supervision of somebody who can, not only make sure that they’re doing it right, but can also certify when they’ve achieved the proper result. Somebody like me! By convincing people of this, they will now come to my zen center (assuming that I’ve also managed to convince them that the other zen teacher in town doesn’t know what he’s talking about, or doesn’t have a certificate signed by the right authorities). But as more and more people start coming, I have to come up with a way to handle all of them. Using the lowest common denominator method, and the points that Michael has laid out, I determine that having them all sit still for an evening is a simple way to keep them in check. Furthermore, with too many students, I sure don’t have time to personalize my interactions for more than, say, 5 minutes each, so I come up with dokusan – short, one-on-one meetings that are just long enough to convince them that they’re getting personal attention from the teacher. Then, to make sure that they don’t decide that this is all a waste of time (and maybe go to another teacher/center), I make sure to throw out the word ‘ego’, like a magic flag, if they question my methods. This seems to shut them up. And to keep them coming, I keep reminding them that it takes years and years of training (that is, sitting - because I haven’t had time or ability to teach them anything else), and that only a teacher who has been certified by his own teacher can tell them when they’re ready to stop coming. I must also make sure to let them know that this package is Zen™. They can’t adopt only some of it, or do other things instead of it, or they’re not doing Zen™.
This is an admittedly simplistic and distorted presentation. After all, it isn’t my intention in this post to question the effectiveness or usefulness of the practices of sitting meditation, consulting teachers (as many as necessary!), or engaging in traditional group practices. I am, instead, questioning the promoted exclusivity of these practices (particularly sitting, for this post) in modern zen schools and centers. Through standardization, Zen, Inc. has managed to minimize the presence and effectiveness of other methods and practices, to the point that many now think that zen = sitting, end of story! In a tradition of boundless minds and possibilities, this is a most unfortunate trend.
P.S. Harry, we’re rarely as original as we think we are. It turns out that crows (in Japan, no less), have been using cars to open walnuts for decades now. ;-)
Through standardization, Zen, Inc. has managed to minimize the presence and effectiveness of other methods and practices, to the point that many now think that zen = sitting, end of story! In a tradition of boundless minds and possibilities, this is a most unfortunate trend.
ReplyDeleteHi Hadashi,
That's a good conspiracy theory (Zen inc. = Booh, hiss, zazen fascists!!!), but the situation, in Japan at least, is quite different.
The Soto school, until a reformer called Kodo Sawaki put practicing zazen back on the agenda last century, didn't really emphasise zazen much at all. A trainee Soto priest might only have to sit zazen as part of the training period required for him to be able to inherit the temple from his daddy. After that he didn't have to do zazen, and generally didn't do it, very much or at all. Outside of this it was a lot of learning the craft of being a convincing temple priest and performing ceremonies like funerals (which are the big earner for small Japanese temples... people in Japan like to have Buddhist funerals). Some of the 'zazen reform' people referred to Soto inc disparagingly as 'a family funeral business' in fact.
Kodo Sawaki, far from being a Soto Zen inc fascist, was actually quite a rebel within Soto who became accepted and admired. He preached against group-think and the 'follow-the-crowd' mentality, he refused to settle down and run a temple in the Soto inc model, he wandered from place to place in the old mode practicing and teaching zazen and being very unusual (compared to other Soto monks) indeed.
A friend has recently returned from a three month stay at a zen monastery in Japan. They were only required to sit 2 X 40 mins or so per day. The rest was samu, mealtime, a study/debate period etc, and then on certain days they did the sutra 'chanting' (which is not really chanting but flipping through the sutra blocks 'activating' them in a similar way to the Tibetan prayer wheel).
The main point is that big 'zazen-only' practice was not the norm in Japan, and is still not the norm in Soto inc. It only came to the fore somewhat recently with people like Kodo Sawaki, Kosho Uchiyama, and people who followed after them and who influenced the West like Gudo Nishijima and Taisen Deshimaru etc. (to varying degrees; the Deshimaru groups tend to have retained more chanting, ceremony and other forms etc) This happened almost despite Soto inc, not because of it. Serious zazen practitioners are the exception, not the norm. Buddhism functions like an other superficial glaze of religion in Japan: People bow a little and burn incense and ask for/ pay for sutras to be chanted in order to get stuff or help sick or dead people etc etc etc... this is the norm, if there is a norm.
"...many now think that zen = sitting, end of story! In a tradition of boundless minds and possibilities, this is a most unfortunate trend."
'Zen is this', 'no, zen is that', 'no, zen is this AND that', 'zen is everything'... that 'Zen' might be less useless (and certainly less real) than a heap of steaming shit. I would recommend to anyone labouring under such notions to SIT sincerely and drop 'Zen' like a hot snot and clarify it accordingly. After that they should probably go about getting a life (if, that is, they really just think 'zen=sitting', but I don't think there are many people who actually are that thick...)
