Zen Buddhism is believed to be the
predominant form of Buddhism in the West, with some estimates claiming that Zen
Buddhists comprise up to 40% of the Western community. So why can't Zen find an
appropriate online home to match its home in the hearts of
Westerners?
It's not because there aren't enough Zen forums. There's the
alt.zen Usenet newsgroup, the ZENDO listserv, two BBS echomail conferences on
the BodhiNet and DharmaNet networks and a slew of Zen conferences on The Well,
America Online and CompuServe. Despite all these forums, Zen discussions tend
towards amateur koan practice, perpetrated by message writers who respond that
"everything is emptiness" or constant reference to "oak trees in courtyards" or
"dried shitsticks." Worse yet, discussions occasionally revolve around flower
arrangement, tea ceremonies or the finer points of rock gardening. It is rare
indeed, to see a debate regarding the finer points of Zen practice, doctrine or
history.
At first I thought the problem was because these conferences
were poorly moderated. Alt.zen and the commercial online services often fall
victim to "drive by flamers," those who stop in for a moment and shoot their
mouths off with meaningless epithets designed to incite a negative response, or
at least stop meaningful discussion. ZENDO is only slightly better, and if you
can slog through the many messages to the moderator to SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE,
you can occasionally find a few gems of wisdom. The echomail networks have the
highest quality of posts, however they aren't immune either. Also, "traffic" is
extremely low and you may wait many days for a discussion to develop (if it ever
does).
Even the best of these forums were falling prey to Zen drivel, so
I realized the problem was not with the forum administration, it was in the
general attitude of its participants. This lack of quality and insight seems to
be caused by three particular problems, not necessarily unique to the online
world of Zen. Attachment to emptiness, Zen without Buddhism and an inaccurate
portrayal of Zen in popular culture all combine to undermine meaningful Zen
dialogues.
Attachment to emptiness is so common that the term "Zen
sickness" is often used to describe it. Sufferers of this malady run around
telling you that "everything is empty" and nothing really exists. In
discussions, when these people don't know the answer to a question or don't know
how to pursue a meaningful dialogue, they often resort to their emptiness claim
to stifle conversation, or worse, appear wise. A recent discussion in alt.zen
was composed of a someone asking where the Zen was in the discussion group,
since everyone seemed to be ranting and raving about new age teachers and Hindu
philosophy. The response to his question was overwhelming, as many people slyly
informed him of the "emptiness" of the conference. Heck, it doesn't have Zen
because it's empty. True emptiness represents a lack of permanent form,
pregnant with potential for unlimited growth and development. The emptiness
discussed in these conferences is a growth impediment, since discussion
immediately stops when the emptiness word is used. A response one of my Zen
teachers often used when confronted by an emptiness spouter was: "Does emptiness
feel pain?" This is especially effective when brandishing a big Zen stick (or
listserv software).
Zen without Buddhism is the second problem that
impedes discussions. In the vein of Toni Packer and Charlotte Beck, many
discussion participants think that Zen is some separate "way," divorced from its
roots in Buddhism. I visited Charlotte Beck's center several years ago and
rather than a Buddha on the alter, there sat a rock. This is the world of
Buddhism without the Buddha. What happens when Zen is removed from its context
and its support in Buddhism? It becomes a technique _ either for relaxation or
for enhancement of the ego to protect oneself from reality.
Zen divorced
from Buddhism is nothing. It lacks the moral foundations, the base, that is
necessary for spiritual advancement. Meditation (which is the meaning of "Zen"
after all) is only one of the Eightfold Paths or Six Paramitas. Steven Echard
Roshi writes that "Such people think that you can extract the essence out of Zen
Buddhism, dilute it to infinitesimal levels, and still possess the same thing."
The result in online discussions is that there's very little left to talk about
when Buddhism is removed from the picture. There's sitting, and then there's,
well, sitting. Actually these people spend enormous amounts of time trying to
explain "enlightenment experiences," the brass ring of the Zen student whose
Buddhist foundation is removed.
The inappropriate portrayal of Zen in
popular culture is really an extension of this second problem. In popular
culture, Zen becomes divorced from its Buddhist context and worse, it even loses
its inaccurate representation as a meditation technique. Zen becomes an
expression for any event that somehow had a synchronistic effect on the speaker.
Zen changes form from a noun to a verb, and gets used to describe the proper way
for motorcycle maintenance, creative management, internet navigation, and a
variety of unrelated topic. The word "Zen" in the title seems to illicit a
popular response that increases market share. In online conferences this
"popular understanding," or what Zen master Seung Sahn calls "Common People's
Zen," is used as a springboard for discussing just about anything, but
preferably something from Japan - since it sounds more romantic.
Most of
these problems can be fixed with a simple remedy. Just refer to Zen as Zen
Buddhism. Whenever you use the word Zen, put Buddhism after it. If it sounds
funny, the word Zen is probably being used inappropriately. Try it: Zen Buddhism
and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Gosh, the clouds were still and I had
this experience of oneness with everything,; it was very Zen Buddhism. The
problem of Zen divorced from Buddhism can be solved by placing meditation in
context. Think of Zen as a link in the practice chain. If you sit in zazen,
divorced from the rest of Buddhist practice, I'm afraid it's not Zen
Buddhism.