The first serious misunderstanding in Zen that we will often face (the beginner that is) is that we assume Zen teachers are enlightened or at least act like they are enlightened in virtue of being transmitted by their teacher. I went through this misunderstanding as did others I know. The chances of finding an enlightened teacher is likely not going to happen unless you run into a Maitreya like teacher accidentally.
The Zen beginner is really getting an incomplete picture of Zen. Doing a lot of rituals and zazen including sewing your rakusu and robes reinforces that incomplete picture. That’s okay but there is more to Zen. Doing stuff like this is not the true aim of Zen Buddhism.
And then there is the next problem the beginner faces. Is Dogen’s version of Zen (the organic unfolding of Buddha-nature though prolonged sitting) real Zen? Or is Rinzai Zen the better tradition which involves koan introspection leading to, hopefully, kenshō which is the sudden intuition of pure Mind which is luminous and should not be confused with the thinking or reasoning mind?
Which ever Zen you decide to choose is critical and maybe it would be good to study the history of Zen to understand why Zen diverged into different practices. It is also important to answer the question, which Zen fits better with the Buddha’s teaching?
But from my own perspective the best teacher in the world can only point the way and tell you, “Awaken to the pure Mind within you which is luminous, don't keep clinging to your meat body of birth — that thing eventually grows old and dies. You haven’t got that much time.”
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