Expert: Joe McSorley - 9/30/2004

Question
Hi, My name is Tyler Bellstrom and for my online course on "Eastern and Western Thought" I am supposed to find an expert on either Buddhism, Taoism, or Confucisim. And I have found you. I have 8 questions for you but feel free just to talk about these religions based on your knowledge. Thank you.
1) How is Zen Buddhism different from other schools of Buddhism?
2) What is Taoism's place in modern day china or other asian countries?
3)  What are your views of other religions?
4) What is your view of Western Religon?
5) What do you think Buddhism's place in the world is?
6)How do you feel about the Dali Llama being the face of Buddhism?
7) How do you think American Culture views Buddhism?
8) What do you think about the Government of China?

Answer
Tyler,
  I am sorry for the delay in answering this but I have not been receiving my questions from All Experts.  I can only answer some of your questions as several are not relevant to my area.

1) How is Zen Buddhism different from other schools of Buddhism?

Zen is perhaps the most distilled version of Buddhism in that it's emphasis is not in the study of Buddhism but to realize what the historical Buddha himself realized.  It is said that Zen is that which is ‘not relying on words or letters'.  What that means is that Zen is not at all interested in the study of Buddhism but in the awakening of the individual through whatever means possible.  There is a sutra in Buddhism called the poison arrow sutra and the crux of it is this:  there are two men hit by a poison arrow, one wants to know who shot it, what the poison is composed of and the design of the arrow and the other just wants to get the arrow out.  This is the difference between Zen and the other schools of Buddhism.  Zen is not concerned with history, ritual or doctrine but want to bring the individual to the point of awakening, here and now.  Zen began with Bodhidharma.
   Bodhidharma was a Brahman who brought Buddhism to China in about 520 A.D.  He is called the wall gazing Brahman and the first Patriarch of Zen.  In the story of Bodhidharma a man approaches him one day by the name of Hui ka.  Hui ka came to Bodhi's cave and waited for the monk to accept him.  As the legend goes he stood there for days but the Brahman did not come forth.  It started snowing and the snow reached Hui's waist and finally Bodhi came out and asked, “ What is it you want?”  To that Hui replied ‘ My heart mind is not at ease' (I have great existential anxiety).  Bodhi replied “ the way is long and difficult'.  With that Hui took out his sword and chopped off his left arm and handed it to Bodhi.  This obviously symbolizes the great dedication that he had to solving his problem.  With that Bodhi says he will accept him and asks again “ what is your problem?”  Hui replies “ My heart/mind is not at ease”.  Then Bodhi replies, “ Hand it to me that I may pacify it”.  With that Hui realized the true self and was awakened.  
  Please note here that Bodhidharma did not tell him to meditate, chant, pray or to do any other technique and he is the founder of Zen.  What he did do was to tell Hui to face himself, here and now in the immediate and present the source of his problem.  This forced Huikka to see that he himself was the problem.  Now it is obvious in this story that Hui had gone through an arduous process of searching to reach the point of such extremity that his concept of self would be shattered by Bodhi's words.  Bodhi wanted him to open his eyes to himself and the process that his mind was creating.  It is the object of Zen to stop the ruminations of the mind, to answer the question “ who is it that seeks” above all other questions first.  This is not done by ritual or chanting or any other device but by a deep and profound inquiry of the individual to the point that he realizes that the very act of searching itself is self-defeating.  This is the  point where we realize that we ourselves are the problem and we reach the paradox of self overcoming self to become awakened.  The first of the eightfold path is right thought and it's extremely important to understand that we must realize with every fiber in our body that the mind cannot realize awakening and yet may be the vehicle to that realization.  Awakening cannot be contingent upon body posture or chanting or any other particular physical manifestation but any one of those things might trigger it.  Historically in Zen those on the path have been so involved with answering their own existential dilemma or natural koan that anything can trigger awakening when the moment is ripe.  This is why you have stories of monks or laymen becoming awakened when a bird chirps, a bell rings, rock hits bamboo or keys drop.  Any one of these things was at the right moment in the striving of the individual.
    Other schools of Buddhism are more concerned with ritual and doctrine while Zen is not.




2) What is Taoism's place in modern day china or other asian countries?
 I don't really know but I suspect that since the Maoist revolution it is rapidly fading away.

3) What are your views of other religions?
  Zen is not a religion and does not have a belief system.  I find most religions to be very problematic and self contradictory.

4) What is your view of Western Religon?
  It is very chauvinistic and egocentric.  It places the human view of things as ultimate and ignores nature and the universe.

5) What do you think Buddhism's place in the world is?
  I don't know what you mean by this question, especially since Zen is different from the other sects of Buddhism.  I would think that with the materialism and self gratification of the West creeping into Eastern cultures and the decline of self accountability due to Western religion and culture that Buddhism will eventually fade.

6)How do you feel about the Dali Llama being the face of Buddhism?
  The Dali Llama is only the face of one sect of Tibetan Buddhism and is by no means the face of Buddhism.  Buddhism has no one face or spokesperson.



7) How do you think American Culture views Buddhism?

Like everything else, very superficially.

8) What do you think about the Government of China?
Like all things, in some ways good, in some ways bad.

  take care,
        Joe