Lance Kinseth, Radiance, 48”x60
THAT WHICH ZEN POPULARLY references is a sense of calmness
to the point of sustained serenity in Zen mastery, a need for little from the
everyday world, aesthetic simplicity, naturalness, and, increasingly, improved
health from stress reduction and physiological changes brought about by a
central activity of meditation.
These become possibilities that aspirants seek to develop into enduring
attributes rather than rare occurrences.
These popular referents do not accurately describe Zen
essence and can even be distractions.
Again, popularly, Zen begins with the mythical account of
Siddhartha Gautama suddenly, and quite astonishingly, experiencing the morning
star in a remarkable way. All of
the above experiences could be outcomes of such an experience, but they are, in
and of themselves, superficial and not the primary point.
“Zen” references the experience of a primary point. And this experience began before
Siddhartha’s experience. The
Upanishads contains descriptions of a state of being to which Siddhartha was
exposed in his dialogue and experimentation with “Upanishadists” who comprised
a portion of wandering individuals rebelling against the sacrificial traditions
of his time. This state of being—awakening—appears
in the oral and written records of a variety of cultures, some of which
pre-date even the Upanishads.
Siddhartha’s contribution was a more authentic experience of
a natural dimension of human experience—an awakened knowledge rather than an
esoteric religious and/or psychic experience. And it was far more than just a richer psychological
dimension. Paradoxically,
Siddhartha’s contribution became housed in a religious tradition wherein he is
envisioned as its founder. Still,
Siddhartha’s original experience became luminous at various rare points rather
than obscured as a religious motif as it passed through various societies. This original experience is the heart
of Zen.
The Avatamsaka and
Lotus Sutras are but my walking, staying, sitting, and lying.
Kyong Ho, from “Song
of Enlightenment”
So, no dogma, no tradition, cutting through, what does
Siddhartha suddenly experience, now, in this moment?
