Followers of a self-proclaimed Buddhist guru in Taiwan are handing over tens of millions of dollars in membership fees and donations to his organization each year, former members of the sect have told The News Lens.

Master Miaochan (), founder of Rulaizong (), is netting yearly membership proceeds of NT$72 million (US$2.4 million), coupled with monthly donations of as much as NT$86 million (US$2.8 million), the former members say.

The organization, which claims to practice Zen Buddhism, was founded by Miaochan in 2004 and is understood to have about 80,000 followers across Taiwan. Followers of Miaochan credit anything good that happens in their lives from job promotions to finding love to the protection and blessing of their master. They claim the leaders healing powers include curing people who have suffered strokes and those diagnosed with early-stage cancer.

Members pay NT$1,000 to NT$2,000 (US$33 to US$66) in monthly fees to the organization. The leader claims the contributions will help him bring salvation to his believers and the donations are collected at their 24 large-scale prayer sessions held each month. It is at these prayer sessions where Miaochan makes appearances, and members are encouraged to attend at least one session every month.

A local bank, Yuanta Bank, offers members the Rulai Card, which automatically deducts NT$2,000 from cardholders' accounts as donations to the group every month.

Josh, a former member who now works to convert people out of Rulaizong, believes that at least 800,000 people have participated in introductory sessions and paid the base member fee of NT$300.

From that fee alone, Miaochan has made at least NT$24 million over the past 13 years, he told TNL.

Every week, up to 5,000 people wearing the iconic purple T-shirts gather at Tianmu Sports Park in Taipei just to get a glimpse of their spiritual leader, who claims to be a living Buddha on par with Jesus Christ, the Prophet Muhammad and Siddhartha Gautama.

Miaochans real name is Liu Jin-lung (). According to the Rulaizong website, he became a Buddha in 1998 and established Rulaizong to spread his views. Rulaizong claims it now has 110,000 members, although John, a source close to Miaochan, says this does not account for the 30,000 people who have left the organization.

Prior to founding his own organization, Miaochan was a high-ranking disciple under a different Zen Buddhism teacher, Master Miaotian (). According to blog posts written by his former classmates, he left after being accused of overcharging people who were buying cubicles for cremation urns from Miaotians organization. He was not charged but his reputation was damaged, they say. While Rulaizong claims to accept anyone who is interested in joining, former members told TNL that the organization does not welcome Miaotian followers.

Chen, a former teacher at Rulaizong the organization is understood to have 30 paid head teachers, and over 80 volunteer teachers was a member for five years and had access to the Tainan prayer centers monthly meetings.

Miaochans greed knows no bounds, Chen says.

Chen says a large amount of money is also donated into a provision fund. While Rulaizongs official stance is that donations are voluntary, Chen told TNL that is not the case. Teachers push members to make donations telling them,Only then can our Master help you remove bad karma.

At the end of each year, the head teachers of the organization's 30 prayer centers will ask members to contribute more donations, Chen says.

In addition to a monthly donation of NT$10,000, Chens family was asked to contribute NT$100,000 at the end of each year.

John, the former member close to Miaochan said donations given at the prayer session start at NT$1,000, but he has seen people dropping up to NT$5,000 in the boxes.

At the prayer sessions, Miaochans followers practically climb on top of each other just to get their money into the collection box, John says.

Chen adds that very little of Rulaizongs income is used to maintain the organizations daily operations.

Drinking water and photocopy machines in the Tainan prayer center, for instance, are sponsored by members, and rental fees for parking at the prayer centers are also paid for by members, according to Chen.

John says that in addition to the more than NT$300,000 collected at each of the 24 larger prayer sessions held each month, further income is generated for Rulaizong and its leader through the collection of bus fares for the shuttles to the prayer stadiums.

After the money is collected, John told TNL, I carried all of the cash back to Miaochans apartment in suitcases. Bus money from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, everywhere.

Chen says that whenever the master is unhappy, the director of Rulaizhong will gather well-off members generally company executives to contribute funds for buying presents for Miaochan. However, no one has ever seen any of these presents.

The only present anyone has seen is that NT$3 million (US$99,000) jade pendant Miaochan wears, Chen says.

Unlike other Buddhist foundations like Tzu Chi or Foguangshan, Rulaizong does not publicly disclose its financial records. For the past 10 years, the organization has also been collecting separate donations for building a "prayer stadium, but neither the amount collected or the location of the stadium has ever been made public.

When contacted for comment, Rulaizong referred TNL to a September 2014 statement which states that Rulaizong is a non-profit organization registered with the Ministry of the Interior. All funding for the organization comes from donations by members, and donations are used for teaching Rulaizong beliefs.

The statement goes on to state that Rulaizong hires internationally accredited accounting firms it is unclear which firm to audit its accounts and the group also reports its financial accounts to the Ministry of the Interior.

Absolutely none of the donations go to private accounts. Rulaizong was set up as a center for meditation, we ask that the public respect that and give us a quiet space to meditate, the statement concludes.

The organization did not respond to further questions.

As to where the public could make complaints if they suspected a scam, a spokesperson for the police told TNL that jurisdiction over religious organization came under the Department of Civil Affairs.

The police doesnt really get involved in religious affairs. These complaints should go through the Department of Civil Affairs, the spokesperson said.

However, an official in the Department of Civil Affairs told TNL that only the police or other investigative authorities had investigative powers over fraudulent organizations.

If evidence could be provided then investigative authorities will be able to open a case against the group, said the official.

An official with the Ministry of Justices Investigative Bureau Public Affairs Office says that religious affairs are difficult to investigate, especially since money given to religious organizations are usually donations.

If someone feels they have been scammed, they could bring a case to a district prosecutor, who might investigate the charges, the official told TNL.

Neither agency was aware of complaints being lodged against the group.

Chen and John never thought of lodging reports with the Taiwanese authorities after they left. We didnt know anyone we could go to, they tell TNL.

All of the money is being given to Miaochan and Rulaizong willingly, so a fraud charge would never hold up in court, Josh told TNL. Rulaizong is nothing more than a scam.

If any of his followers question the cash flow of the organization, they are told that this is the Buddhas secret and to continue to meditate and believe in their master, the former members say.

Followers are encouraged to report back on any developments in their private lives, part of an intricate system of control that helps prayer center teachers monitor individual members.

The teachers will know if members have received a promotion, found a new job, recovered from an illness or the like. They then report on these happenings to core members of Rulaizong, who eventually report back to Miaochan himself. Teachers also monitor each other and report on their movements to the leader.

Hes a control freak. If your toilet breaks he wants to know, John says.

According to John, head teachers who form the core of the organization and spread Miaochans teachings have been forced to move into the same apartment with Miaochan so he can keep watch over their comings and goings. Miaochan also tends to separate spouses who both teach at his centers, sending them to job postings in different regions of Taiwan, he says.

Many of the teachers quit their normal jobs to work for Rulaizong and are completely dependent on their leader to pay their salary, but live in constant fear of Miaochan.

