Zen Essay

Stated most simply, Meditation is the practice of deep concentration of the mind. The practice involves either altered state of mind or relaxed state of body. Meditation has been around for thousands of years. Evidence of the practice can be found throughout history in many different religions and many different places in the world. In the past decades, the practice has gained new popularity in the world for its physical, psychological and spiritual benefits. Many people have tried and felt the benefit

Enlightening Kibyoshi The Japanese literary genre known as the kibyōshi was considered to be mostly a comic book for children. However, after reading some Kibyoshi in depth, one realizes the Kibyoshi can be filled with deeper significance than just the surface meaning. Kibyoshi are filled with content that require a certain level of sophistication and general knowledge that may be above the average level of children. The Kibyoshi became a medium for sociopolitical satire, Edo-centrism and commodification

In 1965, the Second Vatican Council of the Catholic Church published Nostra Aetate, a church document which they hoped would allow for interreligious dialogues to coincide with the Church’s mission of proclamation. This document connects the Church with the other major world religions by saying that the Church “rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions.” Although the document’s original intent was to restore a positive relationship between the Church and the Jewish people, it presented

Bill Viola is an American contemporary video artist. His piece, The Reflecting Pool, was released in 1979, the artwork took two years to make and has been exhibited in numerous galleries around the world. Viola’s works are known to include themes of human life, and the Reflecting Pool revolves around the subject of time, birth, death, rebirth, and memory. Viola describes The Reflecting Pool as “a collection of five independent works which, taken as a whole, describe the stages of a personal journey

Poets in the 1950’s began writing about Asiatic poetics in an ancient style called a Sutra. This was different than the poets incorporating Eastern philosophy of Zen Buddhism. Zen Buddhism can be defined as the cohesive harmony of the mind and body through the practice of meditation and spiritual connection to nature (Britannica). A Sutra can be defined as a teaching that is part of an ancient religious tradition (Britannica). It is a Buddhist manuscript that teaches a moral. Allen Ginsberg and Gary

years each, and led to the mappo. Mappo is the era in which the dharma is no longer successful, and it is not impossible to follow correct practice, which is now ineffective and tainted. In this essay I will compare and contrast the belief of Mappo in Zen, Nichiren, and Pure Land schools, and discussing

drew from was, Buddhism. With the martial arts elements present, it makes sense that the Buddhist ideas that underlie most eastern fighting traditions would appear. The movie in particular, uses Zen Buddhist ideas and imagery, the most prominent example being that of the mirror. The Buddhist mirror is a Zen concept that demonstrates the ideal mind and how it should operate. The idea behind it is that an ideal mind is clear or without thought, like a mirror is. A mirror is not attached to anything

The comparison of Hisamatsu’s “The record of Linji” and Suzuki’s “Zen Mind, Beginner Mind” illuminates a variety of similarities and differences concerning the path of enlightenment. We will exam some of these points, to further illustrate the process in which each individual may pursue this path to enlightenment. Each chosen passage will also help identify themes of awakening, which may be relevant in today’s society. The first passage we will examine pertains to “The record of Linji” and will help

The Zen monks saw no distinction between garden design and sculpture, and neither should we. I see no reason why a garden cannot be created using man-made materials and ‘fine art’ techniques, whilst still retaining the principles inherent in garden design. Can a new Ryoanji be constructed? THE SUNKEN GARDEN AT THE CHASE MANHATTAN PLAZA: a derivation of the dry Ryoanji garden in the contemporary world. Samu Noguchi , an important and a critically acclaimed sculptor in his Sunken Garden gestures playfully

both entail. I will generally connect both schools to sudden enlightenment but while some would argue that this means that enlightenment happens instantaneously in both, I will counter that there is somewhat of a gradual enlightenment component to Zen Buddhism making this the tradition in which enlightenment is slower to achieve. I will justify this claim through evidence provided by the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra which is an important sutra in Chan Buddhism. In this Sutra I will point to its endorsement