Comprehensive Study Notes on Japanese Zen Buddhism

Etymology and Origins of Zen Buddhism

  • The Japanese word Zen is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the Middle Chinese word chan or jian.

  • The Middle Chinese terms are in turn derived from the Sanskrit word dhyana.

  • Dhyana can be translated as meditation, meditative state, or meditative absorption.

The Two Major Schools: Rinzai and Soto

  • There are two primary sects or schools of Zen Buddhism in Japan:

    • The Rinzai Zen school: Founded by Isai, who lived from Nov to 12151215 of the Common Era.

    • The Soto School of Zen: Founded by Dogen, who lived from 12001200 to Dec of the Common Era.

  • A key physical distinction between the sects is sitting orientation:

    • Monks in the Soto sect sit facing the wall.

    • Monks in the Rinzai sect face each other.

The Soto School: Principles and Practice

  • Soto Zen is focuses solely on the practice of Za Zen (seated meditation).

  • Another term for Tzatzen is Shikantaza, which is translated as:

    • "nothing but sitting"

    • "doing only Tzatzen wholeheartedly"

    • "single-minded sitting"

  • The practice is loosely translated as "silent illumination" or "serene reflection."

  • Description of practice:

    • It does not require focused attention on a specific object.

    • Practitioners sit in a state of conscious awareness.

    • As one Zen master stated: "Tzazen is good for nothing. Practice without expectation."

  • Dogen (or Dogen Zenji) was a Japanese monk, writer, poet, philosopher, and founder of the school.

    • He taught that Zazen is the gateway to total liberation.

    • He was originally a practitioner of Tiendai Buddhism but sought a more "authentic" Buddhism.

    • He traveled to China for 55 years of training in Chan Buddhism before returning to Japan.

    • He founded the head temple of the school today at Eihachi.

The Philosophy and Goal of Zazen

  • Master Doguen asserts that Tzar Zen goes back to the Buddha, who sat in Tzar Zen for 66 years before liberation.

  • Zen Buddhism rejects the idea that the Buddha's teachings are in decline.

  • It teaches that practitioners can achieve instant enlightenment in this life without:

    • Striving through many lives.

    • Worshipping a Buddha in a pure land.

Meditation Techniques and Comparisons

  • Theravada Buddhism contrast:

    • Meditation is designed to increase concentration.

    • Shamatha (calming meditation) involve concentrating on an object like one's breath.

    • Vipassana (insight meditation) focuses on mental visualizations and analytical awareness.

  • The Three Characteristics (Marks) of Existence:

    • 11: Impermanence.

    • 22: Pain and suffering/dissatisfaction.

    • 33: Lack of self-subsistence (Anatman).

  • Shunyata (Mahayana Buddhism): The principle that everything in the universe is characterized by emptiness or is empty of inherent existence.

  • Zen Meditation Mechanics:

    • Sitting still in a kneeling posture.

    • Regulated breathing.

    • Stilling of thoughts and unification of the mind.

    • Special modes of concentration and control of emotions.

    • Strengthening of will and cultivation of silence in the deepest recesses of the mind.

    • Quieting the "chant chatter" or the voices in the head that one mistakes for the self.

The Heart-Mind and Mindfulness

  • The goal is to establish preconditions to look into the heart mind.

  • This allows the discovery of the true nature of existence: Bodhi (enlightenment nature).

  • According to the Zen monk philosophy, focusing wholly on each object and action during Tzar Zen strips extraneous thoughts.

  • It is described as a "heightened state of concentrated awareness" that is neither tense nor hurried, nor slack.

  • Mindfulness approach:

    • Focusing on breathing cycles (inhalation and exhalation).

    • Watching thoughts "flutter through" without giving them an anchor or believing they are real.

    • Observing thoughts without analysis or reflection, ensuring one does not "become the thoughts."

The Kyotsaku (Awakening Stick)

  • In intense Soto practice, a senior monk may use the Kyotsaku (or Kyozaku).

  • This is known as the "awakening" or "encouragement" stick.

  • The monk strikes the meditator 33 times on the shoulder or back.

  • Rules for Kyozaku:

    • It is always administered at the request of the meditator.

    • The meditator bows their head, puts palms together, and exposes each shoulder.

  • Purpose according to Philip Kaplow:

    • It can elicit superhuman bursts of energy.

    • It leads to a "dynamic one pointedness of mind" indispensable for Kensho.

    • It embodies compassion, force, and wisdom.

