Expert: Joe McSorley - 11/10/2008

Question
Hello Joe,
I was surprised and elated when I found your site so easily this morning.  Forgive my ignorance regarding these topics as I spent many years banging my head against the proverbial wall - trying to accept or at least understand all the dogma of the more Traditional Western Religions and philosophies of the people in my family and environment.  Many years ago (about 40) I once read a beautiful translation of Lao Tzu's "The Way of Life". I was deeply impressed and moved by it.  I made some minor attempts at finding others who might be more familiar with that philosophy - it didn't come easy enough for me at that time (I was a young man with other things on my mind - raging hormones, rock n' roll, and ego - raised in America thinking everything should come as quickly as a McDonald's hamburger).  Anyway, I never found any satisfactory answers - as I'm sure I never pursued them enough. Other difficulties I encountered were the Religious and right wing political beliefs of family and friends.  Family in particular.  Love and honor to my family (esp. parents) and pursuit of my own spiritual needs was a difficult balancing act for me.
Forgive me for the long introduction; however, although I am trying not to have any great expectations - I admit that I did get a bit excited when I keyed in a question at ask.com and was delivered to this site. It was long overdue (perhaps - or right on time - who am I to say), so I suppose I am hoping that this exchange of ideas may be the beginning of a long-term relationship with either you or others who may help direct me to my goals.  I'm almost embarrassed by my first question (as it is evidence of my laziness and lack of commitment).  I am hoping this is only the first of many (or, at least enough) questions and correspondences between us. So....here it is - question #1:

If there a simple explanation of the difference between Zen Taoism and Zen Buddhism ?  (I warned you, my ignorance is showing).

Question # 2

Do you know of any resources in my community - where I may find others following a similar path - who may instruct me ?
I reside in Hollywood, Florida.

Have a ________ day !
Ken


Answer
Hi Ken,
 Thanks for writing.  Your question regarding ‘Zen Taoism’ is confusing because there is no such thing as I know it.  Did I leave a comma out in my description? If so, I apologize for creating the confusion.  Zen and Taoism are two separate philosophies in China, though at their core, I argue they are describing the same ultimate reality.  Many of the temples in China will have icons of all the local religious philosophies.  It’s not like a church here where it is strictly Catholic or Baptist, they don’t have that severe chauvinism that Western religions seem to have.
  I would imagine that in your community there are Zen meditation centers, they appear to be everywhere, but whether or not you can get good instruction is another matter.  William James once said that education is the task of ‘getting the student to ask the questions that you can answer’.  This means that almost anyone who teaches anything has a box they teach from and all things must conform to their understanding.  This is particularly troublesome in Zen.  There are a few several sanctioned Zen teachers in my area and I’ve heard their lectures and they really miss the point entirely.  Zen has become a form of psychological word play and disassociation where the point seems to make nonsensical and paradoxical statements while maintaining a big grin on your face.  The problem is that you can read Dogen or Rinzai and justify some of this behaviour because it’s so hard to understand and so culturally entwined. Ultimately these Zen teachings themselves can mislead the student.  Many of these teachers do not like to be questioned or answer the questions with lines like “if you were at my level you’d understand my answer’.  In a real student/teacher relationship the teacher has to challenge all the student’s assumptions about everything and make them tear down their version of reality.  The teacher knows that he cannot teach anything that he can only prod the student along.  This often creates a great antinomy between the student and teacher because you are constantly shut down and made to rethink things.  The point is to get the student to have the process of self-reflective thought breakdown on itself so that the mind itself is realized as the problem.  When you reach this point you know that ritual,dogma, belief and anything else you might want to hold on to are empty, that your very thought process itself cannot get you there and you are stuck.  So it’s not that a teacher gives you things to memorize or chant or whatever but that they drive you to realize for yourself, at a deep and personal level, that the problem is your concept of ‘you’, the “I” that stands in between reality and realization.  
   There are techniques used to do this like zazen (seated meditation), mindfulness and koan practice and they are extremely helpful but only if done correctly.  Many use technique as the goal itself and it is not.  You use technique to learn an instrument but to truly play it you have overcome technique.
   So it is difficult to find someone to instruct you and it is more important to learn who you are and who it is that asks these questions.  You need to educate yourself and read what you can.  None of the good reading is easy and books I thought were trash I later came to cherish as my understanding grew.  I recommend D T Suzuki, Urs App, Masao Abe and Shin Ichi Hisamatsu.  I think one of the greatest papers written on the topic of Zen and the self is in “Psychoanalysis and Zen Buddhism” by Fromm, Suzuki and DeMartino.  DeMartino’s work is very difficult to understand but a true masterpiece.  I read it at least 5 times before I began to get a grasp of it.  I initially dismissed it as too cognitive and intellectual but later came to hold it in high esteem. It was written for academics and analysts so it is understandable why it is that way.
  Be wary of anyone who claims to hold the key, way or dharma because it is hidden from no one and held by on one.  And this does require work; there is no easy way as much as we’d all like that.  There is no easy way to get in shape, learn an instrument or do anything else of great value in life.  Some masters will say it is easy, let go of self.  Sounds easy, right?  Try it.
  Take care,
         Joe