Opening Lesson

Honors 390

Meyerhofer

And now, here’s some background info congenially but somewhat haphazardly transmitted from my brain to the page (or computer screen) in front of you…

 

There are almost as many divergent branches of Buddhism (if not more) as there are branches of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.  However, scholars generally divide Buddhism into three distinct traditions: Theravada (“The School of the Elders,” the oldest tradition, originally found in India, widely practiced in Sri Lanka and parts of Southeast Asia), Mahayana (“The Great Vehicle,” the second oldest tradition, practiced in East Asia), and Vajrayana (“The Diamond Vehicle,” the newest tradition, often called Tantric Buddhism, associated with the Dalai Lama and mainly found in Tibet). 

These three branches share a great deal of similarity; they also exhibit some profound differences in terms of ritual, practice, and belief.  For instance, while all three emphasize the Dharma (the teachings) and the Sangha (the community of fellow enlightenment-seekers), plus the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path (more on those later), there is a great deal of often-contentious debate over which school proposes the proper methods for meditation and achieving enlightenment, with adherents of the different schools obviously posing strong arguments on the issue (just as you might imagine a heated debate between devout Catholics and Protestants).  This debate is further complicated by the literally thousands upon thousands of pages of text that the different schools  adhere to (much longer than the Judeo-Christian Bible used throughout much of Europe and the Americas).  There are also subdivisions within each of the tree branches; for instance, Mahayana Buddhism also contains Zen and Pure Land Buddhism, with some scholars associating Tantric Buddhism with Mahayana (while others separate it into Vajrayana). 

I encourage everyone to spend some time familiarizing her/himself with the basics of these different schools/philosophies.  For the purposes of this class, though, we will primarily focus on Zen Buddhism, or simply, Zen.  Our primary vehicle for approaching Zen will not be historical and scriptural study, but reading, discussion, and (eventually) emulation of Zen mindfulness through the lens of poetry.

Full disclosure: I am by no means presenting myself as an expert on Buddhist doctrine.  I speak neither Pali (the original language of Buddhism) nor Sanskrit.  Particularly as it relates to Zen, I don’t speak Chinese, and I don’t know more than a handful of Japanese words used as poetic terminology.  In fact, my knowledge of Zen stems almost entirely from translations of Chinese and Japanese poetry, as well as the Zen-based concepts and insights provided by “western” authors, philosophers, and filmmakers.  I am not seeking to present anything close to an authoritative sermon in this course; I am simply offering this course as a modern, creatively/artistically based meditation on the nature of Zen—what is it, how do we get it, how do we keep it, and how will it help us if we do?

Also, as one who generally views the world through the lens of poetry, I want to offer this course as an opportunity to cultivate a deeper, more enriched appreciation of the world through the lens of Zen-inspired poetry, with no particular requirements or exclusions based on religious of philosophical differences of opinion.

Put another way… 

My interest in Zen began long before I knew what Zen was, before I had even heard the word.  I was raised in a rather dogmatic Roman Catholic community; while there were some very positive aspects to the teachings (including compassion and humility, which are also key tenets of Zen), there were also some things (like the belief in Original Sin and the necessity of praying to an outside deity for help) that did not mesh with what I would probably call my own innate spiritualism.   

During my awkward adolescence, I happened upon some translated haiku by Basho, the great Japanese haiku master, as well as the “Zen-influenced” work of American fiction writer, J.D. Salinger (most famous for The Cather in the Rye).  Both showed devotion to imagery at the smallest detail, filled not only with sadness and humor but the suggestion that a higher state of being can be attained simply by living more deliberately… that to at least figuratively or partially understand the universe, you don’t need seven PhDs and a dozen lifetimes; you simply need to appreciate the true nature and beauty of what’s right in front of you.

Who was the Buddha?

It’s difficult to separate fact from myth but the Buddha (or “Awakened One”) is the name given to Siddhartha Gautama, born around 400 B.C.E.  Generally, the story goes that he was a prince whose father so insulated him from the world that Siddhartha had no knowledge of suffering in the world.  Siddhartha married and lived out his youth in a state of pure, ignorant bliss; then, at the age of 29, he went out to meet his subjects.  Despite efforts to prevent this, Siddhartha saw and learned about sickness, aging, and death.  This filled him with despair, as well as a burning need to figure out why human beings suffer and, if possible, find a way out.

Many religions at the time spoke of reincarnation, as well as karma (the belief that what we do affects what happens to us and/or how we are reborn).  The thought was that by abstaining from earthly indulgences and practicing a strict and punishing life, one might cultivate good karma and free oneself of the same earthly desires that were preventing true happiness.  Reincarnation enters into this because the prevailing notion was that human beings are born again and again into a painful, suffering, ultimately unsatisfying world and that these unhappy rebirths will continue forever unless we can find a way to break the cycle. 

With that in mind, Siddhartha left the palace and went out into the wilderness to find his answers.  He tried studying under various gurus, meditating, and starving himself; nothing worked.  Although he recognized the merits of temperance and meditation, he eventually realized that extreme deprivation was not the answer.  Thus, he formulated what Buddhists call the Middle Way, or the Middle Path (a gentler philosophy that avoids extremes).   

The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path…

1.  Siddhartha preached that the world is full of suffering (“dukkha”).  Birth, aging, illness, death, sorrow, and separation are all examples of this suffering. 

2. Suffering is caused by cravings, lusts, and desires that can never be wholly satisfied.  

3. To eliminate suffering, you have to eliminate cravings (or unhealthy attachments).  

4. The way (or, at least, one way) to achieve freedom from cravings is by following the Eightfold Path: that is, to practice proper intention, speech, view, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration.

The Origins of Zen

Many Zen practitioners trace Zen back to what is commonly known as the Flower Sermon.  One day, the Buddha appeared before his students but instead of offering a lecture, he simply held up a flower.  Everyone stared, confused.  Then one monk, Maha Kashyapa, smiled.  Seeing this, the Buddha said something along the lines of, “I possess a deeper understanding of the universe, which I have just passed on to Kashyapa.”

More specifically, Zen was founded by Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk who lived in the 5^th and 6^th centuries, C.E.  Little is known about him; like the Buddha, much of what we read is probably more myth than fact, though Bodhidharma is credited with bringing Buddhism to China.