by Arnie Kozak
Honen’s teachings created a paradigm shift for Buddhist practice, replacing the personal path of salvation with Amida, a universal savior who helped the faithful to reach his Pure Land. It was only in the Pure Land that one could achieve enlightenment. While initially suppressed, the Jodo school founded by Honen achieved great popularity and was the religion of the ruling class by the seventeenth century.
The Pure Land practices provided a “shortcut” through countless lifetimes to become a bodhisattva. It employs not only chanting but complex visualization of buddhas, bodhisattvas, and the Pure Land, especially Amitabha. The text “Visualizing the Buddha of Limitless Life Sutra” presents the story of Queen Vaidehi. The Buddha gave her a vision visible in a golden ray of light emanating from his forehead. In this vision she saw all the celestial worlds and chose her wish to be reborn with Amitabha. Buddhist scholar Michael Willis shares a segment of this text, “You should think of the buddha of Limitless Life. Why? Because the Body of the buddha is the Body of the Universe and it is within the mind of all beings. Therefore when you think of that buddha your mind becomes the One who has the thirty-two Magnificent Figures and the eighty Virtues. It is the mind that is to become a buddha and it is the mind that is the buddha. The Ocean of Omniscient Wisdom of all buddhas grows up from the mind.”
What Percentage of the World’s Population Is Buddhist?
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Today it is estimated that approximately 9–10 percent of the world’s population is Buddhist. Christianity weighs in with the largest percentage of adherents at 33 percent, and Islam comes in second at 18 percent. It is estimated there are 100 million followers of Theravada Buddhism worldwide; 360 million to 500 million followers of Mahayana; and 10 to 20 million Tibetan Buddhists.
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It is not clear whether belief in the Pure Land is taken literally or metaphorically as purified states of mind. For indigenous Chinese and Japanese their relationship to Amitabha as savior is likely regarded as quite literal. In America, if you adopt these practices you have a choice. The Pure Land schools seem to move Buddhism from more of a rational psychology to a theistic, transcendent religion. The ease of these practices compared to arduous sitting meditation in Chan and Zen, and the promise (likely realized in bliss states as one chants the Amitabha mantras) of going to heaven increased its popularity in China and Japan. These practices resemble some of the Vedic practices that Siddhartha would have been familiar with in his search for the Way when he left the palace. Chanting the names of Shiva or Krishna, for example, was a common practice in pre-Buddhist India as it is today.
ZEN BUDDHISM
A New Interpretation of Buddha
The origins of Zen are found in China when Bodhidharma went there in the sixth century. In China it was called Chan, in Korea it was called Son, in Japan it was called Zen, all meaning “meditation.”
Many Words, One Meaning
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Zen is the transliteration of the Chinese word Chan, which itself is an abbreviation of channa, the transliteration of the Sanskrit dhyana (meditation).
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Zen has had a large influence on Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and now the West, especially America, which is now the most vital center of Zen practice in the world. Zen, which emphasizes enlightened masters over scriptures and is the least academic of all the Buddhist schools, offers a fresh interpretation of the Buddha’s teachings and forms of practice that are straightforward and profound.
ZEN PRACTICE, PRINCIPLES, AND HISTORY
Meditation is the core practice of Zen and teachers are notorious for irreverent, unpredictable, and unorthodox methods of teaching. For example, in one temple, the bell would ring after meditation and all the practitioners who had been in seated meditation for a long period of time would have to get up, legs still asleep, and run down the hall to the Zen master’s chamber. Only those who showed up first would get an interview for that day. The novices stumbled over each other in this mad procession to get to the Zen master.
According to Professor Mark Blum, Zen is comprised of four principles:
1. Transmission outside the orthodox Buddhist teachers through its lineages
2. A belief that truth is not dependent upon established doctrine and a belief in the value of experience over the value of scripture
3. A direct point to the mind
4. An emphasis on examining one’s original nature and the attainment of enlightenment
The Buddha’s disciple Kashyapa (or Mahakashyapa) was the forebear of Zen. It was he alone who “got” the Buddha’s teaching when he held up a flower and smiled. Seeing that flower occasioned Kashyapa’s enlightenment, and his experience reflects the emphasis in Zen that transmission does not require language. Kashyapa was the first of twenty-eight Indian patriarchs culminating in Bodhidharma who went to China around 520 C.E. where he became the first Chinese patriarch of Chan. From China, Chan made its way to Vietnam in 580 C.E., and then to Japan and Korea around the twelfth century.
The Zen concept of sudden enlightenment led to the Southern school; whereas gradual enlightenment through long practice led to the Northern school. These historical schools correspond to Rinzai and Soto Zen, respectively. In Japan, the monk Eisai founded the Rinzai school and Dogen founded the Soto school. Eisai’s monastery, Kenninji, is still active today.
