What is "Zen"? The original meaning of Zen can be seen as a kind of behavior. It means to sit quietly, eliminate distracting thoughts, and generate supreme wisdom in meditation to verify the true nature of everything in the world. Now Zen can also be regarded as a noun. The so-ca

"Zen"?

The original meaning of Zen can be seen as a kind of behavior. It means to sit quietly, eliminate distracting thoughts, and generate supreme wisdom in meditation to verify the true nature of everything in the world.

Now Zen can also be regarded as a noun, the so-called "Zen", where "Zen" is a noun, representing supreme wisdom and truth.

I prefer that "Zen" is a behavior. Because we often use "cicada" to communicate with false "Zen". After dormant underground for several years or even more than ten years, cicadas emerge from the ground and become a sensation. This process is indeed in line with the process and essence of "Zen": a peaceful and simple heart, a quiet time, an environment without interruptions, returning to the true nature, relaxing the mind, and allowing wisdom to continuously accumulate and ferment in the heart, from quantitative changes to qualitative changes, thus producing clear wisdom.

However, I do not agree with the "Zen" way of practice. There are certainly many ways to comprehend wisdom. As the saying goes, different paths lead to the same destination. Different paths can lead to the same destination. By sitting quietly for a long time and eating less, "Zen" actually suppresses the body's functions to think about problems, or to get enlightenment from the gods in a trance. It is difficult to say that this is not an illusion caused by the degradation of body functions. The enlightenment gained in this way is actually not much different from the ancient witches who took hallucinogens to gain psychic abilities.

There are actually many ways to comprehend wisdom, such as drinking tea, eating, driving, taking a bath. As long as you are willing, you will gain ideological gains in any behavior. Robert M. Pirsig's " Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance " is actually about realizing the meaning of life and the value of life in the process of motorcycle maintenance. From this point of view, it is correct to use "Zen" as a noun and equate it with "enlightenment and wisdom" to understand the general meaning, but the original intention is definitely wrong. Only the enlightenment obtained through "sitting in meditation" can be called "Zen", and the wisdom obtained through other methods cannot be called "Zen", although all the wisdom obtained is connected and has the same value. However, although both rice and flour can fill the stomach, rice is always the fruit of rice and flour is always the seed of wheat. The two cannot be confused.

But can we also understand the phenomenon that "Zen" is popularly understood as a noun and means "all perceptions" from another angle? That is: We modern people have paid less and less attention to the form of understanding wisdom, but more to the results of understanding. It is no longer in line with modern people's values ​​to gain access to the supreme wisdom through "Zen" that "works one's muscles and bones, hungers one's body and skin, and empties one's body". Most people pursue the light of "Zen" in the material enjoyment of sensual pleasures and horses. As for whether you can comprehend something, it is actually not important anymore. Making others feel that you are "scared" and making yourself feel that you are "Zen" is the psychological satisfaction that many modern people understand by "Zen". Just like wearing a famous brand coat, quality and other parameters are not actually important. What is important is that the logo of the famous brand must be visible to others, and you must make sure that others can see it.

In a sense, the current "Zen" has gradually become popularized into "Zen Zen". The transition from a way of practice to a synonym for "wisdom" can be seen as a progress in concept. The result is king, so why bother to be obsessed with the way and process of pursuit? "A black cat or a white cat, any cat that can catch mice is a good cat." However, can we really comprehend any supreme wisdom without the "enlightenment" of penance? Someone must say yes. "The bodhi tree has no tree, and the mirror is not a stand. There is nothing in the first place, so where is the dust?" This epiphany poem has now become the supreme belief of many people's opportunism. I believe that in the feasting and feasting of secular life, we can understand the principles of being a human being in the world, but I also believe in the universal principle of equivalent exchange. The more valuable something is, the more it needs to be exchanged at a high price. Similarly, if everyone can comprehend supreme wisdom from a comfortable environment, can it still be called "supreme wisdom"?

Most of us are just the most ordinary members of all living beings, and there is no need to take it as our duty to comprehend the "supreme wisdom".How many true practitioners are there who can persist in "Zen"? There is no shame in admitting that we are all speculators. Feeling the firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea, comprehending the little philosophies of life, having kind thoughts, being happy and open-minded, this is the highest state that most of us can achieve in this life. In fact, as early as more than a thousand years ago, Patriarch Bodhidharma said to Huike before he was about to return to Tianzhu: "I taught you the authentic Zen method, cassocks and Dharma tokens. Two hundred years after my mistake, , there is no need to pass on the mantle to the Sixth Patriarch , because at that time the Zen method has spread all over the world, but there are many people who know it, but few people practice it, many people reason and few people understand it..." So we don't need to be too ashamed of ourselves. They talk about benevolence, justice and morality, but behind the scenes, men steal and women prostitute; they are harsh and demanding of others, and they are perfunctory to themselves... In reality, there are many such people and things, and we don't need to be too pessimistic. After all, practice is more about your own inner affirmation than external criticism. If we care too much about other people's opinions, it can only be said that our practice has not reached a certain level. As for whether you use "Zen" or other methods to understand "wisdom", from a personal point of view, it actually doesn't matter at all. As long as there is no opportunistic intention, the external form does not matter. It is much better to reflect and understand at all times than to be indifferent.

(picture from the Internet)