My studies on Zen Buddhism have awakened me and brought me peace! Let me try to explain this complex religion and philosophy of living to you. If practice and enlightenment are what you want in your life, please read on.
In what is modern Nepal in the sixth century, Siddhartha Guatama was born a wealthy prince of the Shakya clan. Rejecting his wealthy origins, Siddhartha embraced asceticism after encountering four signs: an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and a monk. The first three signs equated to human suffering, and the last foretold Siddhartha’s destiny. After rejecting asceticism as the path to enlightenment, Siddhartha took roost under the bodhi tree and began meditating in order to solve the problem of human suffering. Forty-nine days later, Siddhartha (now Buddha) achieved his great Enlightenment, which is the goal of all Zen Buddhists (Do 2).
As a result of his meditations, Buddha established the Four Noble Truths:
The cause of suffering is “birth sin” or craving and desire,
Suffering can only be ended through Nirvana – the extinction of all desire; and,
Following the Eightfold path to righteousness leads to an end of suffering.
Buddha is not just the ultimate teacher, but he is also a model of what we might aspire to through the practice of Zen Buddhism. Dharma is the ultimate truth which was perceived directly by Buddha. Buddha is not a god, in contrast he is a human who discovered the truth of the nature of reality – a truth we too may discover for ourselves. To Buddha everything on earth is interdependent, yet at the same time each thing is unique (Buddhism 7). Zen Buddhism is not a collection of beliefs. Instead it is a way of practice based on the disciplines of Sila, Dhyana and Prajna. Sila equates to moral discipline and restraint, Dhyana refers to meditation, and Prajna equates to insight and/or wisdom (Buddhism 7). While you can study Buddhism, you can never reach the goal ...