Zen is Not Buddhism

Last updated on: February 4, 2014 at 9:18 am by Justin Whitaker

Zen is Not Buddhism 2014-02-04T09:18:06-07:00 Justin Whitaker

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Tonight I’ve taken on the task of “talking about Zen” for our campus Sangha. Not an enviable task for someone who is admittedly very ignorant about the subject. But what is the saying, “fools walk where angels dare not tread”?

There are, I think, four ways to “talk about Zen.” Or perhaps 4000, or 84,000, or whatever. I like to keep things simple.

First, there is a scholarly history of Zen: very textual, lots of dates and names, fancy words with arrows like Zen <– Ch’an <– Dhyāna <– Jhāna. Second is a Zen history of Zen: The Buddha holds up a flower in front of a great assembly of gods and men and all are perplexed at this seemingly meaningless action, except Mahākāśyapa, who smiled; and thus Zen was first transmitted in India. This is from D.T. Suzuki’s wonderful book, “Studies in Zen.” Scholars don’t much like D.T. Suzuki. As one remarked in reviewing another Zen history:

…Dumoulin outlined the evolution of Zen Buddhism in straightforward and easily comprehensible terms. There was nothing here of the intentionally obfuscatory tone taken in some of D. T Suzuki’s (1870—1966) works on Zen, for example, in which the author’s goal was as much to mystify as to explain his subject matter.

Perhaps it’s too broad to say that scholars don’t like Suzuki, but he can frustrate things. Such is the case when he writes, “In such wise [wisdom?] the Zen masters handled their religion. They were boldly original and not at all hampered by any traditional teaching of Buddha.” (p.23)

Thirdly, we can begin to talk about experience. First we may speak of a gradual path within Zen, as taught perhaps in the 10 oxherding pictures. Gil Fronsdale (a Theravada teacher, mostly) has a great talk on this here.

And fourth, we might talk about the other side of Zen experience, sudden awakening. Sudden awakening is the notion that we are all already Buddhas and all we need to do is realize that; any thought of a path or progress or development is inherently dualistic and missing the ultimate point of Zen, which is to be awake here now.

I suppose I could look too at Zen philosophy, but I think history and experience nicely sums up What Zen Is. Here are some assorted notes for the talk, which may or may not find their way into the final product:

That ‘Zen is Not Buddhism’ is an assertion I first heard in my MA days (2005), and goes back at least to the publication of “Pruning the Bodhi Tree: The Storm Over Critical Buddhism.” It’s with much gratitude that I note that the book may be downloaded in its entirety from here (a pdf of contents with links).

The heart of the argument is something like this (From Swanson’s introduction, p.7):

Buddhism is the teaching of non-self (muga; anātman) and the teaching of causality (pratītyasamutpāda). This teaching of causality is not that of universal mutual co-arising and non-temporal causality developed later (as, for example, in the Hua-yen tradition), but the temporal, twelvefold chain of dependent arising as discovered by the Buddha during his enlightenment under the Bodhi tree and classically expressed in the Mahāvagga…. Dhātu-vāda is antithetical to Buddhism, since it is the very teaching that Śākyamuni intended to deny. The idea of a tathāgata-garbha, the “womb,” “matrix,” or “seed” of Buddhahood inherent in all sentient beings, is a form of Dhātu-vāda and thus is not Buddhist.

The ethical outcome for this, it is argued is:

In practice it leads to discrimination, since if one assumes a single basis and underlying reality for all things—that good and evil, strong and weak, rich and poor, right and wrong, are fundamentally “the same”—there is no need or incentive to correct any injustice or right any wrong or challenge the status quo.

And indeed this teaching was found to be useful for soldiers throughout Japanese history: if there is ultimately no being to be killed, there is no wrong in the act [of killing].

On the other hand, this may not phase a Zen master or student. Returning to D.T. Suzuki, we find the teaching that, “Zen has nothing to teach us in the way of intellectual analysis; nor has it any set of doctrines which are imposed on its followers for acceptance. In this respect Zen is quite chaotic if you choose to say so…. If I am asked, then, what Zen teaches, I would answer, Zen teaches nothing.” (p. 38 of “An Introduction to Zen Buddhism”)

We, Zen and non-Zen alike, might condemn murder, but this is a dualistic act and has nothing to do with Zen. It may be “good” to do so, but good is a dualistic judgment and has nothing to do with Zen. Ethics are important, and indeed are probably taught and enforced by all Zen teachers, but… they have nothing to do with Zen.

But… They might have a lot to do with this thing we call Buddhism.

Then again, I might just flip through the Sayings of Linji (Chao-chou) and Wumen’s Gate (Wu-men kuan), tell a few stories and enjoy the laughter and puzzlement of the students. And then, meditate.

Previous Post

February 11, 2010

When You are You, Zen is Zen

Next Post

February 20, 2010 All Smiles

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Academia Activism American Buddhism Art Book review Buddhism Buddhism Today Buddhist Ethics Burma/Myanmar China Christianity Commodification Environment Gender Happiness Health Humor India Interfaith Islam Japanese Buddhism Kant Media / News Meditation mindfulness Photography Poetry Politics quicktakes Running Teaching Technology Thailand Theism/Atheism Theravada Tibet Tibetan Buddhism Travels Uncategorized Unitarian Universalism video Western Philosophy Zen

Select a Month June 2021 January 2021 November 2020 August 2020 July 2020 March 2020 January 2020 October 2019 August 2019 June 2019 May 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 November 2004 September 2004 August 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz