Zen Secret_ Emptiness of Mind (MUST WATCH) :-1 THE PAST FEW DECADES THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASING INTEREST in Zen, not confined only to students of Asian philosophy. The peculiar fascination for minds of Zen lies in the fact that it is markedly different from any other form of Buddhism, one might even say from any other form of conventional religion or philosophy. In its methods of instruction Zen is unique. It di:;penses with all forms of theorizing, doctrinal instruction and strict formality; these arc treated as mere symbols of wisdom. There is a radiCal departure from the old pattern of monkish brotherhood, whether Christian or anything else, in that the Zen monks have not always engaged in ofiering prayers, doing acts of penance or performing other so-called deeds of piety nor in studying canonical books. For Zen is founded on practice and on an intimate, per- sonal experience of reality, a vigorous attempt to come into direct contact with the truth itself without allowing theories and symbols to stand between th knower and the known. This paper is concerned only with the concept of emptiness (Sanskrit, sunyata) in Zen Buddhism. The interest is based on the belief that only an understanding of this doctrine will give a clue as to what Zen itself is. Although there are many schools of Buddhism, each with something different to otTer, all generally agree on a few general concepts deemed fundamental to Buddhism.! These include belief in the theory of Karma translated to mean not only action but also includes what all that an indi- vidual being speaks and thinks. According to this theory all the phenomena of the universe or of the universe of an individual sentient being arc the manifestations of his mind. Whenever he acts, speaks or even thinks, his mind is doing something. and that something must produce results, no matter how far in the future. Belief in this theory is the basis for belief in another ..!octrinc -the doctrine of reincarnation, according to which past Karma will determine the form of future existence. The present life of a sentient '='eing is only one aspect in this whole process. Death is not the end of his being. It is only another aspect of the process. What an individual is in this ;J
