Zen has been described as the religion that isn't: it doesn't revere a god, it doesn't insist on adherence to holy scripture, it doesn't promise an afterlife, and it doesn't offer solutions to life's mysteries, it isn't dogmatic and it doesn't rely on rite and ritual. But on the other hand, it's still a spiritually-derived form of faith. Where does it fit in? Can one be an atheist and follow Zen? Can one be a Zen Christian? What are your thoughts on this?
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Would anyone like to discuss Zen for a moment?
- Thread starter Dylan
- Start date
One reason Zen has grown in the West is because of its great adaptability. Since Zen incorporates paradox into its logic, it can accomodate Christian beliefs. The question is whether Christianity can accomodate Zen. Only the most liberal Christian denominations would consider it appropriate, and only you can decide if it's right for yourself. Read some Alan Watts - he was an Anglican minister who interpreted Zen for Westerners and helped popularize it.
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I don't mind discussing it now and Zen. ;P
I followed such a path for a while and found it very helpful. I became calmer, nicer to live with. Happier (or perhaps 'more contented' is a better way of putting it) too. All through the Buddha's suggestion to 'suck it and see' (OK, I paraphrased there a bit).
I've never had a belief in deities (though I consider myself 'spiritual' along the lines of all that 'inter connectedness', one-with-the-Universe stuff) so I'd say you can be an atheist and practise Zen.
As for Christianity, well, Zen seems to have different ideas about dualities. 'Good' and 'Evil' are more .. relative concepts. And I can't see the idea of being born into sin and requiring salvation really fitting into the Buddhist worldview.
So while the meditation techniques could be used by pretty much anyone; since like yoga or tai chi they can just be applied practically, I think it would be difficult to combine Christian beliefs with Zen concepts such as nirvana, 'suffering' and 'enlightenment'.
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I followed such a path for a while and found it very helpful. I became calmer, nicer to live with. Happier (or perhaps 'more contented' is a better way of putting it) too. All through the Buddha's suggestion to 'suck it and see' (OK, I paraphrased there a bit).
I've never had a belief in deities (though I consider myself 'spiritual' along the lines of all that 'inter connectedness', one-with-the-Universe stuff) so I'd say you can be an atheist and practise Zen.
As for Christianity, well, Zen seems to have different ideas about dualities. 'Good' and 'Evil' are more .. relative concepts. And I can't see the idea of being born into sin and requiring salvation really fitting into the Buddhist worldview.
So while the meditation techniques could be used by pretty much anyone; since like yoga or tai chi they can just be applied practically, I think it would be difficult to combine Christian beliefs with Zen concepts such as nirvana, 'suffering' and 'enlightenment'.
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IN one of the more specialized branches of Japanese Zen, One of the states of being, is to have an empty mind. This doesn’t mean to be mindless, but rather not to have fixed ideas or emotions. To help to achieved this state, the repeating of a koan is used, which is a saying that seems nonsensical but induces that sense of open mindedness. So having a fixed religious outlook would be counter to this. However there was a poplar book years ago called Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance so who knows