This study will investigate Zen as a way of life, in the light of Zen philosophy and Zen enlightenment.
Zen as a way of life is above all a matter of experience, rather than of intellectualism. In Suzuki's Zen and Japanese Culture, the author presents a number of examples of the Zen way of life. Suzuki tells one story in which a Zen monk was asked "How deep is the river of Zen?" As Suzuki writes: "The reference to the river arose out of their encounter taking place on a bridge. The Zen monk . . . who was noted for his direct actions, lost no time in replying, 'Find out for yourself,' and offered to throw the questioner from the bridge" (Suzuki 1973, 5).
In other words, words are not as trusted by the Zen Buddhist as they are by members of other religions. In fact, it is often argued that Zen is not a religion at all, but rather a means whereby the individual can attain enlightenment only by first discarding all the various accoutrements and dogmas which burden traditional religious as well as philosophical approaches to life. Words are to be used, but not accepted as ultimate reality. As we read: "Zen is not necessarily against words, but it is well aware of the fact that they are liable to detach themselves from realities and turn into conceptions. And this conceptualization is what Zen is against . . . . Zen insists on handling the thing itself and not an empty abstraction. It is for this reason that Zen neglects reading or reciting the sutras [the basic holy texts of traditional Buddhism] or engaging in discourse on abstract subjects. And this is a cause of Zen's appeal to men of action. Through their practical-mindedness, the Chinese people and also to a certain extent the Japanese have greatly taken to Zen" (Suzuki 1973, 5).
We see, then, that the Zen way of life is first of all the way of experience, the way of action. If one is to achieve enlightenment through Zen, one will not do so by philosophizing, by...