Alan Watts

[JonW]

Brilliant article on Alan Watts by Tim Lott.
A must-read for anyone interested in Zen.
http://www.aeonmagazine.com/oceanic-fee ... alan-watts

[Gareth]

What is Zen? It's a word I see a lot, but I don't really know what it means.

[stopitaggers]

Excellent question Gareth and one which I await answers to with interest.

My (inexpert) understanding is that it is a technique, whether a religion or not is debatable, whose aim is self realisation or awakening. There are thousands of books on the subject but perhaps the best in my humble opinion is "the three pillars of zen" by Philip Kapleau. He went through years of training in Japan and was instrumental in bringing zen to the west. This book will probably be of interest mainly for it's accounts by a number of practitioners of the enlightenment experiences they had during/after their training. The accounts are memorable.

A number of westerners trained under Japanese masters and some went on to teach in a way westerners could engage with. There are striking similarities and much common ground shared by mindfulness and the zen taught by, for example, Charlotte Joko Beck, whose books "Everyday Zen" and "Nothing Special - Living Zen" I value. The practice involves a combination of sitting meditation, simply observing the thoughts which arise but not attaching to them, and also simply paying close attention to the present moment.

Does anyone else has thoughts on the similarities between mindfulness and zen?

Dave

[JonW]

Hi Dave.
I can't really improve on your excellent definition.
Oddly enough I just recommended the Kapleau book on another thread before I read your post.
That's a great starting point for anyone interested in exploring Zen. The works of Alan Watts are also indispensable. Additionally I would recommend The Poetry of Zen by Sam Hammill and J. P. Seaton.
I've only recently started exploring Zen and I've found that it deepens my understanding of mindfulness meditation. Simply put, mindfulness is the very heart of Zen.

[stopitaggers]

Interesting stuff Jon, I noticed that on the youtube clip I watched of Kabat-Zinn talking to the staff at google he mentioned that he had studied under a zen master. There certainly seems to be a lot of common ground shared by zen and mindfulness. I guess the religious paraphernalia of zen (chanting etc) might put some people off whereas mindfulness doesn't seem to have such trappings so no-one need be concerned.

Dave

[JonW]

Not that chanting is compulsory, of course. And, even if a Zen Buddhist was chanting, it wouldn't be in worship of a higher being. Though it's often referred to as a religion, Buddhism is more a self-transformative way of life than a system of faith.

[JonW]

Or perhaps the best way to describe Zen would be "practical mysticism".

[ZenDoe]

A starting place: http://zendoe.net/2011/09/25/what-is-zen/

"practical mysticism" That's wonderful!

I've practiced Zen for many, many years. "Mindfulness" is not so different in terms of practical application in each moment of our lives.

[JonW]

Loved the blog, Zendoe. Excellent stuff.

[ZenDoe]

Loved the blog, Zendoe. Excellent stuff.

Very kind of you, Jon.