The Experience of Awakening: Kensho and Satori

  • Ultimate goal: To break the mind of logic and undo the "logical mind" that functions dualistically (dividing subject/object, self/other).

  • Buddha Chitta or Buddhadhatu: The underlying true nature revealed through meditation.

  • Kensho:

    • Literally means "seeing into one's own nature."

    • Represents an impermanent experience of enlightenment.

    • Described as a passing away of forms, destruction of distinctiveness, and unearthly clarity.

    • Transcends pain and exhaustion; transforms objects into a state of freshness and purity.

  • Satori:

    • Meaning self-realization or the opening of the mind's eye.

    • A deeper, more profound, and permanent transformation of the enlightened view.

  • Practitioner accounts of Kinsho:

    • "Every single thing is dancing vividly… breathes quietly."

    • "I've totally disappeared. Buddha is."

Rinzai Zen: Rituals, Samurai, and Martial Arts

  • Isai is credited with bringing both the Rinzai School and green tea from China to Japan.

  • The Rinzai school developed various rituals beyond tzar Zen to cultivate calm:

    • Japanese tea ceremony: An elaborate, heavily ritualized series of steps used as meditative practice.

    • Warrior Arts: Archery, swordplay, and martial arts.

  • Objectives in martial practice:

    • Naturalizing bodily actions.

    • Doing things without thinking to "get into the groove."

    • Letting go of the discursive mind and going "with the flow."

  • Popularity: Very popular among the Japanese aristocracy and the samurai (warrior class).

The Zen Koan: Breaking the Logical Mind

  • Koans are pithy, nonsensical mental puzzles that cannot be solved by conventional reasoning.

  • Function: They are verbal expressions of enlightenment intended to be "triggers" to unlock the mind.

  • Douglas Hofstadter on Koans:

    • Zen resists being enclosed in verbal space.

    • Koans do not contain enough information to impart enlightenment themselves but act as mechanisms for the student's mind.

  • The Two Truths Principle: Language presents a paradoxical vision of reality at conventional and ultimate levels. A Koan answer must be beyond both.

  • Volume: There are roughly 1,7001,700 total koans, with 500500 core koans in Japanese Zen.

  • Key Texts: The Momokan and the Hidikan Roku.

  • Core Attitude: Words and truth are incompatible. "If you want to practice Zen, then shut up."

Analysis of Famous Koans

  • The Dog and Buddha Nature:

    • Question: "Has a dog Buddha Nature or not?"

    • Master Jyoshu's reply: "Moo!" (or Mu).

    • Interpretation: "Moo" means "no" or "nothing," but is also the sound a dog makes in Japan. Unthinking absorption in "Mu" leads to oneness.

  • The Original Face:

    • Question: "Neither thinking of good nor evil, at this very moment, what was your original face before your father and mother were born?"

    • Interpretation: A prompt to express no self (Anatman).

  • One Hand Clapping:

    • "Two hands clap and there is a sound. What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

    • Interpretation: A metaphor for dualism (subject-object). One monk simply thrust out one hand to show spontaneity and the abandonment of "additive thinking" (1+1=21 + 1 = 2).

  • The Water Buffalo:

    • Scenario: A water buffalo passes through a window lattice. Head, horns, and hooves pass through, but the tail cannot.

    • Interpretation: The "tail" represents how the simplest, most obvious aspect of enlightenment (right in front of our face) is often the hardest to pass through the "lattice" of the brain compared to complex doctrines.

  • Polishing the Brick:

    • Student: "I practice Zen to become a Buddha."

    • Teacher: Starts polishing a brick. Student asks why. Teacher: "I'm trying to make a mirror."

    • Lesson: You cannot make a mirror by polishing a brick any more than you can become a Buddha just by doing "sitting Zen" with a discriminating mind.

  • Killing the Buddha (Master Dogen):

    • "If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him."

    • Interpretation: One cannot "meet" a Buddha because a Buddha has no self. Meeting a Buddha is a projection of the self. "Killing" the Buddha means destroying the self-projection and preconceptions.

  • Being vs. Thinking (Chunru Suzuki, Di Zhang, Qi Xiang):

    • Master Di Zhang asks Qi Xiang about Buddhism in the South.

    • Qi Xiang mentions "extensive discussion."

    • Master's reply: How can discussion compare to planting fields and making rice to eat?

    • Final Perspective: For those who don't understand, the Buddha exists. For those who do, he does not (as a thing), but exists as a process.