Regards,
Harry.
Harry,
ReplyDeleteInteresting choices of words . . .
1. ‘Conspiracy theory’ is an interesting phrase, usually used on the defensive in an attempt to discredit an idea counter to one’s own, or the commonly accepted or promoted belief. (Compare to ‘judgmental’, which is generally used to label someone whose judgments differ too sharply from our own.)
2. You seem to have equated ‘zen’ with ‘Soto’. I never did mention any particular sect or school (because I don’t think the problem is that limited), but I’m intrigued to see to which one you naturally tended. Is it because your own experience is from that arena, or do you see some of what I describe in the Soto model? You also specifically indicated practice in Japan, though, again, I did not limit Zen, Inc. to that locale.
“The Soto school, until a reformer called Kodo Sawaki put practicing zazen back on the agenda last century, didn't really emphasise zazen much at all.”
. . . but they do now, is that the implication, here? Because that leads back to my question. So thanks for the history lesson - I’m glad Kodo Sawaki, et al, took Soto people back to zen practice. But the question(s) remain – why did they specifically use zazen to do so? Was it the only method that was taught? Was it the only method that worked? Was it just the only method that caught on? Why have so many people apparently latched onto this specific practice of the reformation? Haven’t they simply replaced the funeral guild with a sitting guild?
“I would recommend to anyone labouring under such notions to SIT sincerely . . .”
. . . leading back to the question, again. Is sitting the only thing that people can do sincerely?
And where do you get the impression that a “heap of steaming shit” is useless? :-)
Hi Hadashi,
ReplyDeleteWell, you didn't specify what 'Zen inc' was, but Soto Zen could certainly don that dubious title, so I jammed with it.
There seems to be a strong assumption in what you say regarding a perceived 'authority'/ establishment/ 'inc.' or 'incs.'... it would be good to know exactly who/what you mean by that then, as I think actually that there is a lot of variation amongst various orgs. The way you put it it seems like a rather blanket term which seems to me to indicate a rather blanket assumption or attitude to said (or un-said) inc/s.
“The Soto school, until a reformer called Kodo Sawaki put practicing zazen back on the agenda last century, didn't really emphasise zazen much at all.”
. . . but they do now...
Well, my point in the history lesson sort of was that they don't really, not in any uniform way as may be implied from simple latter day perceptions (perceptions mainly here in the West that is, but in Japan too) of what 'Soto' is (i.e. 'we do zazen, and not koan zazen, dammit!') and what 'Rinzai' is (i.e. 'we do zazen with koans and don't just sit spacing out all day, dammit!'). Most people who would consider themselves Buddhist in Japan don't worry about such things or do zazen of any hue, just like a lot of Buddhists generally in Asia don't meditate.
...And a 'Zen inc' over here? I don't think it's that developed... or degenerate... depending on how it pans out! Most orgs seem to look to Asia for their roots, their 'authenticity', leadership, legitimacy and a veneer of authority. There are a few zen orgs who are running at the corporate/business type model, but they are not really 'succeeding' more than anyone else as far as I can see; maybe you can indicate specific examples to the contrary?
But the question(s) remain – why did they specifically use zazen to do so?
Maybe it works for 'em? It works for me at least.
. . . leading back to the question, again. Is sitting the only thing that people can do sincerely?
In my own experience (which, when we're talking about actual practices, has to be the bottom line as far as I see) it is a particularly good way of being physically/mentally still, to 'drop off body and mind'. The posture is intended to be relaxed yet alert, and comfortable. It's certainly (for me) more comfortable than standing still for 40 mins (although some people who practice the internal martial arts are quite happy to do just that), and it tends to be less sleepy than lying down where I might nod off. So, if you're really interested in other people's experiences: I see the sitting thing as a helpful practicality, and a sort of very subtle art form in itself.
Sitting is, generally speaking and with a bit of regular practice, an accessible way to engage in the sort of very focused and unified action that highly trained athletes, artists musicians, dancers etc experience when they are performing 'in the zone', so, yes, other types of actions can be very valid to that non-end, but, as a musician I'd say that both sitting and other aspects of unified/unifying performance can inform each other and that there is not any sort of exclusivity there.
Also, sitting and similar simple acts tend to have fewer problems and hitches than learning some performance art to a high, effortless performance degree; so, if it's done sincerely, then I think a person could experience the 'intentionless intention' more expressly and directly than struggling to be among the minority of people who are motivated to learn to perform something to a high degree or otherwise engage in any act in the same fashion. On the other hand, we do it all the time, but we generally don't realise it.
Regards,
Harry.
Hi Hadashi,
ReplyDeleteWell, you didn't specify what 'Zen inc' was, but Soto Zen could certainly don that dubious title, so I jammed with it.