According to John, Rulaizong teachers cannot count on a stable income, since Miaochan makes cuts whenever he feels his influence waning. The former employee says he had his salary slashed in half after three months of working for Miaochan. Barely able to support himself, John stopped making donations to Rulaizong, and after another three months, he was fired.

Head teachers and members who are fired or leave the organization are immediately ostracized. John says he had 4,000 Facebook friends while still a member of Rulaizong. After he left, 3,600 people unfriended him.

Moreover, subject to strict control from Miaochan and under pressure to maintain member numbers, head teachers threaten and bully members who begin to lose faith in the organization.

Chang Chia-lin (), one of the first people to start opposing Miaochan on PTT, Taiwans main internet forum, says that intimidation and threats are rampant within individual prayer centers. Members who wish to leave, Chang says, are usually told they will have a bad karma explosion bad luck for the rest of their lives.

Chang was the only former member willing to be named in this article.

Rulaizong members are notorious for pestering everyone they know into participating in the weekly meetings. Even after being turned down, some will continue to call and text in a bid to increase the organization's membership.

Despite the requests for donations and payments, Miaochan appears to have been successful in continuing to attract and retain believers.

Lim Tai Wei, a senior lecturer at Singapore Institute of Management and a research fellow at National University of Singapores East Asian Institute says Taiwan is ideal for religious proselytization because its freedom and democracy allows it to accommodate all religious practices.

Democratization that occurred after a period of authoritarian rule reinforced the process and outcome of new religions, Lim said via email.

According to the researcher, Rulaizong appears to have roots in Tathagata Buddhism, a concept which refers to the idea that Siddartha experienced enlightenment and others will follow suit by imparting the methods.

Since Taiwan is traditionally a majority Buddhist and Taoist country, accepting sects with differing interpretations like Tathagata, or Rulaizong is a smoother process, Lim says.

Rulaizong members are taught to constantly hold Miaochan in their minds. This way, they are told, their master can help guide them through any difficulties in their lives. During meditation, believers are told to hold an image of their master in their minds eye and say the phrase, Thank you master, praise master ().

Teachers tell followers to thank their master for everything good or bad that happens in their lives. Unlike other major Buddhist organizations like Tzu Chi (), which provides humanitarian relief during disasters and encourages recycling, followers of Rulaizong are told not to be involved in charitable work as helping others only interferes in their karma and does not help build character.

Members close themselves off from their friends and families, neglecting normal life and getting completely taken up in the practices of their religion, Josh says. They spend time meditating instead of working, and many of the members he knew had changed jobs multiple times.

Rulaizongs core belief that believing in Miaochan can help solve difficulties is also deeply problematic, says Josh. He gives an example of a young woman who decided to ride her scooter home during a typhoon instead of calling a taxi because she believed that holding the image of Miaochan in her mind would keep her safe. The woman reached home safely. However, Josh asks, would Rulaizongs teachers take responsibility if she had an accident?

If believers start to question these teachings, they are told that their self-conscious is too strong, and suspicious members are eventually shunned and forced to leave.

Josh says he left the group after three months because of the idolatry of Miaochan and members ignorance of true Buddhist teachings.

Lim, the Singapore-based researcher, says that Taiwans democratic and free environment also means there is a possibility for resistance or opposition in religious discourse, narratives and institutions.

Chang joined Rulaizong for a few months in 2012, but began to grow wary as the requests for money increased and he was told not to ask questions about Miaochans background.

He did some digging on Miaochans past and now believes the leader is a charlatan. In December 2014, Chang began writing blog posts debunking Rulaizong and its leader, leading a wave of anti-Rulaizong blogs and Facebook pages.

Chang, who now works in Holland, calls Rulaizong a spiritual growth promotion enterprise. Miaochan relies on a group of people with great marketing skills to spread his beliefs, Chang says, but in reality, Miaochan himself has no such great knowledge.

Chang points to Rulaizongs weekly report that was recently canceled. The report was compiled by Rulaizong members from recordings made by Miaochan, articles quote the leader verbatim. If you read these articles, you start to notice he does not make much sense, Chang says.

Chang began parodying these articles, which, he says, led to the cancellation of the weekly report.

As Changs parodies began to garner attention on PTT, others who had experiences with Rulaizong started to come forward as well. An anti-Miaochan group on Facebook, which uses the handle @brainwashingasshole and has 2,000 likes, allows people to submit anonymous complaints about the group and its members. Chen and John both tell TNL that many of the anonymous submissions are actually from current members, and some of the more revealing submissions are factually accurate.

Lazer Lotus, another parody Facebook account, was set up in 2014 and is the brainchild of Tsai. Tsai went to a Rulaizong introductory session while still in university, where he marveled at the ridiculous teachings being shared by members of the group.

The meeting compelled him to set up his own religion to counter Rulaizong, complete with its own backstory and core teachings. Tsai later used Lazer Lotus as a platform to run for student council representative for his university department. His election promise a strong belief in the second law of thermodynamics, among others led him to become a sensation on PTT, and his Facebook page gained 9,000 followers.

Tsai, who is now serving in the military, does not have the time to manage the page but he hopes Lazer Lotus can be a platform to reveal the truth about Rulaizong.

Even with the increase of opposition to Rulaizong on the internet, the group still continues to have a hold on its believers.

Tsai and Chang agree that Taiwans superstitious culture is a key reason Rulaizong has managed to capture the hearts and minds of so many Taiwanese people.

Groups like Rulaizong that claim to be Buddhist appeal to people who are at a low point in their lives, and since Taiwanese will pray to any god, they easily believe in people like Miaochan, Tsai says.

On the other hand, Josh says that it is the lack of critical thinking skills in Taiwans education system that makes Taiwanese so easy to brainwash. When I look at Rulaizong, what I see is not a scam, but Taiwans sorrow, Josh says.

Ultimately, Chang and Tsai both say that stricter control over religious groups is needed in Taiwan.

Without a religious law, even the lawyers that are members of Rulaizong know that no legal action can be taken against the group, Josh says. The group will just continue to function in the gray areas of the law.

Editor's Note: The names of several former Rulaizong members have been changed to protect their identity.

Editor: Edward White

Continue reading here:
An Almighty Con? Taiwan's 'Purple Shirts' and their Master - The News Lens International (press release)

Go Wash Your Bowls: A Meditation on Generosity in Buddhism

James Ishmael Ford

A student of the way came to Master Zhaozhou and said, I have just entered your monastery. Please give me instruction. Zhaozhou asked, Have you eaten your rice gruel? The students said, yes. Zhaozhou responded, Wash your bowl. With this the student had an insight.

Gateless Gate (Wumenguan) Case Seven

Ive always loved this case in the Wumenguan, that grand twelfth century collection of koans, those mysterious questions used on the Zen way. Not least because it features the great master Zhaozhou Congshen (Joshu in Japanese) so much. Born at the end of the eighth century and living through most of the ninth, Zhaozhou is one of the signal figures in the formation of Zen Buddhism. He appears five times in this particular anthology, starting with the very first case.

Ive sat deeply with this koan. Ive investigated it as a student, and for the past decade and a half Ive accompanied a goodly number of Zen students in their own investigation. Ive found this case near endlessly rich. It certainly can open our hearts in a wide number of directions.

