what is Zen?

"Zen" is a transcendental state. The word itself comes from the Sanskrit "dyana" which means "meditation". In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Dhyana is defined as "focusing of related or same sanskaras (fine mental elements) on the same spot". Thus the meditation process becomes a  non-breakable "focusing". As it intensifies so does your capacity to concentrate. Concentration is non other than the statement of intent, because it is a play of attention - to concentrate on something. We "pay" our attention, even.

So that is what "Zen" is semantically, but spiritually, it is freedom. Zen is suchness, and Zen is otherness. There is no way to adequately describe it, so the Eastern schools of Zen have come up with an irrational process, leading directly to the state of "being there". The maxim "this mind is a Buddha" is one of them.

To "be there" is intending of "thatness", the final destination, the exalted state, the Samadhi, which is where it begins. In truth, I don't think there is a way of knowing what that is exactly, unless someone is already there, like a teacher, who you can copy, or you practice hard and get there through practice and study. The way is long and hard, and sometimes easy and pleasant depending on what you make out if it. The capacity to "make out of it" in other words to utilize what you know along with your latent capacities is in fact "being there". It is taking reins of you conscious decisions, thus applying  act of consciousness and willfulness to your acts.

There is no doubt that a teacher is important as a beacon, as a guide or a light ahead, but I don't believe in the cults of teachers or gurus or whatever, and as I said in my previous posts - the greatest teacher is within. Learn to trust him so you wouldn't have to chase the shadows of the ancestors for the rest of your life.

Plus. the famous esoteric paradigm of "the teacher cannot teach it the student cannot learn it" comes into play too. I think that it means that even though the teacher can help in understanding the basics, the goals, and the path itself, or pointing out direction he cannot do it for you - you are the one who has to apply the effort and traverse the pathway. In other words, a finger pointing at the moon is not the same as the moon itself. As for the student....well, getting it is more in the realm of a blessing than study. I truly believe we all have it. Some more so than the others perhaps due to the circumstances of life, but we all have it, and with the good method, it is all revealed.

There are basically two methods to progress in Zen Buddhism. One is Sitting meditation, which leads into "shikan taza", a Zen version of Samadhi. Another is koan, or a riddle. I think "Zen" in itself is a riddle since no one knows exactly what it means and how to get where....

Now what is it that the Zen practice is leading oneself to? The foundational Zen tale about Buddha's student getting it with the smile points to the utter simplicity and accessibility of enlightenment to every one. And indeed, Zen welcomes everyone, however as anything human it is bound to have hierarchies and authorities, who however as known from the recent Zen history are actually not in anyway perfect or impervious to carousing, but in fact have been very successful in embracing it and it even helped some to pass into the Buddha-Land sooner. But in general, everything should be moderate, but satisfactory, because preventing yourself from doing something will just increase the blockage and thus the battering ram capacity of the mind.

Zen is not a shortcut to enlightenment. But promoting austere simplicity is hard in this ever so big marketplace, where people choose spiritual lifestyles and pay the money to be there. So, the whole enlightenment thing becomes somewhat of a clown affair. I am not saying that it is not possible, but to derive the most of benefit from this time-honored practice one has to put themselves in a right mind set and stop indulging. Again, that's not an easy thing. There are many roads leading to Rome though so not all is lost after all.

I came from being interested in Zen, to reading and meditating to dropping it. I think the dropping is important as formlessness is, as there is no way of describing it simply, but it is in everything and everywhere, and that's where Zen's transcendentalism comes in. Like shamanism and paganism Zen teaches to revere life, even that which has to perish from your hand. As you know quite a few Japanese warriors where "followers" of Zen. However, what they were followers of was less of the religious aspect, such as salvation etc. but the substantial capacity of Zen to relax the mind, which is in itself a consolation to an always worried lord. That and a concentration paired with the profound observation of nature and its phenomenon produce a very refined taste, superior aesthetic, and a natural calm, which in a very neutral zen way can be called happiness.