AS 201 Zen Buddhism

The practice of Zen meditation or Zazen (座禅 - za meaning sitting, and Zen meaning meditation in Japanese), is the core of Zen Buddhism: without it, the is no Zen. Zen meditation, is a way of vigilance and self-discovery which is practiced while sitting on a meditation cushion. It is the experience of living from moment to moment, in the here and now. It is through the practice of Zazen that Gautama got enlightened and became the Buddha.

As Bodhidharma, who is thought of as the first Chinese teacher of Ch'an (Jap: Zen), said:

Once mortals see their nature, all attachments end.  Awareness isn't hidden.  But you can only find it right now.  It's only now.  If you really want to find the Way, don't hold on to anything.

is an attitude of spiritual awakening, which when practiced, can become the source from which all the actions of daily life flow - eating, sleeping, breathing, walking, working, talking, thinking, and so on. See more at

http://www.zen-buddhism.net/

Also,

When you see forms or hear sounds fully engaging body-and-mind, you grasp things directly. Unlike things and their reflections in the mirror, and unlike the moon and its reflection in the water, when one side is illuminated the other side is dark.

To study the buddha way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things. When actualized by myriad things, your body and mind as well as the bodies and minds of others drop away. No trace of realization remains, and this no trace continues endlessly.

What are The core beliefs of Zen Buddhism?

They are what are contained in the Four Noble Truths. They state that the world is suffering, that suffering has a cause, that you can end suffering and that the way to do so is to follow the Eightfold Path, which is a set of guidelines for proper behavior.

Zen does not contradict any of these truths, but it places more emphasis on the third truth than other branches of Buddhism. For the Zen practitioner, ending suffering by waking up into this moment is not only possible, it is the only religious practice that matters. There are often four key princiciples noted:

1. Not relying on the words and letters,

2. Teachings are transmitted outside the Scriptures;

3. Pointing directly into one's mind,

4. Seeing into his own nature and attaining Buddhahood.

 

In other words, it is not about what the Buddha preached about after his Enlightenment experience under the Bo Tree; it is about HAVING that Direct Intuitive Experience of the Truth of the Universe for ourselves.

So, it is not what is talked about in the Scriptures that matters so much as the Experience that they describe itself. So this is Knowledge or Teachings transmitted directly, outside the sciptures. Where are they to be found, then? Directly in our Minds. Seeing our own Buddha Nature and the Onenes of Everything. The only way to get there is through Meditation and Hard Work.

 

Instructions

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