Zen! Real, Clear, Simple

By Richard Eisenberg, M. A.

If you've read dozens of books on Zen or if this is your first, if you're new to Zen or an experienced practitioner, this book will help you actualize Zen. ZEN, Real, Clear, Simple, is not a book that's only about Zen, as if Zen is just an interesting theory. And It doesn't only tell you to meditate, breathe deeply or live in the present. Reading this book gives you a deep, clear, practical understanding and more importantly, a felt experience of the true heart of Zen, and it helps you to be more able to live it. You'll actually develop a more Zen state of mind. This is authentic Zen in its most non-dogmatic, non-ritualistic and practical expression.

There are unique, simple, yet powerful experiences built into the narrative. It's designed to change you as you read it. You may find the intensity of some of your issues, your troublesome thoughts and feelings dissolving, it's even possible that some will dissolve completely. There are also many cutting-edge self-help techniques given in the book designed to help you experience Zen.

From the author,
I've been studying and practicing; Zen, Tai Chi, Qi Gung, Buddhism, Taoism, mindfulness, meditation, Yoga, N.L.P. and many other spiritual paths and healing arts for over forty-five years and I have been consistently disappointed. Few if any of them really deliver what they claim. I find this unacceptable. I won't hold out grand promises that won't come true. This book will help you understand Zen and help to establish you in a more Zen state of being.

Too many books oversimplify Zen or commercialize it. ZEN, Real, Clear, Simple, is authentic, real Zen Buddhism clarified and made practical for real people dealing with real life. I cut through the dogma, ritual and all the rules and regulations that you might find in an orthodox, old school, approach to Zen Buddhism. At the same time, I don't modernize, oversimplify or gloss over the finer, deeper or more confusing points of Zen just to appeal to a mass audience. I even explain and straighten-out the many seeming contradictions in Zen. if you ever found Zen confusing reading this book will make things clear, simple and practical.

Many Zen masters are quoted and explained. You'll get a real thorough understanding and felt experience of Zen in a way that's actually useful.

The book covers a wide range of topics.
The real philosophical heart of Zen and to how to apply it in your life
Experiencing emptiness
The role of Meditation is covered from multiple angles
Mindfulness
The Heart Sutra's deeper meaning
Finding Buddha, (finding your inner Buddha)
Zen Medicine, (Zen expedients and "overlays")
Hope and fear
What's wrong with trying to kill the ego
Good and Bad as only Zen can see it
Morality
Manifesting and "creating your own reality" from the Zen perspective
The Zen perspective on:
God, The Soul, Heaven and Hell, enlightenment, kensho, satori, Reincarnation, Astrology, Angels, The Spiritual Hierarchy, Out of Body Experiences, Intuition, Psychic phenomenon, Past Lives, Karma and Miracles.
Zen ideas translated into religious terminology
Simple yet profound exercises for,
Self-help for difficult emotions
Realizing the True Self
Noticing what is beyond personal judgements and reactions

The chapters, "Finding Buddha" and "Be as You Are" are worth the price of the entire book, they're amazingly liberating, and make actually finding Buddha (finding your inner Buddha) ridiculously easy. There are exercises in the book that are totally unique. This is not just a book about Zen. This book actually helps you to effortlessly BE more Zen.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098346331

Book preview

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Introduction

A friend of mine, Stew, asked me if I could recommend a good book on Zen. I was thinking of a book that a beginner could relate to and that a more advanced student would also get something out of, a book that was simple and at the same time went into the kind of detail that you really need to get what Zen is really about, a book that didn’t gloss over the more sticky subjects. A lot of the Zen books I read either oversimplify things or are written exclusively for more advanced students.

I couldn’t think of a good book to recommend. This bothered me so I decided to write one myself. Then I rethought it. Writing a book seemed like a really big undertaking, so I decided to just write an article instead. It took months to write and rewrite the article to get it just right. But eventually I finished it and I felt good about getting what I know about Zen down on paper so people could read it.

After writing the article I changed my mind about the book, I decided to write it. I started to jot down all of my ideas, theories, pet phrases and favorite Zen stories. This took several months and filled about twenty pages. I was on my way. Once I actually sat down to write, I was stunned. It just poured out of me. I would sit down and write ten or twenty pages at a time. This may not be stunning for a professional writer, but for me…wow! I was inspired. Sometimes I felt as if I was channeling some unseen Zen masters. Whatever the case was, I wrote this book on Zen in the hope that you could get a good understanding of Zen in all of its sophistication and complication and that it could be simple and easy to understand. I’m not only interested in having you understand, I want you to get it. I want you to feel Zen from the inside and be able to live it. Also, I didn’t want to water it down, gloss over any sticky or difficult issues or leave anything out. I wanted, while staying true to authentic Zen, make it easy for you to get, to really get what Zen is.