And, like any real koan, it can mislead the unwary. For instance Ive worked with several students who believe Zhaozhou is rebuking the student. One thought the master was annoyed at how his precious time was being wasted by the importuning of a novice. And this is a brush off. Another took a slight variation on that and believed it was a sharp rebuff of someone hoping for a conceptual response to Zens fundamental questions of life and death. Better, but still pretty far from the heart of the matter.

Rather, Ive found Wash your bowls an invitation into the very heart of generosity. The technical term in Buddhism for generosity is dana. That word dana is shared constellated with similar meanings in the other Indian religions, Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism. And each of these traditions shades the point of generosity slightly differently.

For Buddhists dana is principally a spiritual practice. And as a practice it ranks with our moral precepts and our meditative disciplines. As Buddhism, and particularly of concern for me, Zen Buddhism matures into its Western expressions we seem to have come to these practices one at a time.

First, we were attracted to the power of Zens meditative disciplines. At the heart of all Buddhist meditation and particularly Zen its call to silence and to a bare presence has been powerful and compelling. For some it was Zens unique contribution to Buddhist meditation, koans, that captured imaginations, and called us into the contemplative life. Then, for many reasons, some the tragedies of abuse, for others, just the complexities of our lived lives, where meditation alone seemed not enough; the moral precepts have become, if a little late, a serious part of the package of Buddhism here in the West.

And, now, perhaps, we are ready to see how dana, how generosity is also a core practice and, I suggest, as with meditation and precepts, a powerful and compelling pointing toward something. Now, when I googled the term dana together with Zen, the first page of listings and well into the second was largely a recounting of giving opportunities provided by various Zen centers. And, certainly it is that. Nor, should that practicality ever be ignored. But, there is more to it. Quite a bit.

For some dana is a practice that purifies ones karma leading to a propitious rebirth. For others it is a central part of a practice that cultivates wisdom. At the Brooklyn Zen Centers website I found a critical pointer for dana as spiritual practice. To practice dana is to challenge the egos frame that in order to give, we must get. Dana is instead a trusting step, a confidence in the universe that allows us to open to life. So we turn our intention toward this practice through which we deeply realize our interconnection to all that is.

Here we are invited into something, and specifically the something we also find in the Wash Your Bowls koan. What we are invited into on the Zen way is to open our eyes to the connections. We are invited into discovering how we and all things exist in a mysterious dance of becoming and falling away. We and all things are constantly creating each other.

The power of our bare presence is to allow us to begin to see this. And, the rest of it, is a call to respond. This is not a dance where there is an option to sit it out. This is the dance of life and death itself, the invitation is into more grace. Grace, which is possibly another word for generosity.

So, old Zhaozhou is approached by a student of the way. The question is sincere. And it is met with all the gravity the situation calls for. Have you eaten? So much in that. So much. And when the answer is a blessed yes, then the next step. Just wash your bowls.

In another Zen text we hear the line like a box and its lid. Here the teacher and the student meet. Here the bowl is used and it is washed.

Here the heart of the worlds generosity is revealed.

As is ours.

Continue reading here:
Go Wash Your Bowls: A Meditation on Generosity in Buddhism - Patheos (blog)

Zen, Chinese Chan, Korean Sn, also spelled Seon, Vietnamese Thien, important school of East Asian Buddhism that constitutes the mainstream monastic form of Mahayana Buddhism in China, Korea, and Vietnam and accounts for approximately 20 percent of the Buddhist temples in Japan. The word derives from the Sanskrit dhyana, meaning meditation. Central to Zen teaching is the belief that awakening can be achieved by anyone but requires instruction in the proper forms of spiritual cultivation by a master. In modern times, Zen has been identified especially with the secular arts of medieval Japan (such as the tea ceremony, ink painting, and gardening) and with any spontaneous expression of artistic or spiritual vitality regardless of context. In popular usage, the modern non-Buddhist connotations of the word Zen have become so prominent that in many cases the term is used as a label for phenomena that lack any relationship to Zen or are even antithetical to its teachings and practices.

Compiled by the Chinese Buddhist monk Daoyun in 1004, Records of the Transmission of the Lamp (Chingde chongdeng lu) offers an authoritative introduction to the origins and nature of Zen Buddhism. The work describes the Zen school as consisting of the authentic Buddhism practiced by monks and nuns who belong to a large religious family with five main branches, each branch of which demonstrates its legitimacy by performing Confucian-style ancestor rites for its spiritual ancestors or patriarchs. The genealogical tree of this spiritual lineage begins with the seven buddhas, consisting of six mythological Buddhas of previous eons as well as Siddhartha Gautama, or Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha of the current age. The spiritual awakening and wisdom realized by these buddhas then was transmitted from master to disciple across 28 generations of semi-historical or mythological Buddhist teachers in India, concluding with Bodhidharma, the monk who supposedly introduced true Buddhism to China in the 5th century. This true Buddhism held that its practitioners could achieve a sudden awakening to spiritual truth, which they could not accomplish by a mere reading of Buddhist scriptures. As Bodhidharma asserted in a verse attributed to him,

A special transmission outside the scriptures, not relying on words or letters; pointing directly to the human mind, seeing true nature is becoming a Buddha.

From the time of Bodhidharma to the present, each generation of the Zen lineage claimed to have attained the same spiritual awakening as its predecessors, thereby preserving the Buddhas lamp of wisdom. This genealogical ethos confers religious authority on present-day Zen teachers as the legitimate heirs and living representatives of all previous Buddhas and patriarchs. It also provides the context of belief for various Zen rituals, such as funeral services performed by Zen priests and ancestral memorial rites for the families of laypeople who patronize the temples.

The Zen ethos that people in each new generation can and must attain spiritual awakening does not imply any rejection of the usual forms of Buddhist spiritual cultivation, such as the study of scriptures, the performance of good deeds, and the practice of rites and ceremonies, image worship, and ritualized forms of meditation. Zen teachers typically assert rather that all of these practices must be performed correctly as authentic expressions of awakening, as exemplified by previous generations of Zen teachers. For this reason, the Records of the Transmission of the Lamp attributes the development of the standard format and liturgy of the Chinese Buddhist monastic institution to early Zen patriarchs, even though there is no historical evidence to support this claim. Beginning at the time of the Song dynasty (9601279), Chinese monks composed strict regulations to govern behaviour at all publicly recognized Buddhist monasteries. Known as rules of purity (Chinese: qinggui; Japanese: shingi), these rules were frequently seen as unique expressions of Chinese Zen. In fact, however, the monks largely codified traditional Buddhist priestly norms of behaviour, and, at least in China, the rules were applied to residents of all authorized monasteries, whether affiliated with the Zen school or not.

Zen monks and nuns typically study Buddhist scriptures, Chinese classics, poetics, and Zen literature. Special emphasis traditionally has been placed on the study of public cases (Chinese: gongan; Japanese: kan), or accounts of episodes in which Zen patriarchs reportedly attained awakening or expressed their awakening in novel and iconoclastic ways, using enigmatic language or gestures. Included in the Records of the Transmission of the Lamp and in other hagiographic compendia, the public cases are likened to legal precedents that are designed to guide the followers of Zen.

