Kimberley Poirier
October 14, 2009
HUM 1710

Zen is not an adjective; it is a way of life. Zen is Sanskrit for meditation,
contemplation, and pondering (p. 3). However, meditation is not the only or main method of Zen
Buddhism (p.3). Zen Buddhism is part of the Mahayana Buddhism in North East Asia. It has
the \u201cdeepest philosophical and psychological systems ever known;\u201d it is a return to basic
Buddhist principles (page 5-6). The teachers of Zen Buddhism are more like guides to help you
stay on the path. Buddha needed a guide to reach Nirvana, so all people do (page 7). To reach
enlightenment you must be \u201cshorn of everything\u201d you know (page 7).

There are three signs of being: impermanence (\u201cAnicca\u201d), non-I/no-self (\u201cAnatta\u201d), and
suffering (\u201cDukkha\u201d) (p. 3). We cannot see them because of the Three Fires: wanting, hating,
and delusion (p. 3). The Four Noble Truths help you to extinguish those \u201cfires.\u201d The Four noble
truths are: \u201cthere is suffering, physical and mental dis-ease; there is a cause for this suffering
[the three fires]; this cause can be worked out, brought to an end\u2026 there is a way out\u2026 follow
the eight-fold path\u201d (p. 3-4).

The Eight-fold Path is also known as the Middle Way. The first part of the path is
called the \u201cright way\u201d or \u201dright seeing\u201d or \u201cright views.\u201d This means that you should learn the
content of the Buddha\u2019s teachings. The second part is called \u201cright intentions\u201d and it means
abandon the attitudes of greed, hatred, & delusion and nurture the attitudes of generosity,
friendship & insight. The third part is \u201cright speech\u201d and means avoid gossiping, lying, abusive
talk, & idle talk. The fourth part is \u201cright conduct\u201d and means to live morally. The fifth part is

\u201cright livelihood\u201d and means that you should abstain from occupations that harm things and
people. The sixth part is called \u201cright effort\u201d and means that you should maintain the right
mental awareness to control the effect of the senses & discriminate between wise and unwise
mental activity. The seventh part is called \u201cright mindfulness\u201d and means that you should
develop the mental focus needed for meditation. The last part is \u201cright meditation\u201d and that is
when you ascend through the four levels of trance to reach Nirvana.

What is reincarnated is the \u201cBuddha Nature, the Heart Ground, or just the Heart\u201d (page
5). To understand the Heart, you must have a clear vision; you are born with this clear vision,
but you must unclould your being before realizing this. It is Nirvana and Nirvana is when the
Three Fires are extinguished (p. 4). No one can imagine an I-less state as it is beyond our
understanding without experience it for ourselves (p. 4).

Part of being Buddhist is learning how to control your emotions as written in the second
story on page 38-9 in the book The Wisdom of the Zen Masters. In the story, a medieval
Japanese monk appears to never be ruffled and the students at the monastery want to put this to
the test. On a dark night the jump out of nowhere to scare the monk as he carries a pot of tea to a
table. The monk does not react until the pot is safely on the table and covered. The moral of the
story is that it is alright to have/feel emotions as long as you do not let them interfere with your
work. This is something that most Westerners do not understand or at the very least do not put
into practice, so whenever something happens, they stop doing their task and display their
emotions, instead of waiting until the task is done. This belief of controlling one\u2019s emotions can
prevent many disastrous things from happening as well as make the workplace a more
efficient/less disruptive place.

Another thing important to Buddhism is to discover the truth for yourself, as seen
in the fourth story in the book (page39-41). In this story you are also taught is that the most
important answers in life (and for death) are not written down \u2013 only hints and clues are written
down waiting for you to unravel their secrets and become Awakened.

The sixth story in The Wisdom of the Zen Masters teaches people that you should not
look the other way when others are being hurt (page 42). It also teaches that supernatural powers
are linked to Demons and are to be avoided. The third lesson in the sixth story is that you should
be content with what you have; this concept is beyond many Westerner\u2019s imagining as they are
taught about instant gratification and to lust/desire things that they should not necessarily have.

The ideas in the book The Wisdom of the Zen Masters are clouded in fancy language that
are hard to decipher at times. The ideas that I have deciphered I mostly agree with. Examples of
the ideas I agree with are that emotions are good as long as you can control them, you should not
stand by while others are suffering, and that meditation can clear your mind. I believe that things
should not be given; they should be earned through hard work. Also, I believe that there are
some things that you should not get, want, etc.

The stories at the end of the book are interesting to read, though it is hard to understand the point/moral in the story (like in story five on page 41). The stories for the most part put the principles/ideas of Buddhism into practice and help people understand Buddhism in away that they might not have otherwise. It also puts into practice the Buddhist way of answering