Thoughts are, similarly, dependent on your surroundings and on everything that has ever surrounded you. On what are you standing? Presumably you are standing on the ground, but, since that is the case, does the ground not need to exist for you to be standing on it? And if so, is it not impossible to stand without ground to stand on? In Zen, however, the realization occurs that no entity – person or otherwise – can exist in isolation from the rest of existence.Ĭonsider the statement “I am standing” for a second. The way that most people experience the world hinges on the concept of separateness one where the “I” that is you is utterly distinct from everything else. I’ll break it down into bite-sized chunks to make it easier starting with… Oneness Trying to explain Zen is akin to trying to describe color to a person who was born without sight no matter how hard you try, color needs to be seen to be truly experienced.ĭespite all this, I will try to explain something of Zen, even if my words merely skim the surface of the deeper meaning. Some would say that Zen is the only true experience you can have. Zen is not something that can be understood in the traditional sense, and nor, really, can it be explained. That is to say that Zen cannot come about through the study of texts or the contemplation of the mind. ![]() ![]() Trying to think about and write about Zen is precisely what Zen is not. I do this because, during my research, I found their use to only hinder my understanding of the nature of Zen. In writing this article, I have tried to forego the use of the Sanskrit words used in Buddhist texts. The following words will inevitably fall short in trying to describe and explain what Zen is, but, nonetheless, I hope that they might help expand your understanding of it and aid your pursuit of it.
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