Test Your Knowledge

World Religions & Traditions

Although Zen Buddhism in China is traditionally dated to the 5th century, it actually first came to prominence in the early 8th century, when Wuhou (625705), who seized power from the ruling Tang dynasty (618907) to become empress of the short-lived Zhou dynasty (690705), patronized Zen teachers as her court priests. After Empress Wuhou died and the Tang dynasty was restored to power, rival sects of Zen appeared whose members claimed to be more legitimate and more orthodox than the Zen teachers who had been associated with the discredited empress. These sectarian rivalries continued until the Song dynasty, when a more inclusive form of Zen became associated with almost all of the official state-sponsored Buddhist monasteries. As the official form of Chinese Buddhism, the Song dynasty version of Zen subsequently spread to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.

During the reign of the Song, Zen mythology, Zen literature, and Zen forms of Buddhist spiritual cultivation underwent important growth. Since that time, Zen teachings have skillfully combined the seemingly opposing elements of mythology and history, iconoclasm and pious worship, freedom and strict monastic discipline, and sudden awakening (Sanskrit: bodhi; Chinese: wu; Japanese: satori) and long master-disciple apprenticeships.

During the Song dynasty the study of public cases became very sophisticated, as Zen monks arranged them into various categories, wrote verse commentaries on them, and advocated new techniques for meditating on their key words. Commentaries such as The Blue Cliff Record (c. 1125; Chinese: Biyan lu; Japanese Heikigan roku) and The Gateless Barrier (1229; Chinese: Wumen guan; Japanese: Mumon kan) remain basic textbooks for Zen students to the present day. The public-case literature validates the sense of liberation and freedom felt by those experiencing spiritual awakening while, at the same time, placing the expression of those impulses under the supervision of well-disciplined senior monks. For this reason, Zen texts frequently assert that genuine awakening cannot be acquired through individual study alone but must be realized through the guidance of an authentic Zen teacher.

Britannica Lists & Quizzes

During Japans medieval period (roughly the 12th through 15th centuries), Zen monks played a major role in introducing the arts and literature of Song-dynasty China to Japanese leaders. The Five Mountain (Japanese: Gozan) Zen temples, which were sponsored by the Japanese imperial family and military rulers, housed many monks who had visited China and had mastered the latest trends of Chinese learning. Monks from these temples were selected to lead trade missions to China, to administer governmental estates, and to teach neo-Confucianism, a form of Confucianism developed under the Song dynasty that combined cultivation of the self with concerns for social ethics and metaphysics. In this way, wealthy Zen monasteries, especially those located in the Japanese capital city of Kyto, became centres for the importation and dissemination of Chinese techniques of printing, painting, calligraphy, poetics, ceramics, and garden designthe so-called Zen arts, or (in China) Song-dynasty arts.

Apart from the elite Five Mountain institutions, Japanese Zen monks and nuns founded many monasteries and temples in the rural countryside. Unlike their urban counterparts, monks and nuns in rural Zen monasteries devoted more energy to religious matters than to Chinese arts and learning. Their daily lives focused on worship ceremonies, ritual periods of sitting Zen (Japanese: zazen) meditation, the study of public cases, and the performance of religious services for lower-status merchants, warriors, and peasants. Rural Zen monks helped to popularize many Buddhist rituals now common in Japan, such as prayer rites for worldly benefits, conferment of precept lineages on lay people, funerals, ancestral memorials, and exorcisms. After the political upheavals of the 15th and 16th centuries, when much of the city of Kyto was destroyed in a widespread civil war, monks from rural Zen lineages came to dominate all Zen institutions in Japan, including the urban ones that formerly enjoyed Five Mountain status.

After the Tokugawa rulers of the Edo period (16031867) restored peace, Zen monasteries and all other religious institutions in Japan cooperated in the governments efforts to regulate society. In this new political environment, Zen monks and other religious leaders taught a form of conventional morality (Japanese: tszoku dtoku) that owed more to Confucian than to Buddhist traditions; indeed, Buddhist teachings were used to justify the strict social hierarchy enforced by the government. Many Confucian teachers in turn adapted Zen Buddhist meditation techniques to quiet sitting (Japanese: seiza), a Confucian contemplative practice. As a result of these developments, the social and religious distinctions between Zen practice and Confucianism became blurred.

When the Ming dynasty (13681661) in China began to collapse, many Chinese Zen monks sought refuge in Japan. Their arrival caused Japanese Zen monks to question whether their Japanese teachers or the new Chinese arrivals had more faithfully maintained the traditions of the ancient buddhas and patriarchs. The resultant search for authentic Zen roots prompted the development of sectarianism, not just between Japanese and Chinese Zen leaders but also within the existing Japanese Zen community. Eventually sectarian rivalry led to the emergence of three separate Japanese Zen lineages: baku (Chinese: Huanbo), Rinzai (Chinese: Linji), and St (Chinese: Caodong). Ignoring their similarities, each lineage exaggerated its distinctive features. Thus, both Rinzai and St emphasized their adherence to certain Song-dynasty practices, in contrast to the baku monasteries, which favoured Ming traditions, especially in such areas as ritual language, musical instruments, clothing, and temple architecture. People affiliated with St, by far the largest of the Japanese Zen lineages, stressed the accomplishments of their patriarch Dgen (120053), whose chief work, Shbgenz (123153; Treasury of the True Dharma Eye), is widely regarded as one of the great classics of Japanese Buddhism.

During the first half of the 20th century, D.T. Suzuki (18701966), a Japanese Buddhist scholar and thinker, wrote numerous essays and books in English to introduce Zen ideals to Western audiences. Suzuki was born just after Japan began to adopt Western technology in an effort to catch up with Europe and America. He was strongly influenced by 19th-century Japanese Buddhist reformers who sought to cast off what they saw as the feudal social structures of the Tokugawa period and who advocated a more modern vision of Buddhism that could compete successfully with Christianity. Suzuki spent 11 years in the United States (18971908) as an assistant to Paul Carus (18521919), a German who had earned a doctorate in theology and philosophy before emigrating to America. Carus published a magazine to promote what he called the Science of Religion, a new religion compatible with science. During this period, Suzuki was also influenced by contemporary intellectual currents, such as the ideas of the German Protestant theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher (17681834), who had identified irrational intuition and feeling as the essence of religion, and of the American philosopher William James (18421910), who posited the possibility of nondualistic knowledge via pure experience as overcoming the dualism inherent in empiricism.

