Greetings Mark,
Seeing the True Nature in Things: Zen Buddhism teaches how to let go of the perception of things. It's said perception is not the true identity of a thing, so Buddhists are taught to go beyond perception. It is said, that before practicing Zen, mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers. While practicing Zen, mountains are not mountains and rivers are not rivers. After practicing Zen, mountains are again mountains, and rivers are again rivers. Zen enables one to look past the concepts of things, and rely on deeper insight to correct and eradicate false perception. Zen Buddhism: Concepts and Perception: Concepts are misleading. They elude to an independent, or as the Dalai Lama labels it, "an intrinsic existence." Concepts establish duality: this is or is not. A perception of a rose says that it is a flower, separate from soil, water, or sunlight. It’s seen as being independent from those elements, or phenomena. According to the principles of Zen Buddhism, this is a false concept. The truth of perception depends on a deeper insight. Perception is the construct of knowledge. A false perception will lead to false knowledge. Conceptualization acts as a sword, cutting phenomena into separate bits, reducing complex discernments. The principle of identity illustrates the cutting ability of concepts: A is A, it is not B or C. The Zen principle of identity is quite different: A is not A, A is B, C & D, therefore A is A. But the third A is very different from the second A. A Riddle in Zen Buddhism – A Rose is and is not: A famous Zen riddle illustrates how perception, concept, form, and emptiness come together. The lesson involves a rose: A rose is not a rose; therefore it is a rose. A rose is not a rose of concept. It is not a rose of perception. It does not exist independently, or come to life all on its own. A rose arises from other phenomena, like soil, water, and sunlight. When the Buddha sees a rose, he first recognizes the interdependent nature of the rose; it is the soil from which it grows, it is the water from which it drinks, and it is the sunlight under which it blooms. It is incapable of existing independently of all phenomena. It is the culmination of its necessary conditions for existence. Its origin is dependent on them: Dependent Origination. The Buddha sees the true nature of the rose by looking more deeply into it, identifying that it is not an independent form, but the aggregation of all the phenomena that contribute to its arising: True Nature. Form and Emptiness According to Zen Buddhists: Within the heart of Zen Buddhism is the principle of form and emptiness. According to this principle, form is emptiness; and emptiness is form. Zen Buddhists believe that form is an aggregate of conditions. It arises into being and exists because of other conditions arising and waning. Its existence is entirely dependent. Consequent of this dependence, form is empty of independent existence. It is empty of intrinsic qualities. Form is therefore called emptiness. Form arises out of emptiness; thus created by emptiness. Form does not have a concrete identity. Its existence is not isolated. Because of the lack of identity and isolated existence the nature of form is empty. Thus, emptiness is form. But it's important that one does not mistake emptiness for non-existence. The principle of emptiness points to the emptiness of independent existence; illustrating dependent origination, and stressing the interconnectivity of every thing. Seeing the True Nature of Things: Zen does not attempt to question the existence of things. The Zen lens focuses on the manner in which things exist. The true nature of a thing is discovered by looking deeply into it and identifying the absence of its intrinsic existence. An everyday rose exists. The rose the Buddha sees also exists, but in a deeper way. The Buddha sees the true nature of a rose – that it is not a rose, but a composite of phenomena. A manifestation of a thing, a form, and a rose is the miracle of conditions and phenomena co-arising. The true nature of a thing, a form, and a rose is empty of intrinsic qualities. Zen Buddhists believe that by seeing the true nature of things, one can express a deeper compassion, or true compassion for every thing. ___ Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org/md/archives.html