Rinzai
Rinzai emphasizes sudden enlightenment that is predicated on everyone already having buddha-nature. The right context will bring this sudden realization of what is already there. This sudden burst of insight is called kensho. Koan practice (description to follow) is integral to the pursuit of sudden awakening (and so, too, might be the rationale for having the monks race to get an interview with the Zen master). The Rinzai school bristles against slow and silent illumination found in the Soto doctrine of shikintaza (just sitting). While the Rinzai and Soto schools disagree about meditation, both value meditation. In Rinzai you meditate not to attain wisdom but as an expression of wisdom. Wisdom is not confined to the cushion, and awakening can be found in the most mundane experiences of everyday life. Historically, Rinzai was practiced in urban centers by the elite shoguns and samurai, while Soto was more of a rural practice. As military culture declined in nineteenth-century Japan so did Rinzai.
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“Body and mind of themselves will drop away and your original face will be manifested. If you want to attain suchness, you should practice suchness without delay.”
—Dogen, on zazen practice
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Seated Meditation
The practice of Rinzai zazen (seated meditation) employs the waking stick. If you slump during meditation or fall asleep, an attendant will strike you across your trapezius muscles with a wooden stick. The blow is designed not to harm but to wake you up to the task at hand—meditation. You can also request a blow if you feel your energy is flagging. Performed correctly, the blow will not injure.
Koans
Koans (anecdotes or riddles) are designed to short-circuit the rational mind and provide the basis for a sudden spiritual awakening. The most famous of these inscrutable puzzles is, “What is the sound of one hand?” As one Zen master said, “It is the place where truth is.” Koans are an important part of Rinzai practice. Rinzai also emphasizes meetings with the master (dokusan) more so than Soto schools, as these meetings (whether one runs to the meeting or not) can also facilitate kensho. Students are normally assigned a koan in dokusan. As a Zen student you would try to answer the koan when you meet with the teacher. Answers are usually not verbal, but can be. They are not “yes/no,” “this/that” answers. When you know the answer, you will know how to convey the answer to the teacher, and the teacher will recognize that the koan has been solved by the way you are in the interview. During your meditation practice you will reach a stage known as samadhi. Samadhi is a deep and focused meditation wherein concentration is effortless and complete absorption has been attained. Koan practice is done in the samadhi state.
The Heart of Zen Practice
The heart of Zen practice is zazen. Zazen is seated meditation, and the total concentration of mind and body. Zazen can be described to you with words, but the words are not zazen and you will not have experienced zazen. You can study, discuss, and read about zazen but that is not zazen.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ZEN MEDITATION
In Zen there tends to be a paucity of instruction for meditation technique. Rather, the emphasis is on the posture, but of course something else is always being added. Shunryu Suzuki, the famed Soto monk who helped bring Zen Buddhism to the United States, encouraged a very precise way of sitting that is dignified and stable. You would sit in the lotus or half-lotus posture with your back straight and your hands in your lap, left palm resting on your right palm with your thumbs touching and forming a bridge. This posture is dynamic and full of energy. In some Zen practices, you may be instructed to count your breaths, counting on each exhalation up to ten, and then back from ten to one.
Breathing
When beginning zazen you will pay careful attention to the breath. Now breathe in through your nose and out through your nose. Breathe from your diaphragm and feel it rise and fall with your breath. Let your breathing fall naturally, in and out, in and out. Now start to count your out breaths. Breathe in, breathe out, count “one.” Breathe in, breathe out, count “two.” Continue doing this until you get to ten and begin again. When you notice that you are no longer concentrating on the counting but instead your mind has started to wander to the future or the past, start counting at one again.
Acknowledge the thought and go back to the breath. In and out, one. In and out, two. Continue to do this until the bell rings. You will notice how hard it is to bring the mind back to the breath. The mind can be full of unruly monkeys jumping from tree to tree. Sitting practice helps you to train the monkeys, and eventually make them still.
Being Present
The practice of Zen is the practice of sitting. Just sitting with nothing else added. When nothing else is added you experience your enlightened nature. But most of the time the mind will be active with thoughts and images. It may get swept away by emotions and stories. Your job is not to get rid of thoughts but to come back. You are learning to be present in the moment.
Try to sit still. Do not move. This may seem impossible at first, but the more you move the more you will want to move. This will require working through discomfort and even pain. Zen is a harder path in this way because it has such a strong emphasis on form. You will learn a lot about yourself by doing so. Sometimes the physical pain can be quite powerful. Not all teachers are strict with posture and suggest moving rather than fighting through pain. But sometimes you’ll be moving just out of habit. You will see how you wiggle around to get away from the moment. If you can, sit as still as a mountain. Be a mountain.
Beginner’s Mind
As with all forms of Buddhism, the aim of Zen practice is enlightenment. Zen assumes that you are already enlightened. Enlightenment is not something you do or a destination you get to; it’s already here. Zen is the here and now. This moment. This moment is just as it occurs; it is just as it is without adding anything to it. Zen is something you experience intuitively. It is not about your rational, intellectual thoughts. In fact, your rational, intellectual thoughts will only get in the way when it comes to Zen practice.
