Zen

Although the teachings of Zen Buddhism may seem contrary when paired with warfare, the historical influences of Zen in Samurai tradition makes it difficult to imagine a time without the Buddhist injection. No matter the contrarian arguments against the adaptation of Zen Buddhism, its implementation into Japanese warring culture lead to a cultivation of an ancient military skill set, that puts the samurai in a place weighing amongst the most honored yet often misunderstood combatant forms in…

The Japanese gardens styles also were influenced by the religions of Shintoism and Buddhism. The Ryoan-ji garden is one of the most famous Zen Buddhism gardens in Kyoto, Japan and was built in the second half of the fifteenth century. It is a significant garden because of organization and symbolism. The organization of the Ryoan-ji garden was based on Zen gardens which are a medieval dry rock garden including rocks, sand, and moss. The Ryoan-ji is a rectangle about 300 meters square with 30…

Chan Meditation initially grabbed my attention with the concept that the endurance of pain can be used as a tool for the development of concentration. I was first introduced to Chan meditation after participating in a short group meditation sit, held at a park in Downey and organized by the Lu mountain temple. The participants mainly discussed pain, and how concentrating on the discomfort can help relieve it. This experience left me with three major questions; what is Chan Buddhism? ; Why do…

In my middle school years, I went through the awkward pubescent phase that all preteens do, yet with a little extra flair: I was kind of ‘emo’. I listened to hard core rock songs about death and betrayal, and wrote so many short stories with the main character being brutally murdered via either a bus, gun, or goblin that I look back upon these notepads and just laugh. Perhaps this was some kind of inspiration from the angsty fanfiction I was obsessed with reading, but I became fascinated with…

The artist describes this piece , not just because Zen and 911 events have coincidence of dust , nor are talking about a social phenomenon itself. It is discussing the relationship between spiritial space and material space. Today human needs to rethink seriously and peacefully those who have become rusty, but those are the most basic and important questions, such as what we need to advocate and persue, what is the real power, what is the basic points of mutual respect through different…

manages to simplify the complex emotions and ideas within society by utilizing symbolisms of everyday items and experiences to convey her perceptions about solitude and regrets in life as well as analyze the complexity of one’s identity. Hirshfield’s Zen Buddhist affiliations contribute to the philosophical tone of her poems in their abstract conceptualization of life experiences and emotions. In her 3 works “Rebus”, “Moment” and “A Hand is Shaped for What it Holds or Makes”, Hirshfield’s strong…

disciples which caused sudden enlightenment. Hisamatsu Shin’ichi was a Buddhist scholar born in 1889, who studied at Kyoto University and most famously taught at Harvard’s Divinity School in 1957, interprets Linji’s teachings in Critical Sermons of the Zen Tradition: Hisamatsu's Talks on Linji. Hisamatsu makes strong positive statements on Linji, saying that his “words and actions are not expedient means” (5) but the immediately present truth and as a scholar who placed significant value on…

Thích Nhất Hạnh was born in 1926 in central Vietnam. He was born with the name of Nguyen Xuan Bao. When he was 16, he decided to enter a Zen Buddhist Monastery, changing his name to Thích Nhất Hạnh. He began practicing medication and later founded a voluntary organization named School of Youth for Social Services. This school went around to different areas of Vietnam to help provide necessities like education, health care and improvements on infrastructure. Later, in 1960, he moved to the United…

Comparison Essay: China and Japan Even though the Chinese and the Japanese were similar with their art and religion they both are very different with the styles they used and even what they believed. In China they had several different dynasties which all of these dynasties have different ways of art and them believes. With the Yuan Dynasty which produced porcelain pottery, the Ming Dynasty which produced wood carving furniture, and the Qing Dynasty which produced western style paintings. Now…

My Awakening began with a visit to the Missouri Zen Center in Webster Groves. I have a family connection to Zen Buddhism through my niece and nephew. This piqued my curiosity of what it was like inside a temple or center for Buddhism. I made the decision before going that I would follow Eihei Dogan’s quote and “To forget the self is to be awakened by all things” this way I would have a clear mind of my experience. The center is in a tranquil setting in a Victorian house tucked up a hill…