What is Zen? A book review and intro to Rinzai Zen

Posted: August 1, 2010 | Author: Doug | Filed under: Buddhism, Religion, Zen | Leave a comment »

Recently during my latest trip to Japan in April, I had some time to go book shopping. Places like Kinokuniya bookstore in Tokyo have a nice little section for Westerners containing good books not sold in the States, so it’s nice chance to break out of the usual reading options. One book I found to be surprisingly interesting was an introduction to Rinzai Zen, geared toward Japanese readers, but with a nice bi-lingual edition titled What is Zen?　禅ってなんだろう？. I have confirmed that the book isn’t sold anywhere in the States, so the link above is about the only place you can find it.¹

There are other books titled “What is Zen?” by Alan Watts, and D.T. Suzuki, but I am not referring to these books, nor do I endorse either author. This post is about the more recent Japanese book. This book, as stated, was originally written for Japanese audiences by Fujiwara Tōen, a priest of the Rinzai Zen sect. I have noticed that most books on Zen in the West tend to focus on the Sōtō sect, so information on Rinzai, apart from koans (or archery), is surprisingly scant. Recently I talked about the life of Eisai (sometimes called Yōsai), who was a mentor of Dogen, and brought Rinzai to Japan, and yet receives little attention himself despite his notable contributions to Buddhism.

Unlike most books on Zen in the West, which go straight to koans or zazen meditation,² this book treats the practice as part of a larger subject of Buddhism, and avoids getting overly mystical either. It’s a good, gentle, down-to-earth introduction to Buddhism, and how Rinzai Zen applies it. Naturally it does cover zazen meditation in the Rinzai fashion, which differs only slightly from the Soto style, and shows a few different techniques. Rinzai Zen in particular makes they study and contemplation of koans a central practice, and as the book shows, all aspects of monastic life are geared to help one solve the koan they have been given, including meditation itself. The author explains that even when a disciple is ill, that disciple is expected to still be pondering the koan as much as possible.

Additionally, the book covers monastic life in a Rinzai monastery, various tools and instruments used, how a Rinzai monastery is built, how Rinzai expresses itself in art, history of the patriarchs and so on. This background information I think is important as it helps people curious about Buddhism to ease into Zen culture, which otherwise may come off as aloof, elitist or some such.

So what does the book teach about Rinzai and Buddhism? Rev. Fujiwara talks about the life of Shakyamuni, with emphasis on when he gave up a life of austerity and meditated:

Finally he [Shakyamuni] abandoned the practice of austerities, cleansed his body in a river, and sat quietly in meditation beneath a bodhi tree in Bodhgaya. As he meditated, gradually his mind grew calm and clear and he began to see the truth. He was able to reconsider the problems of birth, aging, sickness and death. He realized that he could neither eliminate nor escape those four sufferings…They are an integral part of life. It began to dawn on Shakyamuni that the right way to live is to accept the four sufferings and live our this life one has received to the fullest. And in this fashion, Shakyamuni’s meditation gradually deepened.

But then he noticed a negative energy arising from the depths of his being that refused to accept the four sufferings. He discovered that desire, the refusal to accept the four sufferings as a part of life, was actually the cause of the four sufferings. He recognized a kind of negative energy underlying and controlling that desire, a primal, dark force that could not be dealt with by reason or intellect.³ That primal darkness is ignorance, or mumyō (無明).

Shakyamuni went on to continue to explore the self. The self that was controlled by the powerful force of ignorance could not be the true self. He concluded that without conquering this fundamental ignorance, it was impossible to accept the facts of birth, aging, sickness and death and liberate the mind.

Shakyamuni continued to meditate and explore his inner being until finally he achieved an awakening — satori. He attained full enlightenment as he saw the morning star at dawn. In other words, he grasped the thing that is the true foundation of life. In Buddhism, this is known as “original nature” (honshō 本性), the original self, and various other names. (pg. 34-35, translation Jeffrey Hunter)

Then, regarding how this is approached in Rinzai Zen in particular (Kanji added by me):

As I noted earlier, Zen places great emphasis on kenshō (見性), seeing or awakening to one’s original nature or true self. But it’s very important not to mistake this notion. Zen does not teach that elimination of original ignorance (mumyō) and the discovery of your true self is a process of wiping the film of ignorance from some sort of substantial object like a mirror, revealing a bright light.

During the Southern Song Dynasty in China (960-1279), there was a Zen master named Tosotsu Jūetsu (兜卒従悦). He established three “barriers”—that is, kōans—through which all practitioners had to pass, and this tradition has continued over the centuries. The first question put to the disciple is: “The reason for roaming throughout the land searching for the essence of Zen is to achieve kenshō. Where is your true nature?” Mumon Yamada comments on this as follows: “This self nature (original or true nature; honshō) makes no sound and has no form, shape or color. There is no answer to the question, ‘Where is it?’ You cannot show it when asked to do so. That’s exactly why the disciple is asked to show it.” (pg. 38-39)

But Rev. Fujiwara also warns that this is not a trivial task, and yet it is worth pursuing all the same:

True kenshō is a very difficult practice. That being the case, only a select few individuals who are gifted with special religious capabilities will ever achieve kenshō. One shouldn’t give up on attaining kenshō, but there is another state prior to it called sei (省) (pg. 39-40)

Although I am not a Zen Buddhist myself, I think this is a much needed introduction to Rinzai Zen, and another example of the wealth of Buddhist literature we’re missing in English that is available. Big thanks to Jeffrey Hunter for his translation, and to the publisher for making a bilingual edition. I hope we can see more and more such bilingual editions as time goes on.

Namu Amida Butsu

¹ Pro tip: Amazon JP has an “English version” of the site, if you want to order Japanese stuff overseas, but can’t read. Look for the “Click here to see in English.” link. Or check out either Rakuten, which is now becoming more English-friendly, or White Rabbit Express. I have yet to try either one though.

² I think this is due to the Western preoccupation with meditation and the propensity to write off aspects of Asian Buddhism as “cultural accretions”, while ironically gravitating toward the exotic. The “cultural accretions” comment is something I have seen verbatim not once, but a few times in certain well-known Soto Zen books published by Western converts. In fairness, D.T.Suzuki commits a different fault in his romanticizing of Japanese Buddhism, culture and language as something unique to the world. Reality on the ground is often far more boring, but in a good way, I think. Mysticism and exoticism are all in the mind anyway.

³ Regarding this underlying negative energy, I know all too well.

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