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 collective cerimonies of social nature, while the former 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.
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