It’s said that Zen is beyond ideas and understanding, Zen is not an intellectual understanding. Zen is a direct experience of life as it is. It’s not a set of rules or a theory of life and of the universe and time and space. That being said, masters have been writing about Zen trying to explain it for centuries. This is my explanation.

Glossary

It always bothered me that authors write using terms and jargon that I don’t know, that I have to look up in the back of the book or somewhere else as I read. So, I decided to put the glossary in the front of the book and have you read it first. This way you’ll know what you’re reading as you read it. These are the terms and phrases you’ll find throughout the book

It is not in alphabetical order.

Relative

The relative state or relative world is the three-dimensional material world. This is the world or state of duality. In the relative (relative world or state) there’s yin and yang, good and bad, day and night, past and future and you and me. To speak in Buddhist term, the relative world is the world of the ten thousand things. This is the world of duality.

Playing in the Field of the Relative

The Play of the Relative

Anything that you do, anything that you think or feel is all part of the relative world, the three-dimensional material world, the dualistic world. In Zen you learn to see through the relative and to know/feel that you are the oneness of existence, the absolute (defined next). In the relative world you get to play at making-up what the events of your life mean. You get to play at trying new things, at exploring new theories and beliefs. You decide which theories, religions, philosophies and beliefs you want to believe. The play of the relative is the play of thoughts, feelings, beliefs and actions. It’s about how we play the game of life. Playing in the field of the relative is just another phrase I use to describe this play in the world of the relative.

Absolute

This is the state of oneness. In this state (It’s usually not referred to as a state. If it was a state that would mean that there would also be the opposite or some kind of other state. In oneness there’s no opposite and no other.) there’s no duality, no yin and yang. The absolute is everything and nothing. It’s all time and space and every dimension of existence and non-existence. In the absolute there’s no beginning and no end and no middle in fact there’s no way to differentiate anything. You can’t even say that it is, because it also isn’t. It has no qualities. The absolute is beyond definition and description. This is why it’s usually said that Zen is beyond words, that it can’t be described, understood or conceptualized.

For millennium masters have been writing volumes about how Zen is beyond explanation and not explaining it. This always bothered me about Zen. This has been changing in more modern times.

The absolute contains the relative. They’re really one. For the absolute to be the absolute there can be no other, no opposite. In this state there is no you and me. You and I are the absolute. (Did you catch that? You are part of the absolute. But the absolute has no parts, its oneness. Zen can be tricky to explain.)

Other names for the absolute are the: void, the pregnant void, the great void, emptiness, oneness, the infinite, Self (with a capital S), Buddha mind, Mind, Buddha Nature, Buddha and there are a few more but I won’t be using them in this book.

Associate as the absolute

Identify as the absolute

Associating or identifying as the absolute is when we feel that we are the absolute. We know ourselves to be more than the body and brain. We feel the oneness of existence. In our normal everyday experience, we feel that we are only our limited bodies and brains and that we are fully part of all of the events of our lives. We know and feel no other experience. This is being associated in/as the relative. If Zen has any goal other just being as you are, its identifying as the absolute.

Oneness – One

Sometimes I use the phrase one or oneness when referring to the combined sates of the relative and the absolute. The phrase isn’t really needed, the word absolute serves just fine because the absolute is the combination of the relative and the absolute. But sometimes it seems like the best word to use anyway.

Overlay

An overlay is when you layer a thought or a feeling on top of an already existing thought or feeling. For example, when you get angry at yourself for getting scared. However, you can also overlay an event with a thought or feeling. The overlay is usually in the form of a judgment or an evaluation. For instance, you see the sun rise and judge it as good. It rains and you judge it as bad.

Brain

The brain is the physical organ in your head. It has a very definite function. The brain thinks and feels. It forms theories which become beliefs. It remembers the past and projects itself into the future. It holds a sense of identity. All of this comes together and makes life possible. Without a brain you couldn’t live. I don’t only mean that you couldn’t breathe. I mean that you couldn’t cross a street, drive a car, get dressed or do any of the ten thousand things that you have to do to live. Where many people use the word mind to mean brain, I don’t. The mind, defined next, is different. So instead of using the phrase, body mind or bodymind, I use the phrase bodybrain or body and brain. It’s more accurate.

Mind

The mind is a higher aspect of the brain. Mind could be considered the spiritual or etheric brain. This is the non-physical, non-local, aspect of the brain. It does everything that the brain does but it has access to the entire Self including the soul. (In Buddhism, Zen, there is no soul. I am only using the concept of the soul to indicate that the mind is beyond the limits of the physical organ called the brain and it is still in some way connected to the brain. Often in Zen, Mind is used to mean the same thing as the absolute.

