The Confucian side of Zen

That the Western Dharma center or Zen center structure still contain somewhat of a Confucian underpinning in which the family model is central is not hard to see for anyone who have been involved with a Dharma center.  

Important in Confucianism are the Five Relationships.  Not quite five, nevertheless, Confucian style relationships are important in the Dharma or Zen center.  There is the teacher or Roshi's relationship with the members of the Dharma center.  In addition, there is a relationship with his or her most senior students as well as a relationship of senior students with beginners, and a beginner's relationship with other beginners.  Each relationship is hierarchical and yet reciprocal.  Each side has certain obligations and responsibilities to the other.

In Confucianism, rituals or observances constitute the mechanism by which these relationships are maintained.  Jiyu Kennett’s book, Selling Water by the River, is a good example of this mechanism as it is found, more or less, in Western Zen centers.  It is also a compendium of Zen rituals which even includes a funeral ceremony for a Zen priest including the proper layout such as where flowers are to be placed, including the memorial tablet, the candle, etc.  None of this, by the way, is found in the Buddhist canon—it is Confucianist in orientation.

The second part of Kennett’s book opens up with “How Junior Priests Must Behave in the Presence of Senior Priests.”  One observance (number five) instructs the junior Priest as follows:  “Do not laugh loudly, suddenly or with disrespect in the presence of a senior.”  In all, Kennett lists sixty-two observances.  

Turning abruptly to the subject of the realization of Buddha Mind and how Zen's underlying Confucian structure handles this most important part of Buddhism, this quote from Weiming Tu's book, Confucian Thought, might be helpful.

"The emphasis is on the concrete path by which one learns to be human rather than on the final goal of self-realization.  The idea of the Analects that filiality and brotherliness are the bases of humanity, properly interpreted, means that being filial and brotherly is the initial step towards realizing one's humanity" (p. 123).

In other words, so-called ‘enlightened conduct’ seems to be pivotal here—not the genuine realization of Buddha Mind, itself, which can happen outside of the Zen Confucian-like family.  When it comes to the Zen transmission it is really the transmission of the father's legacy to the son in a Confucian sense.  This transmission is supposed to help enlarge the influence of the particular Zen family.

Western Zennists, for the most part, are not following real Buddhism but unknowingly have entered into the Confucian matrix.  If Westerners are looking for Zen sans Confucianism they have to look at the life of the Indian anchorite (P., ishi; S., rishi) who purposely withdraws from the human world to focus, instead, on discovering its substance (tathata) which is transcendent.

 

Comments

[Gregory Wonderwheel]

"When it comes to the Zen transmission it is really the transmission of the father's legacy to the son in a Confucian sense."

I'm not sure here if you mean Zen generically or Japanese Zen specifically which has the literal father-son examples more than anywhere else. Passing the temple from father to son is to me definitely a problem, but passing the transmission from teacher to disciple should not be confused with passing a temple. The transmission from teacher to disciple began in India and was even discussed at the time in relation to the teachers of Asoka and how Asoka's teachers received transmission through either Upali or Ananda.

[Gregory Wonderwheel]

The social relationships of monks came from the Indian vinaya and was only adapted to Confucian contexts, not created from them. The strict senority of monks is a good example of what came from Indian Buddhism that fit neatly into the Confucian filial piety structure.

[Java Junkie in Miami]

For gawds sake you crusty old dude, just say what 'is'

A: gotama was a subpar teacher with almost NO philosophical lexicon to his brainpan to voice the metaphysics of ontological mechanics. Period.

B: Buddhism was sce-rewed about 1500 years ago.

C: trying to breath (hah!, breath, animus ATMAN(atmo-sphere/breath) life into the DEAD CORPSE of zen is like giving CPR to Sir Newtons bones/dust.

I sayeth, pisseth on buddhism and its bastard retard child zen.

Praise the gods, praise wisdom, praise the Absolute, but wisdom above else,...for wisdom and the Absolute and the Self are but 1 'thing'. - said by me.