According to the critics of traditional Zen Buddhism, there is, in
Japan, a great distance between the Monastic pratice and the lay
practice, the latter being simply a set of social and colective
cerimonies of social nature, while the latter would be the `Real`
Zen, consisting of zazen practice and study of the buddhist
tradition. The critics also say that the `Real` Zen is in decline in
Japan, since only a tiny minority of the clergy actually follow the
monastic path.
Western Zen Buddhism, by its turn, is basically a lay version of
the japanese monastic path. Not by coincidence, the western practice
has a tendencie to draw the followers away from their normal lifes.
The follower start by attending zazen and lectures at a local Zen
Center. If he becomes really engaged in the practice, he will
eventually attend week-long seshins (retreats) or spend two or three
weeks in a Monastery. Finally, he may decide to become a monk. Of
course, this path is a source of conflict with the followers� family,
friends and professional life.
In other words, in the West, we are recreating the same dichotomy
that, ultimately, led to the decline of Zen institutions in Japan.
Furthermore, it is interesting to point out that hundreds of years of
monastic tradition and practice did not prevent Zen from becoming a
tool of ideological indoctrination and fanatization during the 1930s
and 1940s. Finally, physical and psychological abuse seem to be
recurrent in the history of monastic Zen Buddhism (I read once that
the chinese master of Dogen used to punch his disciples in the
shoulder, during zazen, in order to prevent drousiness).
Therefore, the question is: Can we, in the west, learn from the
mistakes and problems of traditional Zen Buddhism and create a new
form of Zen practice?
According to an article published by the Financial Times in 2001
(and republished in Brasil by the newspaper Folha de S�o Paulo, back
in March of 2001), brands have become a new form of religion. In
other words, the contemporary western citizen defines his ideological
and personal identity through the acquisition of certain consumer
goods and services, which represent values and beliefs held dear by
the consumer. So, you dont buy a Harley Davidson just because you
want to have a motorbike. You buy a Harley Davidson because you enjoy
freedom. You dont buy a Pattek Phillipe just because you want a
wristclock. You buy it because you are a traditional, conservative
person (The add says that "You never actually own a Patek Phillipe,
you merely look after it for the next generation").
If it is our goal to create a new Western Buddhism, we could use
the contemporary economic system in order to transmit certain values
and principles of Zen Buddhism. In my experience, the contemporary
worker is often ill-trained and not properly oriented by his
superiors. We could create new training systems that emphasyze formal
training, technical excellence and total attention to the execution
of daily tasks and to the customer. We could create corporations that
promote estable, long-term labour relationships. The basic idea is to
create a new corporate enviroment and new brands that reflect the Zen
ideology. This way, daily work could become the new lay practice.
And, this way, the Zen ideology could become integrated with daily,
normal life in the contemporary society.
When I was a ten years old, I really liked to go airports (My
father used to travel a lot). The airport was not just a parking lot
for airplanes, it was also a gateway for a better, more
sophisticated, elegant world of travel. This new approach could also
become a gateway for a more serene, elegant way of interacting and
living in the world.
Regards,
Francisco.
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