Essays in Zen Buddhism : $b First seriesSuzuki, Daisetz Teitaro
Religion
Essays in Zen Buddhism : $b First series
Suzuki, Daisetz Teitaro
Zen Buddhism
of him and sent his courtier twice asking him to appear at Court but
failed to get him out. So the Emperor had his words instead which he
took for his spiritual guidance. The teaching [of the sixth patriarch]
in detail is generally accessible to-day; all those who talk at all
about Zen find their source of information in Ts‘ao-ch‘i.”[f103]
After Hui-nêng Zen was split up into several schools, two of which
have survived even down to this day, in China as well as in Japan. The
one represented by Hsing-szŭ, of Ch‘ing-yüan, (died 740), continues now
as the Soto (Ts‘ao-tung) school of Zen, and the other coming down the
line of Huai-jang, of Nan-yüeh (677–744),[4.66] is now represented by
the Rinzai (Lin-chi) school. Though much modified in various aspects,
the principle and spirit of Zen Buddhism is still alive as it was in
the days of the sixth patriarch, and as one of the great spiritual
heritages of the East it is still wielding its unique influence
especially among the cultured people in Japan.
ON SATORI—THE REVELATION OF A NEW TRUTH IN ZEN BUDDHISM
ON SATORI—THE REVELATION OF A NEW TRUTH IN ZEN BUDDHISM
I
The essence of Zen Buddhism consists in acquiring a new viewpoint of
looking at life and things generally. By this I mean that if we want
to get into the inmost life of Zen, we must forego all our ordinary
habits of thinking which control our everyday life, we must try to see
if there is any other way of judging things, or rather if our ordinary
way is always sufficient to give us the ultimate satisfaction of our
spiritual needs. If we feel dissatisfied somehow with this life, if
there is something in our ordinary way of living that deprives us
of freedom in its most sanctified sense, we must endeavour to find
a way somewhere which gives us a sense of finality and contentment.
Zen proposes to do this for us and assures us of the acquirement of a
new point of view in which life assumes a fresher, deeper, and more
satisfying aspect. This acquirement, however, is really and naturally
the greatest mental cataclysm one can go through with in life. It is
no easy task, it is a kind of fiery baptism, and one has to go through
the storm, the earthquake, the overthrowing of the mountains, and the
breaking in pieces of the rocks.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account