The first Japanese Zen Master, Soyen Shaku, arrived in America in 1893. Zen did not reach the West until after Japan was opened by Commodore Perry in 1853, and it put down very shallow roots for the next century as the esoteric practice of a very few Westerners. Zen was adopted by the Imperial Court, and became the prime philosophy of the Samurai. Around 1500, Zen became a major influence on Japanese culture, inspiring calligraphy, art, gardening, the Tea Ceremony, and other traditional Japanese activities. Zen also traveled to Korea, where it is known as Son, and to Vietnam, where it is called Thien. Dhyana was carried from India to China by Bodhidharma two millennia later, and developed in China as Ch’an, which was then brought to Japan as Zen by Master Eisai. In India, the sitting practice was known as Dhyana. Zen traces its putative beginnings back to the day the Buddha sat in meditation under the Bodhi Tree all those years ago. It puts aside the iconography and ritual of other forms of Buddhism, focusing on the practitioner’s direct experience of this present moment… “Zen” is a Japanese word transcribed from the Chinese “Ch’an,” which in turn derives from the Sanskrit word “Dhyana.” It is also known as “Thien” in Vietnam and “Son” in Korea. Zen traces its earliest roots back to the intense sitting meditation practiced b y the Buddha which resulted in his enlightenment. ~ To them this page is dedicated in respect, reverence, and deepest affection. ~ Some years ago, I reintroduced myself to Zen practice under the tutelage of Doshin Cantor Sensei and my Dharma family at the Southern Palm Zen Group in Boca Raton, Florida. ~ I drifted away from Zen in the 1990s and early 2000s, focusing more intently on developing my legal practice. ~ Without a formal teacher, my hither-and-yon education in Zen was punctuated primarily by reading authors such as Alan Watts, Peter Matthiessen, D.T. ~ This experience led me into a long, if intermittent, apprenticeship as a Zen practitioner, occasionally as a visitor to a sitting group, but most often alone. Although Rajah Singh did not call what he was teaching us “Zazen,” that was in fact what it was. The Unyielding Spirit In my first year of college, I was introduced to a form of sitting meditation by one of my Professors, Rajah Singh, the hereditary Court Musician of the Mogul Emperors of India.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |