Letting Go of Logic and Perfection: Zen Buddhism as an Art and a Philosophy

  1. The system of logic cannot describe Zen:
    1. No word can really cover Zen.
    2. Zen is letting the mind move as it will and got together what you come up with
    3. Zen is about the spontaneous, immediate realization of the true self
    4. Zen is about finding opposites within each other.
    5. The only way to find enlightenment is to stop looking for it.
  2. Time and Space in the Zen Art:
    1. Time is particular evens in moments.
      1. E.g. Mu-chh’i’s Kingfisher on a Dry Reed
      2. One can re-organize the evens in the moments
      3. The beautiful moments can be extended forever through the brush.
    2. Space is particular evens in movement and continuation.
      1. Leaving empty space is more important than filling in objects.
      2. E.g. Kingfisher on a Dry Reed
      3. The Zen transformation is "boundless."
  3. Seven characteristics of Zen art (or Zen itself):
    1. Asymmetry: Finding perfection in the imperfect life:
    2. Simplicity: (Watts, p. 178)
    3. Austere Sublimity or "lofty dryness: By being so "dried" and bony, one can achieve wisdom, sturdiness, even power:
    4. Naturalness: Leaving the mind behind:
    5. Subtle Profundity: Great writers do not write more than what they do, as well as the painting
      1. e.g. A kingfisher, and yet this one thing has a quality of endless reverberation.
      2. The kingfisher is not just one single thing. Through being captured in the one moment, it contains everything. This is very Zen.
    6. Freedom From Attachment: An unattached person does not need to rely on the ideas of God or soul or rules. He is free.
    7. Tranquility: a spirit of quiet introspection:
  4. In order to truly receive, one must let go:

    5. (Movie)

  5. Tun wu /Satori:
    1. It is the gateway to Zen. "Without [satori] there is no Zen, for the life of Zen begins with the ‘opening of satori’" (Suzuki, p. 41)
    2. Let go of logic:
      1. Western logic is rooted in a belief of and need for reality. We need language to express our ideas;
      2. Eastern logic is rooted in acknowledgement of illusion. If everything we see around us is really illusion, language isn’t going to help.
      3. Western logic define and measure everything;
      4. Eastern logic allows things to be.
      5. Western logic sets rules for one to follow.
      6. Eastern logic sets one free.
    3. What lies behind the door to Zen is "thunderous silence"
    4. The understanding of Zen must transcend words.
      1. Zen is inside us.
      2. Letting the brush flow where it will, the painting is beautiful.
      3. The bird is just a bird, but at the same time, it is everything.
    5. Satori is about living in the moment. Letting things be. Finding the Buddhahood in everything:
      1. "If a man wishes to be sure of the road he treads on, he must close his eyes and walk in the dark" –St. John of the Cross, the Dark Night of the Soul

Source of the above notes:

Rachel Bash, "Letting Go of Logic and Perfection: Zen Buddhism as an Art and a Philosophy" Intro. to Buddhism, Spring, 2002