I was recently asked by friend J.C. from the blog Jasmin’s Heart to write a guest post for him. I happily accepted and wrote a post just like I would as if it were here on my blog. It is entitled That’s So Zen. Be sure to read it and leave a comment. I am excited about it! Be sure to read several of J.C.’s great articles while you are there.
For those of you who don’t know, I have studied Zen most of my life. If people consider me to be religious in any way, it is because of Zen (which I think of as not being religion necessarily, but a form of spiritual psychology). After my article, Interview With a Blind Homeless Man, many Christian readers told me that I was Christian even if I didn’t proclaim to be. I assure you, I am not a Christian. I am affiliated with no religions, though I do believe in God in my own way. I’ve studied almost every religion/philosophy and find them fascinating.
The argument I have with most religions, such as Christianity, Islam or Judaism is they seem to have an answer to life’s most important questions, like who are we and what happens after we die. It’s the same problem I have with atheism which also provides these answers to a certain extent. This is one reason why I followed the path of Zen. I am a student of Confucianism, neo-Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and the Oomoto faith – though I do not follow any one specifically. I consider myself a very spiritual person with no religious precept.
The Asian religions have the idea that if there is a God, that God exists inside us as well as everywhere else. Many Christian scholars have accepted that idea also. If I had to say which religion my own personal beliefs coincided with, I would say a combination of Zen, Buddhism and Yogi philosophy. In other words, I have made up my own religious beliefs, much of which could be misconstrued as agnostic but are free of sexism and racism (which many religions still practice to this day).
We’ve all heard the Zen koan, “Two hands clap and there is a sound. What is the sound of one hand?” by Hakuin Ekaku; or commonly asked, “What is the sound of one hand clapping.” In this simple koan, the deepest concepts of enlightenment can be derived. Of course there is no answer to this koan, regardless of what many people believe. An answer may be given to demonstrate a pupil’s comprehension, but still, there is no concrete answer. The idea is to develop intuition and awareness of that which cannot be understood in logical terms.
In Zen, there are no answers. This can be explained by the following quote, “Seek not to know the answers, but to understand the questions.” It is more about what I refer to as the interrogative state of mind, where one is open and questioning, allowing intuition to guide us. The truth is, there are no answers to questions like, “Is there a God?”, “What happens to our souls after death?” or “Do we have a soul?”
I read several books about religions that say people came here from another planet (think Scientology). A Christian would say, “That person is crazy.” What I say is, “You believe Jesus died, after 3 days was resurrected and ascended into heaven…so are they really crazy?”
The truth is, nobody knows anything for sure, but if it gives you comfort, then so be it – whatever gets you through the night. From a Zen standpoint, the answers are unimportant. It is in the pondering itself that provides an answer, if you want to call it that. Just so you know, I respect all beliefs and do not judge people for theirs. Besides, all religions have a streak of exaggeration and craziness.
The idea of Zen can readily be applied to any intellectual human thought. I am a guitarist, so I’ll explain a little. After practicing a musical scale (such as the ionian, dorian or melodic minor) thousands of times, it becomes ingrained and part of your neuromuscular memory. You know it. You know it’s sound. You know the way a certain scale feels under your fingers. After that is accomplished, you apply it in real music, using that particular musical scale to convey a mood or feeling. In Zen, this is only the beginning. It is after a spiritual transcendence of that scale, a true Zen state can be achieved. Thus, all great musicians have achieved enlightenment in music, or they wouldn’t be great (though greatness is relative if you believe in relativism). I’m referring to true giants like Stravinsky, Mozart, John Coltrane, John McLaughlin or other such masters. It’s the idea that you learn all the theory, master it and forget it so you can express it with a still mind.
If you are a computer programmer, the same thing applies. You must master a particular programming language before you can fly with it. Again, that flying is just the beginning in Zen. It is after you spiritually transcend that knowledge that you become alive with freedom of expression. You see, Zen is all about hard work and that special place you come to upon mastery. And mastery means no ego. Mastery means you are reborn as a beginner, which means you know nothing. Now, you may wonder why I chose to discuss computer programming and Zen together. I know many programmers who have reached this type of enlightenment. It’s just like anything a person learns such as art, music, writing and so forth. The realization that one is and will always be a beginner, or at least has that open mindedness, is where that dynamic answer exists; because there are no answers, only more questions, which is exactly the point. Now for this weeks links:
StumbleUpon Graveyard – By Tim Nash: This post explains how a stumbled post can end up in the no traffic graveyard. It stresses how important it is to do a review with each stumble, especially if it is an article you discover (you’re 1st to stumble it). Tim has some fantastic websites, and many of his articles are beyond my scope of current knowledge; however, he is a nice guy who really engages his readers and is willing to help people out. Be sure to read this post, it is my pick of the week.
Dead Body Outside My Window – By Mariuca: I was shocked when I saw this post. Marzie saw a real dead body on the concrete right outside her window – very disturbing indeed! She actually included some pictures which gave me the willies! Be sure to check this one out.
Build It Or Break It – by Ruby of Servizot Dot Com: This post really hit home with me because I relate to it so strongly. She explains one of those tough situations at work we can all learn from. A great article!
How to Succeed at Article Marketing – From Pajama Professional: This is a look at article marketing, a powerful method most people don’t know anything about. The author, Sara Christensen offers a case study and and much insight into this often overlooked area of marketing.
Add Borders to Images – by Sue Blimely: An easy to understand tutorial for adding borders to images including padding and so forth. A very useful post. Sue’s blog is filled with useful articles so be sure to check them out.
I also want to congratulate Jamilla in getting her first accounting job Walking Into Another Section of My Life..that’s Career! Go Jamy!
Last but not least, I want to congratulate Shinade on her 700th post Life Never Ceases To Amaze Me-700 Posts – That is a gargantuan amount! Go Jackie!