There seems to be a strong assumption in what you say regarding a perceived 'authority'/ establishment/ 'inc.' or 'incs.'... it would be good to know exactly who/what you mean by that then, as I think actually that there is a lot of variation amongst various orgs. The way you put it it seems like a rather blanket term which seems to me to indicate a rather blanket assumption or attitude to said (or un-said) inc/s.
“The Soto school, until a reformer called Kodo Sawaki put practicing zazen back on the agenda last century, didn't really emphasise zazen much at all.”
. . . but they do now...
Well, my point in the history lesson sort of was that they don't really, not in any uniform way as may be implied from simple latter day perceptions (perceptions mainly here in the West that is, but in Japan too) of what 'Soto' is (i.e. 'we do zazen, and not koan zazen, dammit!') and what 'Rinzai' is (i.e. 'we do zazen with koans and don't just sit spacing out all day, dammit!'). Most people who would consider themselves Buddhist in Japan don't worry about such things or do zazen of any hue, just like a lot of Buddhists generally in Asia don't meditate.
...And a 'Zen inc' over here? I don't think it's that developed... or degenerate... depending on how it pans out! Most orgs seem to look to Asia for their roots, their 'authenticity', leadership, legitimacy and a veneer of authority. There are a few zen orgs who are running at the corporate/business type model, but they are not really 'succeeding' more than anyone else as far as I can see; maybe you can indicate specific examples to the contrary?
But the question(s) remain – why did they specifically use zazen to do so?
Maybe it works for 'em? It works for me at least.
. . . leading back to the question, again. Is sitting the only thing that people can do sincerely?
In my own experience (which, when we're talking about actual practices, has to be the bottom line as far as I see) it is a particularly good way of being physically/mentally still, to 'drop off body and mind'. The posture is intended to be relaxed yet alert, and comfortable. It's certainly (for me) more comfortable than standing still for 40 mins (although some people who practice the internal martial arts are quite happy to do just that), and it tends to be less sleepy than lying down where I might nod off. So, if you're really interested in other people's experiences: I see the sitting thing as a helpful practicality, and a sort of very subtle art form in itself.
Sitting is, generally speaking and with a bit of regular practice, an accessible way to engage in the sort of very focused and unified action that highly trained athletes, artists musicians, dancers etc experience when they are performing 'in the zone', so, yes, other types of actions can be very valid to that non-end, but, as a musician I'd say that both sitting and other aspects of unified/unifying performance can inform each other and that there is not any sort of exclusivity there.
Also, sitting and similar simple acts tend to have fewer problems and hitches than learning some performance art to a high, effortless performance degree; so, if it's done sincerely, then I think a person could experience the 'intentionless intention' more expressly and directly than struggling to be among the minority of people who are motivated to learn to perform something to a high degree or otherwise engage in any act in the same fashion. On the other hand, we do it all the time, but we generally don't realise it.
And where do you get the impression that a “heap of steaming shit” is useless?
You should see my car.
Regards,
Harry.
Hi Hadashi,
ReplyDeleteWell, you didn't specify what 'Zen inc' was, but Soto Zen could certainly don that dubious title, so I jammed with it.
Re 'conspiracy theory': There seems to be a strong assumption in what you say regarding a perceived 'authority'/ establishment/ 'inc.' or 'incs.'... it would be good to know exactly who/what you mean by that then, as I think actually that there is a lot of variation amongst various orgs. The way you put it it seems like a rather blanket term which seems to me to indicate a rather blanket assumption or attitude to said (or un-said) inc/s.
“The Soto school, until a reformer called Kodo Sawaki put practicing zazen back on the agenda last century, didn't really emphasise zazen much at all.”
. . . but they do now...
Well, my point in the history lesson sort of was that they don't really, not in any uniform way as may be implied from simple latter day perceptions (perceptions mainly here in the West that is, but in Japan too) of what 'Soto' is (i.e. 'we do zazen, and not koan zazen, dammit!') and what 'Rinzai' is (i.e. 'we do zazen with koans and don't just sit spacing out all day, dammit!'). Most people who would consider themselves Buddhist in Japan don't worry about such things or do zazen of any hue, just like a lot of Buddhists generally in Asia don't meditate....
...And a 'Zen inc' over here? I don't think it's that developed... or degenerate... depending on how it pans out! Most orgs seem to look to Asia for their roots, their 'authenticity', leadership, legitimacy and a veneer of authority. There are a few zen orgs who are running at the corporate/business type model, but they are not really 'succeeding' more than anyone else as far as I can see; maybe you can indicate specific examples to the contrary?
ReplyDeleteBut the question(s) remain – why did they specifically use zazen to do so?
Maybe it works for 'em? It works for me at least.
