Zen Description Essays - Nondualism, Yogacara, Buddha-nature

Zen Description What is "Zen" It is a conservative view of some, that the world is a very strange place. Once upon a time, four men and a woman all wished they could meet the perfect person. Each in his or her own way received a message to be at a certain bar at a time and at the third stool from the left, the perfect person would be sitting. The woman got there early, and sat down in the fourth seat to wait. As the time grew closer, she decided it wouldn't hurt to "freshen up" and popped into the bathroom. Just as the door to the bath room closed, the first man a Priest, came in. He looked wildly around the room for a second, and then gazed toward the third seat. Seeing no one there, a look of relief crossed his face. "Thank you, Lord! I fell to a temptation to sin. And you allowed me to see the error of my ways." he muttered. Just as the priest was leaving, the second man a Buddhist, came in. He looked serenely around the room for a moment, the then gazed upon the third seat. Seeing no one there, a look of amazement crossed his face. "Thank you, Lord! I failed to realize the nature of things. And you allowed to see the error of my ways," he muttered. Just as the Buddhist was leaving, the third man a Zen Poet, came in. He slowly look around the room, and the gazed toward the third seat. Seeing no one there, he sighed. And went to sit at the third seat of the bar. Just after the Poet had sat down, the fourth man stumbled in. He looked right at the third seat. Seeing the poet, a look of horror crossed his face. "I'm not gay! I'm not gay! he muttered as he stumbled back out the door. Just as the fourth man left, the woman returned. Seeing the poet, she wondered, "This is the perfect guy?" Uncertain, she sat down at her seat and began to talk to him. The question of "What is Zen?" is the best answer to itself. The common sense point of view that it's a sect of Buddhism based upon the Buddha's mythic "Flower Sutra" is not wrong. Many point toward that exchange as the start of what is Zen. A more scientific view might be to consider Zen as a societal extension of Bodhidharma's four assertions. This is not incorrect either. At this moment, I think the best view is to consider Zen as the skillful means of skillful means. Those who have come to intuitively understand the Buddha's enlightenment use it. Seeing directly into their answer, they see the source of their self-nature, and seek to share the vision with anyone who requests it. We can talk of the various schools and their ways of demonstrating the fundamental truth of reality. But such talk is really only the construction of a gate for those of an intellectual bent. The essence of Zen is nothing more or less than directly perceiving the world around us without the blinders of our own thoughts and opinions. Reach into that moment of understanding, and all of Zen flows forth. Pause for a moment to believe it, and all the oceans of the world turn into deserts. The western mind likes metaphors as points. Recently, I remembered one that was told to me long ago. I will relate it, in hopes that it might shed some light upon this serious issue. The essence of Zen is much like the nature of any computer system. When you get right down to it, "It's all zeros and ones!" See the Zeroes and ones as you like. Try to understand where the software ends, and the hardware begins. Try to follow the chain of history of ideas. Look into the various events, which led to the reception of this essay. All these people, things and events are a useful, if you want to understand the device known as a computer. All their events, people and things are useless, if you don't care about it. Either way, it all comes down to a pattern of zeros and ones interacting with other patterns of zeroes and ones. To see into the essence of the problem of Zen, just ask ten people what computer's are and how they work. Most people will admit, they don't know. A few will offer very different distortions of it,