Zen Buddhism by Allison Ryan

Zen is a part of Mahayana Buddhism, referred to as "Chan" in Chinese. There are different forms of meditation emphasized by Zen, one being "zazen." The goal is the attainment of awakening, or becoming enlightened. It focuses less on theoretical knowledge but the actual experience through meditation and dharma practices.

The establishment of Zen is credited to Bodhidharma. The first documented school of Zen Buddhism in China was built in the 7th century. Zen spread from China to several places such as Vietnam, Korea, and Japan.

Zen emphasizes that all awoken beings have Buddha-Nature and that Buddha-Nature is nothing other than the nature of the mind. The objective of Zen practice is to become enlightened through meditation. Guided meditation is an alternative that can also relieve the symptoms of stress.

Zen is mainly known for the monk who once used to be an Indian prince, Bodhidharma. He settled in the kingdom of Wei with his two disciples Daoyu and Huike. His teachings became known as Chan not too long after he moved to China. Right before Bodhidharma passed away; and he asked Huike to take his place and continue to teach people about Zen practices.

While surviving several decades in a cave, Bodhidharma spent his time staring at the cavern walls, meditating. He took a three year trip to China and arrived in 520 C.E. The meaning of this journey was to spread Buddhism to Asia. He saw that China had already established Buddhism beliefs but they were very different.

Bodhidharma spent his time in China trying to change people's views on Buddhism because of their wrong view on the religion. While he was there he met Emperor Wu of Liang, who had a high interest in Buddhism and spent a lot of public wealth on funding Buddhist monasteries in China.

Much of Zen history comes from mythology. Scholars believe that Zen was used in yogic practices such as kammatthana and kasina. Kammatthana is the consideration of objects and kasina is the total fixation of the mind.

Buddhism was first introduced into China when Taoist faiths and Taoism in general were brought in. Buddhist scriptures were translated into Chinese using Taoism.

When Zen is explained in words it often gets misrepresented because there really aren't any words to describe it. In the beginning, Zen only applied to Mahayana and Lankavatara sutras.

There are many basic concepts of Zen that come directly from Mahayana Buddhism. Both share a grand amount of ideas coming from many different sutras, including a part of the famed Lotus Sutra.

Zen has a lot of literature pertaining to it and is used while practicing or teaching this form of Buddhist meditation. Some texts about Zen date back to the ninth century. These are mostly koans and the Shobogenzo of Dogen Zenji.

It is usual to do Zen practices at least once per day, as well as, take long periods of time and is recommended to be practiced with a group. Although there's a lot of labor involved, most find it to be worth the time spent because of the stress relief, reduction in the physical effects of stress, and the improved health and wellness after each session.

An important part of Zen practice is having a teacher or guide. Dharma following the Dharma Transmission is also very important when learning about this type of meditation. Dharma, the "guide students in meditation," should follow the notion of Dharma Transmission, which is the line of authority.

To simplify things, the basic meaning is to obey your master, teacher, or whoever's commanding the Zen practice. By following this rule, you will end up benefiting yourself by getting more out of the time you spend performing Zen meditation, mindfulness meditation, or any other form of spiritual meditation.

MORE INFORMATION, HERE CARTOON EBOOK ABOUT DHARMA.
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Inspiration Bird

The bird has long been a universal symbol for peace and freedom. The bird has inspired poets, artists and seekers of the highest truth - It is as if man possesses that spirit, those wings which long to take flight and soar in the unbounded sky.

The dove, the swan, the falcon and the eagle - each bird has it's own special message and lesson which we humans can emulate.

Take the humble goose for example. These geese travel thousands of miles each year in search of greener pastures as the gloomy winter sets in. When flying these geese follow a model of social behavior which serves as a striking lesson for humanity. flying in a V formation reduces the resistance and allows the group to travel at greater speed , while flying the geese encourage each other by honking, share the load by taking turns at the front of the formation, and when birds are injured other birds wait with them until they are well enough to fly.

It was a sculpture of the flying snow goose that the Hoover Institute of Stanford presented to Mikhail Gorbachev as a reminder of the link between The Soviet Union and the United States, as this bird migrates between the two countries.

Birds have held mystical and powerful positions in mythology from many different cultures. From the devoted and faithful Garuda in the Hindu philosophy to the great falcon Horus who sat atop the Pharaohs head whispering messages from the Divine to the great ruler. Birds have enchanted and fascinated myriad peoples of the world.

Authors and poets have used the bird extensively in their works. Richard Bach in his extraordinary book Jonathon Livingston Seagull uses a seagull as a metaphor for human existence and striving.

Sri Chinmoy - a man of prayers, philosopher, poet and artist takes the bird as a symbol to phenomenal heights. He has chosen the bird to express the freedom of the human soul and it's striving to rise from the fetters of the material world by completing over 12 million bird drawings. As a man of prayer and meditation the bird is depicted in a spiritual light in his art and poetry. He calls his birds Dream-Freedom-Peace-Birds.

The bird is indeed a living example and powerful reminder of the pursuit of liberty, peace and satisfaction, and is aptly portrayed by the words of Sri Chinmoy:

"Above the toil of life my soul

Is a Bird of Fire winging the Infinite."

Kate Carvalho resides in beautiful Christchurch, New Zealand. She has a penchant for and regularly writes about cooking, reading, health, sports, music but most importantly spirituality and meditation. She has been studying the latter under the tutelage of New York based Indian spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy since the year 2000. She maintains a web page at Sri Chinmoy Centre

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