Zen State

The Zen state is the state where you identify as the absolute without rejecting the validity of the relative. As with the absolute state, the Zen state is usually not traditionally referred to as a state. It’s usually referred to as a way of being. In the Zen state you’re beyond having any beliefs that you really truly totally believe. Beliefs are treated as theories. You have no mental or emotional overlays. You dwell on and you’re attached to nothing. You’re free of all goals and desires, freed from the past and freed of all regret. You don’t dwell in the past or look forward to the future. No experience, thought or feeling is judged. Everything, including your thoughts and feelings are just as they are. It’s clearly seen that nothing has any meaning so nothing is believed to be good or bad and there’s nothing to be angry, scared or fearful of and nothing to worry about. Every experience is met in the moment with total openness and non-judgmental awareness. All you do is stay in the present free of all attachments, overlays, beliefs, judgments and let everything be as it is. This is the Zen state.

Psychospiritual

Psychospiritual is the union of psychological and spiritual. Have you ever asked yourself what spiritual is? Without going to the dictionary, what is it? Is it being all loving, being in the moment, being non-judgmental, being able to heal with a single touch or thought, how about communing with your soul or higher self? Is being spiritual having peace of mind? Is it being able to leave your body and know other people’s thoughts? Is it infinite kindness and patience along with understanding and compassion? Is it knowing or being one with God? What is it?

Sorry, I’m not going to answer that here in the glossary. But did you notice that many of the qualities above are feelings? Spiritual must be, at least in part, mental and emotional. The mental and emotional aspects of our being must be included in our definition of what it is to be spiritual. Using the same line of thinking you can’t have psychological health without including spiritual qualities.

Feeling & Emotion

I use these words to mean the same thing. Emotions and feelings are things such as; joy, love, hate and bliss. These are emotions, feelings.

See through it

This is a phrase that I use a lot in this book. It means to see the events of your life, your thoughts and feelings as only relative experience, things that are only real in the relative world. They can be understood as being temporary. Seeing through it is to see what’s behind something, where it come from or what is under or beneath the surface. When you see though it you see through the relative to the absolute. Everything comes from the absolute. The relative is not canceled out, ignored or destroyed. It is validated for what it is and seen through.

Expedient – Zen Medicine

A temporary belief, thought or practice that aids in moving towards the real understanding of Zen. The real understanding of Zen is beyond thoughts and beliefs. Zen medicine is another name for an expedient.

STOP. Zen is Simple,

Complex, Simple

It’s said that Zen isn’t an intellectual understanding. It’s experiential. In keeping with this idea, I want this chapter to be as experiential as it is intellectual. I want to show you, actually I want you to experience, how simple Zen is. Then I want you to experience some of the real-life intricacies and problems with Zen when its only seen in its most simple form.

Too many teachers/authors present their view on life in overly simplistic terms. They put forth their ten laws or three rules or some other great grand secret and they gloss over areas where the laws or rules don’t work or where they only work a little with great effort. They present their work as if all you have to do is follow them and their ideas and you’ll live a life of abundance and bliss forever and it will be easy. I won’t do that.

When you first encounter Zen, it seems very simple. You hear phrases like, just be, be in the present or some other phrase encouraging you to stay in the moment and all will be well. These teachings make sense and they seem right and easy. But a day or two or a week or two later you realize that it’s nowhere near that simple. No matter how much you try to relax and just be you get caught up in the stress of dealing with other people, time constraints, money, your own wants and needs, expectations and disappointments. Life is never as easy as, just be.

So, I want you to experience, in the chapter, how Zen seems easy, how it gets complicated in real-life then gets simple again. Because I want this chapter to be experiential, this chapter may also get a little confusing (it’s simple but really complicated but ultimately simple). I’m going to go back and forth a bit, from simple to complicated, but don’t worry I’ll clean it all up for you by the end of the chapter.

So, get ready to get a little confused (It’s really not that bad.). But know that because I’m not going to gloss over or avoid difficult issues or try to make things seem unrealistically simple, you’ll end up with a better, deeper, more comprehensive understanding of Zen.

Here we go,

Zen is Simple

Let me tell you about Zen in the simplest, most straight forward and pure way I can. I’m going to strip Zen right down to its most basic inner core. Here’s my one-word explanation and instructions for Zen.

