Expert: Joe McSorley - 5/6/2005

Question
i can not seen to find out what zen buddhims is. Could you give
me a brief out line of it. What is the difference between zen and
normal buddhism.

Answer
Dear Matthew,
 It is easy to understand your confusion here.  Zen is hard to define because it is not a thing or faith but a way for humans to try to overcome suffering.  Here is a brief overview of Buddhism:
The historical Buddha was born in 563 AD in the city of Kapilavatsu, 160 miles northeast of Benares, India.  Technically speaking Buddhism is not a religion; it is not theistic and does not have an external means of salvation.  In Buddhism one's awakening and redemption is all through self-effort alone.  Historically speaking Buddhism came about because of the life of the Prince Gautama Siddhartha, who at age 29, encountered for the first time suffering, sickness and death and wanted to find an answer to the cause of suffering for humans.  He tried to lose himself in the pleasures of the world but found no solace.  He then became an ascetic and this too yielded no answers.  After many years of searching and frustration he finally sat under a tree and declared that he would not move until he understood the solution.  According to legend, several days later, as he glanced up at the morning star his mind became clear and he was enlightened.  From this he postulated the Four Noble truths of Buddhism:
Life (human) is dukkha. (suffering, with no apparent cause), There is a cause for the suffering. (avidya or ignorance.), the cause can be abated, and there is a path (Margo yoga).  What the crux of this is that our minds do not see reality clearly, we do not know who we are, both to ourselves and in relation to the universe.  The cause for this is ignorance of ourselves as egos that blinds us to seeing beyond ourselves.  This can be remedied.  And there are many ways to do this, such as yoga, contemplation, self-examination, etc.  When one realizes the true nature of reality, often called ‘seeing things as they are', one has an identical experience to the historical Buddha so there is no hierarchy.  The word ‘buddha' means ‘awakened one' so anyone can become a Buddha.  As Buddhism evolved through the centuries there have been many different sects arising.  Therevada is not unlike western religions as they revere the historical Buddha as godlike and pray to him.  They have many rituals and prayers, gods, saints and icons.  Mahayana and Zen Buddhism do not ascribe to these practices and strive for a direct awakening.
 So Zen is the direct attempt to become awakened as the historical Buddha did. It does not involve worship or prayer or anything other than a deep effort to see reality unfettered by normal human consciousness.
I hope this helps you.  Take care.
                  Joe