Lying at its core, Zen Buddhism allows for one to discover the nature of one’s own being, freeing the person from the chains of life, and leads them to freedom. ... Zen helps to tap the energies of this battery, channeling them in the proper direction, and at the same time redirects some of the energy back into the battery to keep it recharged and alive. ...
Since Zen Buddhism began over 800 years ago in Japan, it would be an impossible feat to write every concept of the philosophy in one neat little book or essay. ... Of course there are several philosophical books on Zen, one a significant text written by the Zen master Dogen called Shobogenzo. Before Dogen wrote the text, practitioners of Zen referred to classical Chinese texts for instruction on ways of to achieve mindfulness in meditation (1). Without a sacred text to rely upon for guidance, how does Zen set about solving the greatest questions put upon society? Zen proposes its solution by directly appealing to facts of personal experience and not to written statements in books, a proposition clearly stated in the following:
A special transmission outside the Scriptures;
No dependence upon words and letters;
Direct pointing to the soul of man;
Seeing into one’s nature and the attainment of
Buddhahood.
By attempting to answers questions about Zen by focusing on written statements, true enlightenment may never be attained; no statements exist exhibiting a false knowledge when translating knowledge of the mind onto a piece of paper. ...
One set of concepts, The Four Noble Truths originated in India, which is where Zen originated, spreading to the east, throughout China, and into Japan, where Zen enjoys a large following. ... These four noble truths laid the foundation for Zen Buddhism, lending the guidance for numerous future masters to create their own distinctions to achieve the path to enlightenment.
Earlier it was mentioned of the great Zen master Dogen. Dogen engineered the development of a sect of Zen Buddhism, labeled Soto (Sohtoh) Zen. Zen in Japan primarily branched into three main sects. Obaku remains the smallest, while the Rinzai sect enjoys the largest following, perhaps due to the numerous books written in English by Daisetz Suzuki, a contemporary master of Zen. His writings enabled the Rinzai sect to spread even further East, the direction considered to be lucky in terms of growth for Zen. However in comparison Soto Zen spread throughout the Japan, ordaining over one hundred thousand monks and gathering upwards of five million devotees (3).
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