One-word explanation and instructions for Zen,

STOP

That’s it, STOP. Stop trying to be spiritual. Stop trying to understand and figure out life. Stop trying to understand yourself and others, the world, religion and philosophy. Stop creating theories and beliefs. Stop trying to get over your past and create a better future. Stop trying to be happy and have fun. Stop looking for; contentment, bliss and enlightenment. Stop trying to meditate more, better or deeper. Stop trying to forgive or be loving and kind. Just stop all attempts at trying to improve yourself and make your life better. Stop everything. Take it easy and just see, feel and hear whatever is right in front of you right now. That’s it, that’s all, that’s Zen. It’s simple.

There are old traditional Zen stories of people going to Zen masters and asking questions like, what is Zen or how do I practice Zen. Now there are many possible ways that a master can answer this question but the most profound answer I ever heard is, Stop, you already made it too complicated.

In other words, even asking the questions, what is Zen or how should I practice Zen, engages the brain and starts a process of intellectualization, of trying to figure out and understand. That’s not Zen. Zen isn’t about gaining knowledge and finding answers. It’s not about understanding the universe and being able to answer the questions that have plagued mankind for thousands of years. It’s not about creating theories and beliefs. Zen is the opposite. Even Buddha himself didn’t answer every question about life, death and the great mysteries of the universe. Why? Because that’s not what Zen is about. Zen is about ending suffering. This is done by stopping desire. Stopping attachment and repulsion.

Zen is allowing yourself the most basic, simple, pleasure of just being, being without judging everything as good or bad and without wanting anything other than what’s happening right now. If you’re absorbed in reading this right now, that’s Zen. Simple, nothing more complicated than perception. Nothing more than just being as you are. Zen isn’t some kind of magical mystical state of bliss and supreme understanding. It’s simple. Really, it’s beyond simple, STOP and just be as you are.

The path cannot be sought –

the important thing is to just stop the mind.

However, this stopping is not to be forced

Wu-shun

There’s simply nothing to it at all. My Zen Dream Book

I had a dream one night that I was on a train, an old fashion locomotive train, going on a journey. (Maybe this represented my spiritual journey, but we’ll leave the analysis for another time.) I was sitting across from an old woman who I couldn’t see very well. You know how dreams are. She handed me a large, thick book with a beautiful velvet deep red/maroon cover. It was a book on Zen written specifically for me. It had exactly what I needed to know. I was very excited. I was expecting some great grand revelations about Zen, some kind of secret inner teaching. But when I opened it and started reading all I could find was, There’s simply nothing to it at all. I went from page to page and all could find was, There’s simply nothing to it at all. That was all I could find in the entire book. No matter how hard I looked or what page I turned to all I could find was, There’s simply nothing to it at all. I was very disappointed.

I woke up with that phrase, There’s simply nothing to it at all. going through my head like a mantra that I had been chanting for hours and hours. It took a little while to get over my disappointment and realize just how perfect the teaching was.

Once you know that Zen isn’t about gaining some special knowledge or transcending the human condition by becoming some kind of saint, angel or god, once you know that Zen is about being as you are and accepting yourself and your life without judgement, you can relax. You can stop trying so hard and just be. See how simple it is?

Zen is Simple but, it’s Complicated

So, it seems like Zen is simple. Just stop all the seeking, searching, theorizing and just be as you are, easy, right? Not really! Can any of us really just stop the brain from doing what it does, which is thinking, searching and theorizing? And can we really stop all of our attempts to understand ourselves or our lives? Even if we can, should we really put an end to understanding? What about wisdom? Don’t we want to grow up and gain wisdom and understanding? Wisdom is supposed to be a good thing and help us live a better, happier life, right?

And isn’t it also good to understand our self and other people so we can have good relationships and get along with people at work and with family? It takes maturity, understanding and wisdom to have a good relationship. People are complicated and let’s face it sometimes they’re down right difficult and it’s real work to get along with them. So, Zen is simple but then when we try to live it, it gets more complicated.

In reality there’s no way to stop the brain from doing what it does. The brain, the physical organ in your head, thinks and feels. That’s just what it does. The heart beats, the kidneys filter blood and the brain thinks and feels. Just like you can’t stop your heart and kidneys you also can’t stop your brain. (Actually, there are meditative processes to stop the brain and you can use them but besides that, which we’ll get into later, you don’t just decide to stop your brain from functioning.)

Your brain will think as a natural function of what it is. You can’t actually stop thinking, feeling, gaining understanding and wisdom and working out your issues and making your life better. Wisdom and making your life and your relationships better happens all by its self.

It’s just human nature to gain experience, understanding and wisdom as you live. Sometimes things go well and sometimes they go wrong and you learn from it all. Learning as time goes by is just how life works. You couldn’t stop it if you tried. So, you don’t have to try to go against human nature and work at becoming a thoughtless, emotionless lump that just sits around all day doing nothing because