Re: godot troubled by zen
Diego Dell'Era (dellerad@sinectis.com.ar)
Fri, 20 Mar 1998 18:06:33 -0800
Puzzled Godot wrote:
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But if Zen is about lack of rationality, then how does one rationally
explain Zen, or its purpose, or its practise or recommend it to others?
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I guess we all share your need to understand.
1. "But if Zen is about lack of rationality, then how does one
rationally explain Zen?". That is self-explanatory. You don't explain it
rationally. And if you do, what's the use of explaining, say, anger or
sadness? It can be used for a work of art, but rationalizing -per se-
isn't very much. I thought rationalizing Jesus would make me a better
christian, but it has only left me with a monomaniac underadjusted
suicidal bachelor. I prefer my previous view of him.
2. "(...)or its purpose, or its practise or recommend it to others?" Its
practice is so simple it can be seen in one sitting :). Its purpose is
that of a candle blown out in a dark room. And when I tried to recommend
Zen to others, they punched me on the nose. Which was indeed the most
appropiate response :)
Jesus spoke in parables, perhaps Zen is one step further:
Shogen asked: `Why does the enlightened man not stand on his feet
and explain himself?' And he also said: `It is not necessary for speech
to come from the tongue.'
Good luck, Godot.