Zen is a practice; a way of living that is focused on being awake, finding joy, contentment and enlightenment in the present moment. It is a practice that measures its success by the degree of peace one experiences in their life. Zen is a 2500 year old method, evolving from Gotama Buddha in India, which then spread by Bodhidharma to China, Vinītaruci to Vietnam, Myōan Eisai to Japan, and Beomnang to Korea. From Zen practice one attains awakening (Kensho) to embark on the path to enlightenment, which is the total eradication of suffering from our present lives, while peace and joy are the fruits of its core practice.
The core practice of Zen (a.k.a. Dhyana, Chan, Thiền) is the most direct method to attain a deep understanding of the true nature of human existence. Zen emphasis is on the practice of meditation, while one arrives at the eradication of suffering through the insights gained from the intuitive wisdom of simply sitting and observing reality in the present moment without the filters of subjective interpretation.
The earlier Zen/Chan masters of China used methods of self-inquiry (Hua Tou) a series of questions without logical answers or case record of interactions between past Zen Masters from old texts (also called Koan or Công Án). Zen teachers use these tools in order to direct students to observe and focus on them, which would eventually break the mind’s barrier to gain a deeper direct insights into the nature of reality. This breaking of the mental barrier, or the brief moment of awakening that occurs is called a Satori (or Kensho, Đốn Ngộ). Usually, the student would come back to the teacher and describe what the student experienced and the teacher would then confirm his or her breakthrough (also called Ấn Chứng) and direct the student towards further practice. The Kensho breakthrough is the most important entry into the deeply transformative spritual practice of Zen. It is the true beginning of a spiritual path equivalent to Stream Entry in Theravada Buddhism.
When the student’s understanding and practice experience is solidified, the teacher then confirms proper transmission of the Dharma and the student is then authorized to teach and guide others from his or her direct experience into the true nature of life through non-dual experience of the present. In Rinzai school, this requires many years of rigourous training through the koan cirriculum after Kensho.
The practice of Zen is usually called the “method outside the doctrines of Buddhism” (giáo ngoại biệt truyền). It is sometimes seen as being secretive, or perplexing by the ordinary person and even other Buddhists. There are many examples of Zen masters acting strangely or talking with each other strangely, which many find puzzling, however, the teachings were meant only for the person to whom the words or actions are communicated towards. So others rarely catch onto the hidden meanings behind the teaching for that specific individual.
The reason for the confusion is because the essence of the Zen practice (a.k.a. Enlightenment) is non-conceptual and experiential. It is not for the rational mind to comprehend otherwise one could simply read a book about Zen and be done with it. We know that one could not simply read a book about playing guitar and be expected to be able to play like the author of the book when s/he is finished reading. In fact, for those with no musical experience, the words might not even make sense and yet for some reason, we expect ourselves to be able to understand the Truth of existence rationally and conceptually, as if we could fit the infinite into the finite space of our minds. If you are confused by Zen, that is a good place to start. Always remember that the Zen practice has three most important elements that cannot be missing for a successful practice:
- Daily sitting meditation
- One on one guidance from one’s guiding teacher (Dokusan/ Sanzen)
- Kensho/breakthrough awakening and post-Kensho koan practice
For many years Zen was viewed as something that must be taught in secret by an individual master to a student. The reason for this is that each individual is unique with their own unique conceptual and perceptual clinging in life. The teachings in Zen are on a one to one personal basis so that the student can ask any personal questions or describe any unique experiences that may come up in order to fully benefit from the guidance of the teacher.
In our daily lives we are so busy with making a living and fulfilling life’s many responsibilities that for the average person, the study of Zen seems inaccessible. Contrary to what many believe, Zen is a very simple practice that can easily be incorporated into our daily lives in order to enrich our experience of the present moment, every moment of our lives. Zen is not is a practice removed from the reality of this world, one doesn’t necessarily need to join a monastery or to become a monastic to practice the path, but dedication to the path is still a requirement.
Five Flavors of Meditation
Guifeng Zongmi (Chinese: 圭峰宗密; pinyin: Guīfēng Zōngmì; Japanese pronunciation: Keihō Shūmitsu) (780–841) was a Tang dynasty Buddhist scholar and bhikkhu, installed as fifth patriarch of the Huayan school as well as a patriarch of the Heze school of Southern Chan/Zen Buddhism. Guifeng Zongmi distinguished between the different types of meditation practices which is still relevant today.
