The purpose of Zen

For a beginner or a seasoned veteran of the zazen pillow it is appropriate to ask what is the real purpose of Zen.  If I flip through my copy of Shunyru Suzuki’s book, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind (1996) he tells the reader that the true purpose of Zen “is to see things as they are, to observe things as they are, and to let everything go as it goes” (p. 33).  Suzuki’s understanding of the purpose of Zen is a bit off, however.  It needs some unpacking.

To see things as they are is to see them exactly the way a Buddha sees them because that is truly the way things are!  On the other hand, to see things not as the are, means to see them with an unenlightened mind.  In a way, to see something as it really is, the way a Buddha does, is not see it!  Let’s take the example of looking at a gold lion.  To see the gold lion the way it really is, is to see that there is no lion.  There is only gold.  The lion is a superimposition.  Thingy-ness, in other words, like lions, trees, grass, and the lawnmower, does not fundamentally exist.  There is only Mind:  Mind which is the fundamental substance or Suchness (tathata).

From the foregoing, the real purpose of Zen should be to realize Buddha Mind which we are capable of realizing if we stop clinging to unrealities.  Only with such a Mind can we see the way things are, living accordingly.  I think a better definition of the “purpose of Zen” comes from Wood’s, The Dictionary of Zen.

“In China, Zen is also called hsin tsung, which means "the teaching of the Mind," referring of course to the Buddha-mind, with its Enlightenment.  This is really also the perfecting of the mind, for in the perfecting of the mind there is the discovery of the Buddha-mind.  This is the very central and essential purpose of Zen Buddhism” (p. 159).

 

Comments

[jessi kyann]

no. the student must be ready first. he must not be the most ignorant of all.if so, he will not learn. jessi kyann

[K Grey]

You are trying to tell Suziki what he was trying to tell you! *L*

[clyde]

Koji;

“There is no Bodhi tree,
Nor is a clear mirror the stand.
Originally, all is empty
So where can the dust motes land?”
- Huineng

Intrinsically there is no dust.

clyde

[Kojizen]

Clyde, intrinsically beings are not "fleeting and fragile." They seem to be this way because they cling to what is fleeting and fragile. This "clinging" is the problem, including the dust in their eyes and their incorrigibility.

[clyde]

Koji;

Whether a being has “lots of dust in their eyes” or “little dust in their eyes”, a being is fleeting and fragile, and the Buddha’s compassion was for fleeting and fragile beings.

And I appreciate your concern and compassion for me, even if you believe I have ‘lots of dust in my eyes’ : )

clyde