Suzuki interpreted the episodes of spiritual awakening depicted in Zen public cases as proof of humankinds ability to suddenly break through the boundaries of common, everyday, logical thought to achieve a nondualistic, pure experience in which distinctions such as self/other and right/wrong disappear. He characterized this experience as an expression of the irrational intuition that underlies all religions and all acts of artistic creation, regardless of culture or historical period, and that achieved its highest expression in the secular arts of Japan. Suzuki, therefore, interpreted Zen not as a form of Buddhism but as a Japanese cultural value with universal relevance. His use of Western theological and philosophical concepts to explain the Zen experience in modern ways influenced Nishida Kitar (18701945) and other members of the Kyoto school of Japanese philosophy. In the early 20th century, many Japanese intellectuals described Zen as the underlying essence of Japanese culture or as the unique form of Japanese spirituality. As Japanese society became increasingly militaristic during the 1930s and 40s, descriptions of Zen became more warlike, frequently invoking loyalty to the state, fearlessness, and mental tranquillity in the face of death. In 1938, for example, Suzuki described Zen as a religion of will power and identified Zen training with Bushido (the code of conduct of the Japanese warrior class) and Japanese swordsmanship.

When Suzukis books were reprinted after World War II, they found a ready audience in the United States and Britain among ex-servicemen who had acquired an interest in Japanese culture and among youths dissatisfied with postwar society. In particular, members of the new American literary and artistic movement known as the Beats looked to Zen for inspiration. In popular culture the word Zen became an adjective used to describe any spontaneous or free-form activity. Since the heyday of the Beat movement in the 1950s, however, academic studies of Zen have grown in complexity and sophistication, examining the role of Zen practices and Zen institutions in the religious lives of Buddhists in East Asia. In 1953 the Chinese Nationalist historian and diplomat Hu Shih (18911962) published an important essay on the history of Zen in China, in which he challenged Suzukis characterization of Zen as irrational and beyond logical understanding. Hu argued that Zen must be understood as a human institution and that scholarly descriptions of it must be based on verifiable historical evidence, not on psychological interpretations of the religious stories found in Zens public cases.

Since 1953 a new generation of scholars has completely rewritten the history of Zen. They have made major strides both in documenting the historical development of the Zen school in East Asia and in understanding the religious and cultural contexts within which Zen literature, such as public cases, functioned as guides to spiritual truth. During the 1980s and 90s, some Zen scholars and Zen priests in Japan advocated what they called Critical Buddhism in an effort to denounce any connection between Zen and illogical thought and any association between Zen institutions and social problems such as religious discrimination, cultural chauvinism, and militarism. Regardless of the ultimate fate of Critical Buddhism, it is clear that efforts to create a new Zen compatible with the demands of modern society will continue.

Read the original here:
Zen | Buddhism | Britannica.com

A week-long international martial arts competition got under way at the world-famous Shaolin Temple in central China on Saturday, mainland media reported.

The evolution of kung fu: from hired killers to soldiers, the mafia, and finally an esteemed sport

The event is the first ever grand gathering to be held at the 1,500-year-old temple in Dengfeng, Henan province, which many regard as the birthplace of kung fu, news portal Thepaper.cn reported on Saturday.

A total of 116 martial artists from across China and around the world will take part in a series of contests across four disciplines, the report said.

Rare Bruce Lee letter to go under the hammer in Los Angeles for at least US$30,000

These will include demonstrations of the two finger skill, in which practitioners demonstrate their inner strength by doing handstands and press-ups using just two fingers of each hand.

Others participants will pit their abilities against one another in stone lock lifting and knife throwing, while the only woman taking part in the event a martial artist from Japan, who was not named is expected to demonstrate her iron palm skill by breaking bricks and wooden boards with her bare hands, the report said.

Opinion: Why a kick in the teeth is good for Chinese kung fu

According to Shi Yongxin, the temples head abbot, the event is not all about martial arts, however.

We want to tap into our traditional culture with this gathering, he was quoted as saying.

Martial arts is not only about sport, it is more about culture and the spirit, he said.

A series of talks on Zen Buddhism, as well as Go competitions will be held alongside the martial arts demonstrations, the report said.

Read more here:
China's Shaolin Temple welcomes 116 kung fu masters for grand gathering - South China Morning Post

+5

Edward Parks, as Steve Jobs, and Wei Wu, as Kbun Chino Otogawa, in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. Courtesy Ken Howard/The Santa Fe Opera

If opera is going to grow as an art form in the 21st century, its going to need more than directors imposing quirky concepts onto familiar repertoire or composers retracing well-worn tracks of post-Romanticism. Its going to need the kind of musical and dramatic persuasiveness that enthralled the Santa Fe Operas audience on Saturday night at the world premiere of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, a bracing opera by composer Mason Bates and librettist Mark Campbell.

This is an American tale told with American bravado. Steve Jobs was both adored and vilified as a person and as a corporate genius, but as the visionary behind the Apple computer empire he was ultimately responsible for the iGadgets (phone, pad, pod, ) that have become defining artifacts of modern life. The operas scenario extracts seminal chapters from his life story, casting him as both hero and villain, a man at war with himself. He develops his passion for engineering as a child, achieves technological breakthroughs in his familys garage and gleans ideas from his educational experiences. He has a relationship (and a daughter) with a woman he treats terribly, and he searches for inner peace through Zen Buddhism. He establishes and oversees his mega-successful corporation, he marries a supportive woman who helps tame some of his demons, he gets sick, he dies. Librettist Campbell shuffles these episodes and arrives at a nonlinear narrative that, on the face of it, seems somewhat random; and yet it unrolls with a strong sense of theatrical momentum and is not at all confusing.

What:The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs

When:8:30 p.m. July 26; and 8 p.m. Aug. 4, 10, 15, 22 and 25

More information:Call 505-986-5900 or visit http://www.santafeopera.org

Simple, clear-cut, uncluttered and clean sings Jobs at one point, clarifying his design goals to an engineer. Director Kevin Newbury seems to have taken that as his own watchword, masterminding a production in which one scene flows to the next seamlessly, each employing visual details that support the thrust of the action rather than distract from it. Sets, lighting and projections (devised respectively by Victoria Vita Tzykun, Japhy Weideman and 59 Productions) work as a piece. Horizontal bars of multicolored fluorescence contain the space from above, sometimes echoed by thin pillars of light ranged near the sides of the stage. Brightly lit wall-height blocks skim fluidly across the stage as if in balletic choreography. Furnishings are limited to what is essential to the story: workbenches, office desks and chairs, nothing extraneous. The production capitalizes on the projection capacities made available through the theaters recent overhaul. The imagery of Jobs life is projected, often in energetic juxtaposition (circuit boards, press clippings, Zen calligraphy), and a scene where he does LSD with his girlfriend in an apple (!) orchard gets woozy indeed. This is in no way a costume drama, although Paul Careys realistic wardrobe designs help clarify the intermixed chronology and they even make clothing styles of the 1970s and 80s seem relatively unobjectionable, which is quite an achievement. Groups of employees or board members are moved about as precisely as the elements of the set.

Garrett Sorenson, as Woz, and Edward Parks, as Steve Jobs, in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. Courtesy Ken Howard/The Santa Fe Opera

Just before an early expanse in which we first see Jobs with his Zen master, Campbells libretto proposes a stage direction: If the back wall of the Santa Fe Opera House can open up for the next scene, that would be lovely. It could and it was, with the last sliver of the sun gleaming on the horizon of the Jemez Mountains. Quite a sun, sings Jobs mentor. Always loveliest when its leaving. And yet, having tapped the houses ace in the hole, Newbury does not overplay the hand. The point is made, the audience inhales the exquisite moment, and the stage soon reconfigures so the plot can move on.