. . . leading back to the question, again. Is sitting the only thing that people can do sincerely?
In my own experience (which, when we're talking about actual practices, has to be the bottom line as far as I see) it is a particularly good way of being physically/mentally still, to 'drop off body and mind'. The posture is intended to be relaxed yet alert, and comfortable. It's certainly (for me) more comfortable than standing still for 40 mins (although some people who practice the internal martial arts are quite happy to do just that), and it tends to be less sleepy than lying down where I might nod off. So, if you're really interested in other people's experiences: I see the sitting thing as a helpful practicality, and a sort of very subtle art form in itself.
Sitting is, generally speaking and with a bit of regular practice, an accessible way to engage in the sort of very focused and unified action that highly trained athletes, artists musicians, dancers etc experience when they are performing 'in the zone', so, yes, other types of actions can be very valid to that non-end, but, as a musician I'd say that both sitting and other aspects of unified/unifying performance can inform each other and that there is not any sort of exclusivity there.
Also, sitting and similar simple acts tend to have fewer problems and hitches than learning some performance art to a high, effortless performance degree; so, if it's done sincerely, then I think a person could experience the 'intentionless intention' more expressly and directly than struggling to be among the minority of people who are motivated to learn to perform something to a high degree or otherwise engage in any act in the same fashion. On the other hand, we do it all the time, but we generally don't realise it.
And where do you get the impression that a “heap of steaming shit” is useless?
You should see my car.
Regards,
Harry.
Harry –
ReplyDeleteGood answer. I agree with your ideas on sitting, which, to me, seem to tie into Michael’s idea (what I call the lowest common denominator) that this is an activity that is one of the simplest ways of teaching/practicing zen in a group. Its simplicity keeps it accessible to people at nearly every ‘level’ of development along the path. I also agree with your ideas that highly trained performers are able to achieve the same or similar results as a sitter. For myself, I also believe that there are many more possibilities between these two extremes (daily meditative walks through nature, for instance) that are too infrequently approached by ‘Zen, Inc’. While I’m very glad to hear that your experience is that Zen, Inc hasn’t taken root too much in your neck of the woods, it is, unfortunately, well under way in mine. Strengthened by the recent Merzel/Shimano exposes, many zen teachers in many U.S. centers, most notably members of the American Zen Teachers Association, are pushing for greater standardization of zen teaching and practice. An interview with one such teacher that I recently read had that teacher say that it’s time for people to recognize that the teaching of zen is a business, and it needs to be standardized and regulated as such to limit such scandals in the future. I don’t believe that such efforts will have a large success rate limiting scandal, but I do know that they will have a large success rate in limiting zen practice.
My sympathies for your car. :-)
Gassho,
Hadashi
An interview with one such teacher that I recently read had that teacher say that it’s time for people to recognize that the teaching of zen is a business, and it needs to be standardized and regulated as such to limit such scandals in the future. I don’t believe that such efforts will have a large success rate limiting scandal, but I do know that they will have a large success rate in limiting zen practice.
ReplyDeleteHi Hadashi,
There are ways of protecting people- with training, safety/protection procedures, transparency and accountability, and other checks- that cannot be allowed to become cynical, or otherwise dysfunctional, means of control or mere empty technicalities to be avoided.
Every organisation, particularly those who are inclined to attract vulnerable people (e.g. religious groups) should have some such protection measures in place IMO. It won't stop all abuses, but it will stop some people being abused. I'm living in Ireland and I can see how measures installed now will ensure that what happened here in the past will never happen again on anything like the same scale.
I think a zen centre will have to be run somewhat like a business in a practical sense (paying for overheads etc). That isn't the problem methinks, the problem is in the power structures and the senses of authority regardless of how much money is or isn't involved, and people deferring to authority and giving away their own authority/ autonomy (there are a lot of people who are all too happy to do this), and all that.
There's a long history of shady power plays and posturing for financial support and courtly favour in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, so maybe the guys with dollar signs in their eyes are just concerned for Zen tradition? ;-)
Regards,
Harry.
“I think a zen centre will have to be run somewhat like a business in a practical sense (paying for overheads etc). That isn't the problem methinks, the problem is in the power structures and the senses of authority regardless of how much money is or isn't involved . . .”
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, these problems are not separate, especially when the teacher or guru is one of the ‘overheads’. Any time a teacher’s livelihood depends on his or her teachings, actions, and character satisfying the right people at the right times, then the business, the power structure, and the teaching become inextricably intertwined.
“ . . . people deferring to authority and giving away their own authority/ autonomy (there are a lot of people who are all too happy to do this) . . .”
Most people, lamentably.
“There's a long history of shady power plays and posturing for financial support and courtly favour in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, so maybe the guys with dollar signs in their eyes are just concerned for Zen tradition? ;-)”
Most definitely agreed! :-)