Zen, Tao History,
Philosophy, and related Arts
TAOISM was conceived in China
and recorded initially by Lao-Tzu (-604 to -531)
and his followers
in the lifestyle book Tao Te Ching. ("the book of the Way, and its power").
He was strongly influenced by the I Ching ("the book of Changes")
written by unknown authors circa
-3000 to -1200.
Chuang Tzu (-369 to -286), his successor,
developed his ideas with humour and irony.
Leih Tzu was his pupil,
and set the seeds for the emergence of Ch'an (later
called Zen, in Japan)
from a marriage with Mahayana Buddhism,
which had arrived earlier from India (see below).
Taoism became (with Buddhism and Confucianism) one of
the 3 major
Chinese
lifestyle "religions" of the time,
and only stopped receiving state support in 1919.
Today, there are about 20 million adherents worldwide,
primarily centered in
Taiwan.
The Tao
("the way") is holistic,
and attempts to transcend the
duality of thought
process
through its suspension in infinite patience
(wu-wei - "actively doing nothing").
Core beliefs are that
:
-
everything exists at the
same instant as the universe it
shares,
-
the ego is an illogical division of self from the universe,
and,
-
reality
is beyond conceptual thought ;
An idea which is gaining ground even in western
science and
mathematics.
Its symbol (the combined
yin and yang) represents all opposites/dualities
(good-bad, black-white etc..) arising mutually ("hsiang sheng") in
dynamic
balance,
indicating that nothing can exist in isolation.
The yin-yang view of the world is serenely
cyclic.
Fortune and misfortune, life and death, come and go forever,
and the whole system is beyond monotony,
since remembering
must alternate with forgetting.
As Lao-tzu put it:
"To be" and "not to be"
arise mutually.
(so much for W. Shakespear!)
Tao is the first cause of the universe, flows through all things,
and takes
subjective nature
as its model.
Being in harmony with the Tao is the attainment of compassion,
moderation, and humility.
It is not doing something for reward.
It is the reward itself.
Tao has all qualities
and none, at the same time.
BUDDHISM was conceived in north India
through "enlightenment"
by
the Buddha (lit. "bud dha" - wise man) Siddhartha Gautama (-490 to
-410).
His teachings were "recorded" 150 years later,
when Buddhism had
already started to diversify
into Mahayana, and the (more fundamentalist) Theravada, beliefs.
However, both (more or less) interpret his precepts literally as rules to follow.
The Buddha did not appoint a successor.
He believed it pointless,
since
buddha-nature
is in everybody.
We are all god.
There is no supreme being to judge, or to be answered to.
All Buddhism talks about
samsara
(the turning wheel of life),
and
karma
(it's active
principle),
and is not concerned with salvation to
a hereafter.
In this sense, like Taoism,
it is atheistic -
a life philosophy rather than a religion.
Buddhists do not worship the Buddha,
but use his images in temples as a focus
to reflect on his teachings.
The Indian versions look for perfection through many lives,
using
formal methods of meditation
to achieve enlightenment.
Zen (Japan) /
Ch'an (China) was founded in China
by the south Indian monk Bodhidharma
in about +520.
It teaches that the wheel is only
here and now,
that all beings possess a buddha-nature, often equated with
The Void
(shunya) -
a Taoist concept,
and that realization of this fact is enlightenment (Chinese: wu; Japanese:
satori).
This ultimate truth or
reality
is beyond the
duality of subject and object
(linear thought)
and can only be realized in immediate personal experience
by not trying /grasping.
Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism was introduced into Japan in the 7th century, but
flowered in the 12th.
It is Buddhism of the mind, practiced in the world's midst.
Two branches of Ch'an Buddhism developed in the 9th century:
Lin-chi (Japanese: Rinzai) and Ts'ao-tung (Japanese: Soto).
Enlightenment is to be obtained by different methods.
The former use the
kung-an (Japanese:
koan),
a paradoxical question or aphorism with no linear answer,
to facilitate the realization that all conceptualization
is "unreal".
The latter emphasize the practice
of "silent illumination" or "just sitting"
(Chinese: tso-ch'an; Japanese: zazen)
to purge the mind of all thought.
ZEN
PHILOSOPHY OVERVIEW
*
HAIKU is a minimalist poetry form
popularized in the 17th century
by the monk Basho in rural Japan.
It evolved
from the 31-syllable tanka form dominant in the 8th century,
and is often associated with Zen practice.
In its original form it has strict rules,
but since English is so different from
Japanese
and
since so few people now live in rural settings,
the English form has evolved
in
its own way.
A haiku has the following structure (at least in part) :
- brevity [one to three lines totaling 17 syllables or less].
- three lines ["ideally" with a 5-7-5 syllable structure].
- juxtaposition [2 elements or lines indirectly relate to a third].
- descriptiveness [it doesn't prescribe or tell].
- it can be read aloud in one breath.
- it avoids traditional English poetic forms, such as rhyming and metaphor.
The haiku dictionary, Gendai Haiku Dai-jiten (Meiji Shoin, 1980), states that :
"a
(modern)
haiku, be it composed in Japanese, English or any other language,
is
what the person who has written it
presents as a haiku." !!
Traditional Japanese HAIGA involves brush
art work
coupled with a haiku written in brush calligraphy.
Like haiku,
the focus is in
simplicity of expression.
Modern haiga (art + haiku)
also contain a juxtaposition between the haiku
and
the art work,
which do not necessarily directly represent each other.
The art work can be
anything :
computer generated drawings,
photos, etc.
TAI CHI
CHUAN
is a system of chinese zen (ch'an) meditation exercises,
which has a basic 18 positional movements.
the full "course" can take (more than?) a lifetime,
and gets into complicated stuff, like manipulating swords
and staffs etc.. purely as exercise.
it's a lot about breathing from the abdomen. and body movements made from
a static position... ...a sort of animated yoga... ..or slowed down kung-fu !
It is gentle, rather than violent,
is believed to balance the body's natural energy ("chi"),
promoting
holistic well-being.
It
could be considered an art form (a "ballet" with a purpose
but no audience),
along with other Taoist offspring such as : kung fu,
acupuncture,
herbal medicine, massage, feng shui, etc..
Practice tai chi outside in all weathers.
This is how it's supposed to be.
TOP
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bob harbinson and Silver Pipe Productions S.A.
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