Tasting Enlightened Mind
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Shunryu Suzuki, in Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, says, “The beginner’s mind knows many possibilities, the expert mind few.” Having no preconceived notions, and the willingness to be open to new experiences, is the key to transformation. Having a taste of enlightened mind, you will recognize something you have always had, and somehow lost your connection to. Tasting enlightened mind is like going home.
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You have, throughout your life, constructed an idea of who you are. Zen is being in the moment without the I construct, the me you have created for yourself. Zen exists in the moment with no thought, no ego, bringing nothing to the table. You achieve this realization of emptiness through zazen.
GROUP PRACTICE
The sangha is key to Zen practice. The sangha usually meets in the zendo, a large hall or room where zazen is practiced. When a group gets together to practice, certain rules must apply to ensure that order and the quality of practice is maintained. Each practice group might have its own rules of practice and there might be some variation. Some of the practices used by a sangha might include walking meditation, a dharma talk given by the teacher, tea service, sutra recitation, and bowing. Lighting of candles and incense might be part of the experience.
Teacher and Student
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When the teacher gives a talk to the group it is called teisho. Teisho is not a lecture or a sermon. It is more of a presentation of insight to the students. Often the subject of a teisho will be a koan. A private encounter with the teacher is called dokusan. In dokusan the teacher will gauge the student’s progress and do what is necessary to encourage the student to continue.
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When the Student Is Ready
It is said that when the student is ready, the teacher appears. Although at the heart of Zen is the realization that you are already enlightened, the student–teacher relationship in Zen is a very important element of practice. A teacher will guide the student through the various stages of practice, helping the student toward enlightenment.
Zen is transmitted from person to person. A teacher will have become a teacher through direct transmission from his or her teacher. The teacher in Zen is called the roshi.
SESSHIN
A sesshin is a Zen meditation retreat. Sesshins vary greatly in length, from a weekend to several weeks or more. Zazen is usually practiced for ten or more hours a day, broken with kinhin (walking meditation), work practice, rest periods, teisho, and ritualized eating known as oryoki. The sesshin members rise before dawn and do zazen before breakfast, and they end the day with zazen. Dokusan is held anywhere from one to three times during the day.
Sesshins are periodic intensive practice sessions to augment daily practice. Sesshins are the optimum time to work on koan practice (Rinzai) or shikintaza (Soto), and the dokusan is most helpful and provides encouragement to a flagging spirit. Sesshins are extremely difficult and rewarding. They are wonderful opportunities for practice in a safe environment with no distraction except for your own monkey mind.
Opening the Gate
Chanting is an integral component to Zen practice, especially the Heart Sutra. It is woven into the ritual fabric of Zen practice. For instance a formal Zen practice period (in the Soto Zen tradition) will begin with a series of bows followed by the recitation of the Heart Sutra. An excerpt from the text can be translated as follows:
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva practice deep Prajna paramita when perceive five skandas all empty, relieve every suffering. Sariputra, form not different from emptiness. Emptiness not different from form. Form is the emptiness. Emptiness is the form. Sensation, thought, active substance, consciousness, also like this. Sariptura, this is everything original character; not born, not annihilated not tainted, not pure, does not increase does not decrease. Therefore in emptiness no form, no sensation, thought, active substance, consciousness. No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind; no color, sound, smell, taste, touch, object.
Once the chant is complete another series of bows are made. These prostrations while done in front of an image of the Buddha are not meant as idol worship. The Buddha sits as a symbol of human potential, your nature as an awakened being, and serves as a reminder of that possibility. The ritual of bowing and chanting creates a gate that the participants go through to mark the beginning of the formal practice period. Silence is maintained. Although the participants do not talk with one another, the practice of Zen is communal.
Walking Meditation
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Walking meditation in Zen is called kinhin. Zazen is o
ften broken up with a period or periods of kinhin to stretch the legs and give them some relief. The walking meditation is very slow and the steps are usually synchronized with the breath so that you step with the in-breath and step with the out-breath.
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At the beginning of each sitting (that may last approximately forty-five minutes), each participant bows to the wall, turns 180 degrees clockwise, and waits until everyone in the room has done likewise. When everyone is standing ready to bow (hand in gassho—prayer position or Namaste), then everyone bows together, turns 180 degrees clockwise again, and sits down on their cushion. At the end of the sitting meditation period the bell rings and everyone arises from meditation, arranges their sitting space neatly, bows to the wall (Zen is practiced facing the wall), turns 180 degrees as before, waits for everyone to be ready to bow, and then the group bows together as one. A typical meditation period may last two and a half to three hours with alternating periods of sitting and walking (kinhin) and is followed by a group meal known as oryoki.