Bates music tends to be powerfully optimistic, trading to some degree in sustained transcendence. The scores vivaciousness comes more from high-energy rhythms, often repeated in a post-minimalist way (John Adams may come to mind), and from a vivid sonic palette. A good deal of advance chatter focused on Bates use of electronic sounds, which he presided over from his computer setup in the orchestra pit. But its not like olden days when superimposing electronic sounds over an orchestra had an oil-and-water quality. Bates has spoken of how he considers modern electronica to be a further family of symphonic music-making strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, electronica and this score exemplifies his contention, with the electronic sounds weaving in and out of the integrated texture with a sense of inevitability. These are hardly unfamiliar sounds, to be sure. We hear them all the time in movie soundtracks, but Bates shows real expertise in using them to enlarge orchestral texture.

He had some challenges to meet. He has been almost exclusively an instrumental composer, building up a solid output of symphonic and chamber works but a vocal catalog that is limited to six choral pieces and two song cycles. An opera obviously requires skill in vocal writing, and Bates showed that he has the requisite chops to write effectively for lyric theatre. Indeed, this is not much of a stop-and-sing numbers opera. Although it includes some certifiable arias and ensembles, these seem crafted more to support the dramatic narrative than as opportunities for vocal display which is not meant as criticism. One also wondered how effectively Bates would navigate the sheer scale of operatic structure, since none of his concert pieces has extended beyond a half-hour and most run 15 minutes or less. But the question of whether he could maintain musical interest through a 95-minute operatic score (without intermission) seemed to some extent moot. The piece consists of a prologue and epilogue with 18 discrete episodes in between, so that averages out to four and three-quarter minutes per scene. Some are longer and some shorter, but with his succession of modestly scaled segments, Bates landed on an effective plan that was entirely achievable for a composer writing his first opera one that moreover helps define the works kinetic verve.

Edward Parks, as Steve Jobs, and Sasha Cooke, as Laurene Powell Jobs, in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. Courtesy Ken Howard/The Santa Fe Opera

Michael Christie conducted with precision and pizzazz, and a couple of orchestral interludes truly got the adrenaline pumping. One of them, at about the operas one-hour mark, accompanies projected images charting the meteoric rise of the company and its growing complication as a corporate organism. I wouldnt be surprised if it were extracted to stand as a frenetic orchestral showpiece in its own right.

The cast was uniformly commendable for their acting as well as their singing. In the title role, baritone Edward Parks is on stage practically the whole time. He appears in roles like Figaro in The Barber of Seville and Valentin in Faust, so he is obviously able to sing in an expansive operatic baritone style. But he didnt really do that here. He presented the part more intimately, as a lieder-singer might, with naturalness of style and exemplary diction. Subtle amplification underscored his performance, and indeed those of all the singers a logical use of electronic technology in a score such as this.

Mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke was a pleasure to hear as Jobs wife, Laurene. Her rich, warmly covered tone was put to finest use in her climactic aria Humans are messy, awkward and cluttered, an anthem to empathy, one that may become embraced as a standalone piece. A similarly touching performance came from Wei Wu, as Jobs Buddhist mentor Kbun Chino Otogawa. This beautifully written role encompasses both wisdom and wry humor, and Wei Wus bass not particularly large but of velvety texture infused it with a feeling of profound comfort, a welcome anchor in the emotional turbulence that sometimes surrounded it. Garrett Sorenson conveyed substantial character development as Jobs fellow inventor and business partner Steve Wozniak; he began as a comical dork and ended up as a serious corporate grown-up, his bright tenor letting loose fully in the tenseness, and then fury, of his aria Goliath, in which he resigns from the company he has built with Jobs. Smaller roles were admirably conveyed by baritone Kelly Markgraf (as Jobs father), mezzo-soprano Mariya Kaganskaya (as a calligraphy teacher), soprano Jessica E. Jones (as Chrisann Brennan, Jobs girlfriend), and Jonah Sorenson (a nonsinging part upheld admirably by a young actor portraying the 10-year-old Jobs).

Edward Parks, as Steve Jobs, and Jessica Jones, as Chrisann Brennan, in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. Courtesy Ken Howard/The Santa Fe Opera

Bates and Campbell are not the only people charting a path for operas future, but one is more likely to find seriously creative new work in warehouses and experimental theatres than on a major opera stage. Santa Fe Opera and its general director, Charles MacKay, deserve congratulations for making such a piece available at this level. The day of the premiere, the company added an additional performance (on Aug. 22) to the six it had originally scheduled. That should help accommodate audience demand as word circulates about this charismatic piece. It will surely appeal to millennials, thanks to its dynamism in harnessing the technology of today to tell the story of technologys yesterday. But more traditional opera-lovers are bound to embrace it, too. Like all the finest operas, it is animated by a stimulating plot, it is brimful with compelling music, and not less important it has an ample heart.

Correction: A previous version of this review misidentified the actor playing young Steve Jobs. It was Jonah Sorenson in the role, not Asher Corbin.

Read more here:
'The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs': Zen and the art of opera - Santa Fe New Mexican

The Triangle Offense, an existential basketball strategy so complex that it was quite simple, and so simple that it was maddeningly complex, died of complications related to confusion on Wednesday. It was years old.

The Triangle, also known as the Triple-Post Offense, the Sideline Triangle Offense, and the Trade-Me-Coach Offense, reportedly collapsed under the weight of its own pretension in the front office of the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. But no one with the requisite training in astrophysics and Zen Buddhism could be located in time to provide resuscitation.

Its demise coincided with the decision by Knicks management to dismiss Phil Jackson, the teams president for the past three years and the Triangles closest living relative. Jackson was so attuned to its almost mystical intricacies that he became the Triangle whisperer although critics say that his channeling of the offense could not be understood at any volume of voice.

The Triangle Offense was born on the hardwood courts of the University of Southern California in the 1940s, the offspring of the universitys innovative basketball coach, Justin McCarthy Sam Barry. It was then raised and refined by one of Barrys many acolytes, Morice Fredrick Tex Winter, who attempted to capture its many mysteries in a book called The Triple-Post Offense, published in 1962.

Since the publication of Winters book, others have attempted to explain, clearly and concisely, what the Triangle entails. But many have gone mad in this pursuit; trying to do so is the basketball equivalent to gazing at the face of Medusa.

In 2014, Scott Cacciola of The New York Times provided a short primer, saying that the Triangle was predicated on reading and exposing soft spots in the defense. He continued:

The triangle and there is an actual triangle formed by the post, wing and corner players on the strong side of the court revolves around seven guiding principles that include maintaining proper spacing (about 15 to 20 feet between players), penetration by passing and the interchangeability of positions. Every player ought to be able to score, and from different angles.

In 2015, writer Nicholas Dawidoff in these pages immersed himself in the sacred text that was Winters book. Part of his search for enlightenment included asking the basketball analyst Jay Williams who played in the Triangle Offense while with the Chicago Bulls one season to explain.

