You
have done me a great service.
To thank you with words would be to cheapen the gift.
(Kung Fu)
The flower sermon
Buddha came before his followers holding a flower and did
not say anything at all.
The lesson of the flower sermon was simple and direct.
This was the beginning of what would one day be called 'zen'.
Chan
The religion of Buddhism travelled from India to China before moving
on to Japan.
The Chinese blended Buddhism with taoism to create 'chan'.
Chan would later be known as 'zen'.
Zen adheres to the insights of taoism, and represents an
attempt to live in the spontaneous moment of the immediate.
Buddhist?
It is not necessary to become a Buddhist in order to understand and
appreciate zen.
The process of formalising zen is a contradiction in terms, as it removes
the natural simplicity of the flower sermon.
Zen is a sensibility not a religion.
Beyond words
Tao Te Ching begins with Lao Tzu proposing a discussion of 'tao'.
He admits that tao is not a thing, an
object or a subject, and that it cannot be verbalised or thought.
The inexpressible cannot be
articulated with
words.
Yet he proceeds to chat anyway.
80 chapters follow.
Admitting the limitations of
thought and
language is a principle theme in
zen.
Nothing is more immediate than the actual.
The word for car is not a car, and if you eat a
menu it will not taste like
the food it describes.
Krishnamurti explored this same topic
extensively in his teachings.
Manifestations of zen
Tao flourished in China but zen reached its peak in Japan where sects and
religious groups existed for centuries.
At some point in history the sensibilities of zen attained a life
independent of Buddhist religion.
Examples of zen influence could be seen in
gardens, pottery, clothing, mannerisms and
customs.
Common zen themes: simplicity, essentials, depth, naturalness, composure,
suggestion, asymmetry and transcendence.
There is also an appreciation of that which endures and that which fades.
The
cherry blossom is a classic zen symbol, and
was adopted by the samurai.
Zen in the martial arts
The raw immediacy advocated by zen suits the martial arts.
Superfluity has no place in self defence, and zen is an ideal way to trim
your art down to the fundamentals.
A student who is
absorbed in the doing is said to be
in a condition of 'shen',
where no division exists between the
art and the individual.
Our school advocates a zen approach to the study and practice of tai chi.
If you are not sure what this means, read Zen in the Art of Archery
- it reflects our approach very well.
Why do you expect to?
The beginners syllabus is an introduction to tai chi. You are not expected to
understand it straight away.
Understanding takes time.
People often try to understand tai chi in terms of something else: boxing, judo,
karate, wing chun.
This is like considering Paul in terms of Peter.
A beginner initially lacks context.
As they practice, the pieces slowly come together and the art makes sense.
Page created 1 May 1998