"Zen is a Japanese term which has its origins in the Sanscrit dhyana, meaning at once concentration, dynamic stillness, and contemplation. The means toward the realization of one's original nature as well as the realization itself, Zen is both something one does - the practice of cultivating attention to the present moment- and something one essentially is. To emphasize one aspect at the expense of the other is to misunderstand this subtle and profound practice."
Source - Zen at Notre Dame
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I've been thinking about Zen Buddhism for 35 years now - my how time flies.
It entered my consciousness because of a great teacher who recommended I study philosophy when I was in high school and also because it was popularized by Alan Watts and by some of Jack Kerouac's writings, particularly The Dharma Bums
. The main character of that book is Japhy Ryder who Kerouac based on Gary Snyder. It was also a way to rebel against some of the institutionalized religious practices that I had grown up with as a Catholic.I have to admit if someone asked me to explain what Zen is about I can't. I can sort of point at it... maybe.
I could recommend you go to the Zen Restaurant on South Congress Avenue in Austin and sit there for awhile and see if a video comes on that shows a Buddhist Monk standing peacefully in the noise, hustle and bustle of a crowded city street...maybe it's something like that - but not really. That's a popularized version of the effect of practicing Zen - I know I liked seeing it over and over while having a raspberry green tea and tofu rice bowl. There was some catchy loud techno-like music playing and the video was on various large screens strategically placed for diners to see - which all added to my fascination with the idea of commercializing Zen (I'm not trying to put the place down - it's not a bad cafe and I'd rather be eating there than a lot of other places). I wish there was one in Everett.
The short version of Zen is that it's the practice of quieting your mind, becoming free from attachments and becoming one with something. That something is either your true self or God or both.
Rather than using the phrase "free from attachments" or the word detachment, it's more precise to say that we are becoming free to choose our attachments, which is why the popular notion of a serene monk-like figure with no-cares is not quite right. Zen is a spiritual practice (one of many) that allows us to choose what we will care about.
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Wikipedia article on Zen
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From zen habits
"Simplifying isn’t meant to leave your life empty — it’s meant to leave space in your life for what you really want to do."
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Thomas Merton's book Zen and the Birds of Appetite explores the relationship between Christianity and Zen, and includes a dialogue with the Zen teacher D.T. Suzuki.
I haven't read it yet but I'm putting it on my summer reading list.