You hand me a piece of paper and say, Jay, define the Triangle for me, its kind of like a kid with Magic Markers drawing a cartoon. Its all over the page. So many series of actions, I get lost trying to explain it. Now, give me four guys who know how to run it on the court, I can get out there and do it.

Still, even the harshest critics had to acknowledge that Jackson had carried out the Triangle Offense to astounding effect during his long basketball career. As the coach for the Chicago Bulls and then for the Los Angeles Lakers, his insistence on running the Triangle paid off with a combined 11 NBA titles.

(It is reported that Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, of the Bulls, and Kobe Bryant and Shaquille ONeal, of the Lakers, also played roles in those championships.)

When Jackson joined the Knicks front office in 2014, he celebrated the Triangle Offense new to the city as the key to basketball success. Hopes were high, given that the once-proud Knicks had for years been adhering to a style of offense technically known as lousy.

But the Triangle Offense struggled to find acceptance in its adopted city, where even the most astute basketball fans did not appreciate the suggestion that watching a Knicks game meant keeping a protractor close at hand. Nor did it help that the Knicks star Carmelo Anthony was reluctant, if thats the word, to embrace the Triangle.

By November 2016, Anthony didnt even want to hear the phrase. Were just playing basketball, he said after yet another Knicks loss. Were making adjustments offensively regardless of what were running. At this point Im getting tired of hearing about the Triangle. Just getting tired of hearing about it.

The Knicks ultimately proved resistant, even allergic, to the mysterious charms of the Triangle Offense. During the three-year tenure of the Triangle whisperer, the team posted three losing seasons and never reached the playoffs. In order to survive, it seemed, the offense required elements that were in short supply in the Garden: discipline, patience, and flowing movement.

In addition to Jackson, survivors include a player in the post, one in the corner, one on the wing, and two on the weak side. Funeral services, which are private, will include a shaman, several popcorn-scented candles, and the ritual burning of a Chuck Taylor All Star high-top.

See original here:
The triangle - Manhattan Mercury (subscription)

Arasiyalil ithellam sadharanam appa (This is all commonplace in politics), says Gil Alon with a dramatic flourish, when his actor requests him to deliver his favourite Tamil punchline. With his smooth pate and a playful twinkle in his eyes, he could be easily mistaken for a suave villain in a Tamil noir film. At Koothu-P-Pattarai, the Israeli theatre artiste is enjoying a cup of coffee after the rehearsals of his latest production, Life of An Actor. Tamil konjam theriyum. I love languages. As an actor, I feel connected this way. When you go to another country, at least make the effort to understand the language. For me it is not an effort, it is joy.

Inspired by India

He travels across the globe hosting workshops. The association with India was so strong that he has kept coming back since 2000. It was love at first sight, says Alon about his first visit. I came here to study Zen Buddhism, as part of my course in Israel. My master had asked me to visit five Asian countries, and in India, he wanted me to experience the Osho ashram and study yoga in Rishikesh. The first thing he did in Mumbai was hold workshops for actors. When I arrived, it was the morning of Deepavali. I had to pass through slums on my journey from Mumbai airport to where I stayed. This dismal sight was accompanied with the sounds of fire crackers and festive celebrations. There is no logic to it. That was the moment, I fell in love. He has toured quite a bit with his workshops; some of the places being Dharamshala, Pune, New Delhi and Chennai.

Alon also globe-trots to create plays with local actors of that region. And, he ensures he stays at least for three months in that particular country. I need that time so that I can work without stress. I believe in a long-drawn process which is relaxed. I do not want to put pressure on anyone. That stifles creativity.

His first work in Chennai was Prahlada Charitram, a contemporary take on the mythological tale, scripted by Na Muthuswamy, the founder of Koothu-P-Pattarai. So, rock guitar music found its way into the play. The playwright also gave it a modern twist, by adding his share of sarcasm, criticism and revelations of untold truths. It was a strong play in many ways, observes Alon.

The audience is integral to his plays. In another KPP production, Six Characters In Search of An Author, the spectators had to shift across three venues. Life of An Actor, his latest production with Muthuswamys troupe, is a devised work on the life and hardships of actors. The cast perform before an audience, as if they are a jury for an audition. For me, audience should not come to watch, but to work. They must be involved in what is happening.

All in the mind

It could be the Zen master in him talking. Because, he chats about everything with a certain mindfulness be it his young days in the TV industry, the vibrant theatre scene in Israel or his happy experiences mentoring actors such Vijay Sethupathi, Somasundaram and Anand Sami.

Alon was 30 when he stumbled upon Zen philosophy. My TV show had made me famous; I was also doing a radio show, performing musicals and had my own rock band. But, something was sad and frustrating, and I decided to seek something parallely. When I encountered Zen, it felt like home coming, he smiles.

Staying in the here and the now; thats what is common to theatre and this school of thought, he feels. The fast-paced life kills creativity, says Alon. Creative thoughts can flourish when you are in a safe condition; when you know you will not be criticised or judged. My workshops also address this. I tell my participants not to be the best or number one, but be themselves.

(Life of An Actor will be staged at Koothu-P-Pattarai Trust, Virugambakkam, from July 31 to August 6 at 7 pm. For reservation, 044 65373633. It will also be staged at Roja Muthiah Research Library ,CPT Campus, Taramani, from August 7 to 12, at 6.30 pm. No reservations required)

Go here to see the original:
Zen and the art of acting - The Hindu

Announcements

Wednesday Evening Zazen, 7:00~9:00 pm

1475 W. Front Street Unitarian Universalist Meetinghouse Earth Room Lincroft, NJ Lincroft Zen Sangha is a community of Zen practitioners engaged in the practice of Soto Zen Buddhism. It is our intention to create and maintain a community that supports a practice of meditation, study, and service to others. We are committed to nurturing a Zen practice that guides and shapes our daily lives, and is a source of wisdom and compassion for ourselves, our families, and our community. In our community are Buddhists, practitioners of other traditions, and practitioners with no religious affiliation at all. All are welcome. We find the practice of Zen to be enriching to all traditions and ways of life. We also maintain a schedule of Dawn Zazen and Dharma Study. We generally suggest several visits to our Wednesday Evening Zazen before attending other Sangha activities. If you are planning a first-time visit, please come at 6: 30 pm for a brief instruction in zazen. It is helpful if you e-mail us to let us know that you are coming. Feel free to ask questions even before your first visit. Our e-mail address is info@lincroftzen.org Ehipassiko~come and see for yourself! We welcome you.

View post:
Lincroft Zen Sangha | leisurely clouds, infinite circle

Trying to explain or define Zen Buddhism, by reducing it to a book, to a few definitions, or to a website impossible. Instead, it freezes Zen in time and space, thereby weakening its meaning.

Defining Zen is like trying to describe the taste of honey to someone who has never tasted it before. You can try to explain the texture and scent of honey, or you can try to compare and correlate it with similar foods. However, honey is honey! As long as you have not tasted it, you are in the illusion of what honey is.

The same goes with Zen, because Zen Buddhism is a practice that needs to be experienced, not a concept that you can intellectualize or understand with your brain. The information that we'll give here won't cover all of what of Zen is, but is a starting point to the Zen experience.