Five Flavours of Meditation (五味禪) – In his discourse Preface to the Collection of Chan Sources (禪源諸詮集都序) points to the different types of meditation that is ordinarily practiced.
- Conventional meditation (凡夫禪, ja. bompu-zen): points to the regular types of meditation people do to gain better physical health and mental health. This points to the mindfulness movements in contemporary Buddhism where most people uses meditation to relieve anxieties, depression or illness related to stress.
- Non-Buddhism meditation (外道禪; ja. gedō-zen): points to meditation methods that are not from Buddhism, originating from other religions or spiritual practices.
- Dualistic-way meditation (二乘禪) or Hinayana meditation (小乘禪; ja. shōjō-zen): points to Theravada meditation or Insight meditation arising from the Pali Sutra. These methods involve the practice of Jhanas and Vipassana, gradually going through successive steps leading to liberation and ends rebirth in samsara. This method ends at Nirodha-Samapatti where extinction of rebirth is experience.
- Mahayana Meditations (大乘禪; ja. daijō-zen): The goal which is to awaken into one’s true nature (見性; ja. kenshō/ Satori). The experience of Kensho brings ones into the realization that all things are connected and are the same and realizing from direct experience the true nature of liberation. From this experience, deepening practice gradually changes one’s everyday actions to be for the benefit all beings.
- The Greatest Path Meditation (最上乘禪; ja. saijōjō-zen): In this meditation practice, the path and the goal becomes one. Zen is not for the purpose of awakening anymore, but is a direct manifestation of awakened nature (ja. busshō). In the Buddhist Sutras, this is the highest form of Zen practiced by Buddhas and no other higher form of meditation exists in the Dharma. This form of meditation is only realized by those who had tasted the 4th flavour and spent many years deepening it.
Many people come to Zen practice and mistake the first flavour of meditation for Zen, but originally, Zen schools weren’t founded to be conventionally used and not as a mental or physical health practice. You can certainly use meditation or Zen that way, it can be an effective tool for mental health balance, but it isn’t originally intended for that goal. The goal of Zen meditation is the 4th and ultimately the 5th flavour of meditation: the sudden-awakening school and non-dualistic way of living. It is a rigorous spiritual practice requiring discipline and dedication. It isn’t designed as a gradual successive meditation method but a highly intuitive, disciplined and direct method.
Some people might first come through the Zen practice because they want to use it for the first flavor, however, it ultimately won’t lead to the end of sufferings. Gradually, they find out that dualistic meditation and meditation for mental/physical health is like building a house on shifting sands, sufferings continue to follow them like a cart follows a horse towing it. The goal of the Buddha’s practice and teachings was never intended for the purpose of suffering management but the end of sufferings.
Zen Training with Us
Zen trainings at our Sangha for an absolute beginner starts with the beginner’s course. After completing the beginner’s course, a practitioner may remain with our sangha to practice and learn more about Zen on a general basis by coming to our sittings before making a serious comittment to learn and practice it. The real Zen training begins with on-going one-on-one guidance by the teacher. It is the general requirement of our Zen school that a commitment is required for direct one-on-one guidance (Dokusan) to be offered in Zen trainings. The commitments are:
- The practitioner to take the three gems and observe the five lay precepts and come to periodic SanghaKarman Ceremony.
- The practitioner to commit to daily sitting of a minimum of an hour a day and follow the guidance of the teacher.
- The practitioner commmits to going to weekly sangha sittings and dokusan every two weeks until Kensho/Satori happens.
Due to limited time availability, our teachers can only take on students for personal guidance who are serious about the meditation practice and willing to commit to the above requirements.
Advanced Trainings
For practitioners who have solved their break-through koans and experience Kensho/Satori, further training is provided through bi-monthly Koan Study Group. This involves further observing 10 precepts for advance practice and post-kensho integration practice. This advance training period can last anywhere from 5 years to 20 years depending on the disposition and dedication of the practitioner. The ciriculum involves traditional koan ciriculum using the Gateless Gate, Blue Cliffs Records and a selection of Zen textual studies taken from the Teachings of Linji, Bodhidharma, Hui Neng, Diamond Sutra, Platform Sutra, Lankavatara Sutra, Vimalakirti Sutra, Shurangama Sutra, Śrīmālādevī Sūtra, the Awakening of Faith and Song of Enlightenment. Some emphasis also will be given to introductory to Buddhist psychology of the unconscious (Yogachara). Once a practitioner had completed post-kensho integration practice, they are given Dharma Transmission, authorized to teach and guide others independently while continuing to practice and develop further with the advanced study group support.