Zen and Christian Meditation

In order to understand Zen, one has to be familiar with the basic teachings of Buddhism. Buddha(563-483 B.C.) wanted to offer peace and solace to people who were caught in the grip of suffering on account of the Law of Karma. he offered a new path that would take away the burden of suffering from the minds of the people.Hence he taught the following:

1. That life is full of suffering

2. That the cause of human suffering is desire.

3. That the cessation of suffering(Nirvana)is attainable.

4. That the eightfold discipline of morality,meditation and wisdom is the path to attain Nirvana.

Nirvana is the freedom from rebirth, freedom from suffering.

Karma is the force or energy produced by thoughts, words and deeds. Karma implicates all living beings in a series of births and deaths. The present lives are the fruit of the past lives.It was called transmigration by the Brahmanas and the Jains.

The Buddha rejected the idea that any such eternal , unconditioned entity called soul

Or God exists.His self-analysis revealed that everything that makes up the natural world is constantly changing.The Buddha offered his insight as the Middle Way between the Brahamanism and the Jainism.

Two Schools of the Buddhism: Mahayana (monastic life achievable in the lay life ) and Heenayana(Theravada—the way of the elders)

Fr. Griffiths: “ Buddhism will not allow a personal God. The ultimate Reality is conceived in negative terms—it is void(sunya).The essential truth of Buddhism is the doctrine of Nirvana, the cessation of becoming.The way to Nirvana is that of the Dharma—the noble eightfold path—the way of right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right living, right endeavour, right mindfulness, and right contemplation.

The sacred Literature of the Buddhist movement is Tripitaka( Three Collections—Sutra(Discourses),Vinaya(Disciplines) and Abhidharma(the further or higher teachings))

ZEN

Zen is the Japanese term for the Sanskrit word DHYANA meaning meditation. It is meditation without an object. Zen involves bodily position and is meant to drive conviction right down into the guts.

The upper levels of consciousness are ignored in order that one may concentrate at a deeper level.In other words, one is not preoccupied with thought but with the ground of one’s being from which thought takes its origin.Zen is extremely man-centered and existential. The instructions are concerned with the spine , the eye and the abdomen. One is led to Samadhi without too much theory.

As for Zen, the masters constantly exhort the disciples to great faith. This faith is summed up in the following incantation:

I put my faith in the Buddha

I put my faith in the Dharma(law)

I put my faith in the Sangha(community)

Zen speaks about just ‘looking”, just “listening” , just “sitting.”This means that you look or listen or sit and do nothing else. Zen will tell us to listen—to the sound of the river, or the waterfall, or the rain, or whatever it may be.Just listen and do nothing else but listen. And in doing this one becomes one with the object. One identifies with it; one loses one’s small self and discovers one’s true self.

Koan:

It is one of the seemingly crazy elements in Zen. It means a paradoxical problem. The koan is not solved by reason; it defies logic.By a process of identification , one lives the thing, forgets self, and in that forgets koan also.

Examples of Koan: What was the shape of your original face before you were born? We know the sound of two hands clapping.But what is the sound of one hand clapping?

Koan contains an element of psychedelic wisdom that the discursive intellect cannot grasp.The Koan has this effect; it purifies and leads to wisdom.

Christian application of Koan:

Koan approach contains something of tremendous value. In Jesus are summed up all the contradictions, sufferings, and anxieties of man as such. The Gospels abound in Koan. The Scriptures can be read as Koan : Let the dead bury their dead: He that loves his life will lose it. Let the words of the Scripture enter into you like the body and blood of Christ.

Coming to the practical aspect of meditation, if a Christian wants to use the koan exercise, let him select from the Bible a Koan that appeals to him and keep it constantly by him, with faith that it contains enlightenment and that a breakthrough is possible.The Koan exercise may teach us to see into the essence of the Scriptures.

Breathing and Rhythm:

One of the oldest ways of controlling the mind is through breathing. It is recommended in Zen that one should begin with a deep breath.One way of beginning is counting the breathing. While counting, one concentrates on the breath. Finally one stops counting altogether and simply follows the breath or is conscious of the fact that one is breathing.

Christian application:

Some people say that with the inhalation Jesus comes in, and with the exhalation, “I” go out, and in this way the personality is filled with Christ.

Enlightenment:

This is the center of everything in Buddhism.In enlightenment is found great wisdom as well as release from the shackles of suffering. Though the whole of Zen is geared to enlightenment , one is faced with the interesting paradox that one must never desire it.

This inner experience is called Satori.

Christian application:

If the Christian practices Zen, will he arrive at the same experience as the Buddhists?

Conversion or metanoia is the central religious experience demanded by the Gospel.Its vivid expression is found in the Acts of the Apostles where we read of the baptism of the Spirit that follows the imposition of hands. Conversion or metanoia is not the same thing as Satori. The methodology of Zen , if adopted by a Christian, may well culminate in a sudden conversion. If Zen is performed in a Christian atmosphere and surrounded by Christian liturgy, it may bring people to this deep and joyful metanoia.

Buddhism centers around enlightenment and Christianity around conversion.

William Johnston:

I myself believe that if Christian Zen is to be Christian and not simply Zen, it must be somehow Christocentric and somehow built on the Scriptures. But I ask myself if through Zen, we may not find a new approach to Christ.It means approaching Christ without using words and images. In Zen one does not have the use of images and concepts. Can we approach without the use of images and concepts?

I do not think that Christian contemplation and Zen are the same thing. For one thing, Zen never speaks of love. For them , sentiments of love for God, even for a God who is my deepest being and my truest self, are a species of illusion.

The greatest and practical difference between Zen and Christian contemplation is that whereas Zen regards thoughts and feelings and aspirations of love for God as illusion, I regard these as true and valid and valuable religious experiences.

For Zen I can and will continue to learn many things. But I am convinced that it is not the same as the Christian contemplation to which I feel called.

Taisen Deshimanu Roshi:

True Zen consists of sitting quietly in the correct posture. It is not a special state, it is the normal state: silent, peaceful, without aspiration. Zen means to put the mind at rest and to concentrate the mind and body. In Zazen there is no purpose, no seeking to gain something, no special effort or imagination. It is not knowledge to be grasped by the brain. It is solely a practice. A practice which is the true gate to happiness and freedom.

Christian –Zen Meditation:

Lotus posture—breathing in and out—saying a prayer(Koan) to avoid distractions.

The first thing thing is to let go of one’s anxieties.Then , become aware of one’s breathing. Breathing becomes deep and abdominal.. for the Christians, the breath symbolizes the Holy Spirit who fills all things with love.

Lotus posture , if correctly practiced , unites mind and body like the two sides of one coin.

One way of meditation is to adopt one of the postures and to become aware of one’s hands, feet and the whole body, repeating the words of Jesus…

One can let go of anxieties as the conviction of being loved grows and deepens and becomes an unshakable source of strength.