Zen Buddhism a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism, but it is, first and foremost, a practice that was uninterruptedly transmitted from master to disciple, and that goes back to the Awakening of a man named Siddhrtha Gautama (Shakyamuni Gotama in Japanese) - The Buddha - 2500 years ago in India.

The practice of Zen meditation or Zazen (za meaning sitting, and Zen meaning meditation in Japanese), is the core of Zen Buddhism: without it, the is no Zen. Zen meditation, is a way of vigilance and self-discovery which is practiced while sitting on a meditation cushion. It is the experience of living from moment to moment, in the here and now. It is throught the practice of Zazen that Gautama got enlightened and became the Buddha.

Zazen is an attitude of spiritual awakening, which when practiced, can become the source from which all the actions of daily life flow - eating, sleeping, breathing, walking, working, talking, thinking, and so on.

Zen Buddhism is not a theory, an idea, or a piece of knowledge. It is not a belief, a dogma, or a religion; but rather, it is a practical experience. We cannot intellectually grasp Zen, because human intelligence and wisdom is too limited - the dojo (the hall where Zazen is practiced) is different from the university.

Zen is not a moral teaching, and as it is without dogma, it does not require one to believe in anything. A true spiritual path does not tell people what to believe in, rather it shows them how to think; or, in the case of Zen - what not to think.

Zen Buddhism is not interested in metaphysical theories and rituals, and focuses entirely on the mindful practice of Zazen. Zen is very simple. It is so simple, in fact, that it's very difficult to grasp.

In order to find the true essence of Zen, go beyond this website, travel to Japan, and practice with a real Zen Master.

In the silence of the dojo or temple, simply sit down, stop moving, and let go your thoughts. Focus just on your Zazen posture and your breathing. Keep your back straight. Let your ego and your unconscious mind melt away, merge with the universe.

This is Zen.

Go here to read the rest:
ZEN BUDDHISM | What is Zen Buddhism?

America Burma Buddist Association Terawada 63 Gordons Corner Road Manalapan NJ 07726 732-792-1484 contact@mahasiusa.org http://www.mahasiusa.org Bodhi Monastery Chinese and Sri Lankan Forest Traditions 67 Lawrence Road Lafayette NJ 07848 (973) 940-0473 info@bodhimonastery.net http://www.bodhimonastery.org Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation U.S.A. Mahayana 81 Fulton St. Boonton NJ 07005 973-257-1668 D_chen@us.tzuchi.org http://www.tzuchi.org Buddhist Sangha of South Jersey Non Sectarian 401 N. Kings Highway Cherry Hill NJ 08034 609 953-9215 wslyons@yahoo.com http://buddhistsangha.tripod.com/ Cold Mountain Sangha Zen 1322 Martine Avenue Plainfield NJ 07060 908-668-4413 kurt.spellmeyer@rutgers.edu http://coldmountainzen.org Dhammakaya International Meditation Center (New Jersey) Theravada 186 East Hudson Englewood NJ 07631 201 541-1683 dhammakayanj@sprintmail.com Dharma Drum Mtn Buddhist Assoc Chinese Chan Buddhism 789 Jersey Ave. New Brunswick NJ 08901 732 249-1898 chiuwang@msn.com http://www.ddmba-nj.org/ddmba_NJ/default.asp Dharmachakra Buddhist Center Kadampa 2933 Vauxhall Road Vauxhall NJ 07088 973.847.5421 info@meditatenj.org http://www.meditatenj.org Dharmachakra Buddhist Center New Kadampa Tradition (NKT) 203 Parker Avenue Maplewood NJ 07040 973-847-5421 info@meditationinessex.org http://www.meditationinessex.org Dzogchen Foundation New Jersey Sangha Tibetan Dzogchen NJ 908-561-0462 Empty Hand Zen Group Soto Zen Buddhism 22 Lackawana Plaza Montclair NJ 07042 908.672.8782 shofu_keegan@yahoo.com http://www.emptyhandzen.org/affiliated-groups/ Heart Circle Sangha Zen 451 Hillcrest Road Ridgewood NJ 07450 201-445-1874 x3 Joanhoeberichts@bigfoot.com http://www.heartcirclesangha.org Jizo-an Monastery Zen 1603 Highland Avenue Cinnaminson NJ 08077 856 786-4150 seijaku@home.com http://www.jizo-an.org/ Kwan Chao True Buddhist Temple Vajrayana 1612 Frontage Rd. Cherry Hill NJ 08034 856 795-3055 Lincroft Zen Sangha Soto Zen (Teacher Sensei Merle Kodo Boyd) 1475 W. Front St. Lincroft NJ 07738 732-291-3966 info@lincroftzen.org http://www.lincroftzen.org Mahayana Sutra and Tantra Center Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism 93 Smith Street Howell NJ 07731 732-364-8719 gewisslr@optonline.net http://www.mstp.us/mstc/ Monmouth Zen Circle Soto Zen in the tradition of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi 4th Ave Bradley Beach NJ 07720 evdplate@gmail.com https://www.facebook.com/MonmouthZenCircle New Jersey Buddhist Culture Center Humanistic 1007 New Brunswick Ave South Plainfield NJ 07080 908-822-8620 newjersey@ibps.org http://www.ibps.org/newjersey/english/aboutus.asp New Jersey Buddhist Vihara Theravada 4299, Rt 27 South Princton NJ 08540 732 821 9346 njbv@yahoo.com http://www.njbv.org Original Mind Zen Sangha Korean Zen 291 Witherspoon Street Princeton NJ 08542 609-375-8936 originalmindzen@gmail.com http://www.originalmindzen.com Pine Wind Dharma Center Zen 863 McKendimen Rd. Shamony NJ 08088 856 786-4150 http://www.jizo-an.org/ Princeton Area Zen Group Japanese Zen Buddhism, in the Yasutani-Yamada-Aitken lineage Rise Power Yoga 80 Nassau St. Princeton NJ 08542 609-605-3994 princetonzen@gmail.com http://www.princetonzengroup.org/ Princeton Buddhist Meditation Tibetan P.O. Box 3465 Princeton NJ 08543 infoplease@princetonbuddhist.org http://www.princetonbuddhist.org Pure Land Buddhist Association Chinese Pureland 139 Gaither Drive, Suite F Mount Laurel NJ 08054 856-231-0694 pure.land.temple@gmail.com http://www.purelandnj.org Soshimsa Zen Center Korean Zen 1112 North Ave Plainfield NJ 07062 908-377-9803 info@soshimsa.org http://soshimsa.org South Jersey Meditation Society Vipassana meditation group 4 Turnberry Drive Egg Harbor Twp. NJ 08234 609-927-7447 ddankathysimione@snip.net Taego Zen Center Korean Zen 116 Fort Lee Road Teaneck NJ 07666 347-224-4283 taegotemple@gmail.com http://www.taegotemple.com Tashi Lhunpo Buddhist Temple Tibetan Gelugpa 12 Kalmuk Rd Howell NJ 07724 (732) 363-6012 info@olnagazur.org http://www.olnagazur.org

Read this article:
Buddhist Directory - New Jersey