Most people who study Zen these days, even hardcore practitioners, think that Zen is all about living in the here and the now, even celebrating the mundane life. As a result of this wrong view they cherry-pick Zen trying to find examples that comport with this 'mundane view' of theirs. Such people are lost. They are so far from the truth of Zen it is laughable and sad at the same time.
These same people never think about what Zen master Dongshan Chu actually meant when he said: "But tell me, what principle does a Chan practitioner rely on?" They just assume that Zen is all about being aware of mundane things and the experiences of everyday life. This might even be a good koan, “What principle does a Chan practitioner rely on?”
The principle that Zen/Chan relies on is seeing one’s true nature 見性 which is beyond the ambit of the mundane life. Lacking this sudden attainment by which we see the principle there is no wisdom; nor the slightest chance of becoming either a Bodhisattva or a Buddha. Mumon describes this principle when he says:
The attainment of this mysterious illumination [妙悟] means cutting off the workings of the ordinary mind completely. If you have not done this and passed the barrier [関], you are a phantom among the undergrowth and weeds” (Blyth, Zen and Zen Classics V. 4, p. 31).
Cutting off the workings of the ordinary mind is done completely and suddenly. Only then does one pass through the no-gate 無門 being in the historic line of all Zen masters.
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