ZEN IN PRACTICE - PART II

What is Tao (or Truth, God, or the Source of Being?
Ordinary mind is Tao.
Should  we try to get it?
As soon as you try you miss it....

We have said in part I that Zen functions in non-duality, The process of thought, of reasoning, of conceptualizing takes place in the field of duality. It follows that no thinking process will achieve Zen. Thought in itself can go a very long way; the seeker can by reason intellectually understand the concept of the ONE, the abstract concept of the VOID, think that mentally he understands what awareness is... But still all these concepts even the most abstract intellectual ones are still made in the world of reasoning and duality...So, Zen philosophy is to discard all kind of concepts and challenge the mind and intellect of the seeker by Zen KOANS which are not easily cracked...

What is a Koan? Essentially a koan is a paradox, i.e., that is 'beyond' thinking which transcends the logical or conceptual. Thus, since it cannot be solved by reason, a koan is not a riddle. Solving a koan requires a leap to another level of comprehension. Since the koan eludes solution by means of discursive understanding, it makes clear to the student the limitations of thought and eventually forces him to transcend it in an intuitive leap, which takes him into a world beyond logical contradictions and dualistic modes of thought.

For Zen masters, WORDS are sounds or marks of agreed meaning in terms of ideas, thoughts or feelings. They are symbols, when therefore, a master wishes to transmit to another some spiritual experience, he must descend to the level of thought and present the discovery in words that will touch the feelings of his student. On his turn the seeker unwraps the words and their symbolic meaning, extracting and resonating whatever he can understand from his master's Koan... or symbolic Words...

To be continued...