Tag Archives: Zen

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

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What’s the difference between a mental concept and a mentally direct experience?

“The tulip is reddish-orange.”
“Snow covers the mountainside blindingly white.”

Are these mental concepts or mentally direct experiences?

Or perhaps both?

Zen argues we should rely solely on direct experience
And avoid mental concepts which can be manipulated inside one’s head
And end up, really, as almost anything at all.

So, tell me, are love, truth, justice, and beauty, direct experiences or mental concepts?
If they’re direct experiences – they could be reality – the same as God.
If they’re mental concepts, on the other hand, they might be mirages, dreams,
or complex manipulations inside one’s mind – i.e., lies!

Zen repeatedly has attempted to distinguish between mental concepts and direct experience
but, in my opinion, has not had much success in parsing this.

I think that’s because, sometimes, mental concepts actually are identical with reality –
at least in certain times, circumstances, and places.

They just are!

A BABY’S EYES

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As a young lawyer, I represented art galleries, dance companies, “movement” activists, and various educational and religious groups, especially those wishing to qualify for federal tax-exempt status. During that time, I was representing a small Zen Buddhist group in Washington, D.C. At one point, they requested whether I would also represent their parent group, a large Zen Buddhist monastery in the Catskills. I agreed, but they then told me I would first have to personally meet their Zen Master, Eido Roshi. Every year he came to Georgetown University to give a talk so I would be able to meet him there. When the time came, I went to Georgetown and was led backstage for a face to face meeting. I was a bit apprehensive – what would it be like to meet a “real” Zen Master? The man I was introduced to was in his mid-sixties, but when I looked at him, the first thing I noticed were his eyes. I was looking at an elderly man, bearing a lifetime of experience, who was looking at me through a “baby’s” eyes. (Of course, how this actually works is that one automatically sees oneself through the other person’s eyes.) This was shocking to me – I had never seen anything like it!  What I learned was that human beings exist who are able to combine the openness and spontaneity of a child with a deep adult wisdom. I learned that human beings are not all alike and that, with respect to my own life, I certainly had a long way to go.

JUST WHAT IS SACRED?

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“Everything!” say the Zen people
But have no idea, really, how that might work.

“Nothing” says 21st Century Man
And doesn’t give it another thought.

Actually, it’s naming a specific object or task
As being “holy” –
As if, by naming it, one can make it so.

There are those who try to eat the sacred
Believing, by swallowing it, you can bring God inside you –
Many religions practice a form of this belief.

The word “sacred” has also been used by various religions
And their faithful
As an “Open Sesame” to their proprietary collective –
A password that can get you past the front door.

Usually, when one claims something is “sacred,” they mean it’s “related to God” –
Something God has “touched” in the past and might want to touch again.

Are there people that, in and of themselves, are sacred?
Or is it only when such a person touches an object that makes it so –
For example, a spiritual symbol that can be worn on a gold chain
Ensuring that, if one suddenly dies, they’ll have a better chance of ending up with God?

Maybe sacred objects are simply reminders passed by along the road of life
Muttering: “There’s something important you’ve been missing.”

Back here, though, in the land of sunshine,
One final bit of unconscious joy is allocated just before we pass
To brighten up our final step
Into glory or, alternatively, to the place that’s quickly going dark.

Hopefully, long before then, you’ll be allowed the time to become a little more
“Sacred” yourself –
You know – along with God – in the land of the living.

THE NECESSITY OF FREEDOM IN ACHIEVING SPIRITUAL EVOLUTION

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The more I think about what’s required for us to evolve spiritually, the more I have ended up thinking about freedom.  In Diner Mystic, I included a Zen quote by Lin-Chi, that says:

“O you followers of Truth! If you wish to obtain an orthodox understanding of Zen, do not be deceived by others.  Inwardly or outwardly, if you encounter any obstacles kill them right away.  If you encounter the Buddha, kill him; if you encounter the Patriarch, kill him; … kill them all without hesitation, for this is the only way to deliverance.  Do not get yourselves entangled with any object, but stand alone, pass on, and be free!”

At the time, I thought he was right, but hadn’t yet thought all the way through just why he’s right.  Ultimately, I have come to the conclusion that the essential nature of God is freedom – that it’s impossible for God to exist without absolute freedom.  Any ideas that we have of God that are less than this, or that restrict God’s freedom in any way, are just plain wrong. It’s difficult, however, for human beings to think clearly about a God who has this kind of absolute freedom – because it’s difficult to think about what possessing that kind of freedom would mean for human beings themselves.  Without this freedom, God is not God and, equally so, without it, it would never be possible for human beings to discover their true selves.  It’s that important!

I intend to address this issue of spiritual freedom more fully in my next post.