Tag Archives: formalism

Perhaps there is no finer rival of Dōgenism (sitting Zen—zazen) than The Zennist. He has relentlessly contended that it is vastly overrated and comes at the cost of eclipsing the fact that “Zen is about the fundamentally awakened True Mind or the same, Buddha-nature—not about sitting.” Too much emphasis is placed upon “posture”, as if sitting on one’s rump can somehow jump-start the process of becoming enlightened. The Zennist warns that those who just practice zazen in a meditation center will eventually become disillusioned with Zen, or for that matter, Buddhism in general. The Zennist relates how he initially enjoyed zazen in a small zendo, but eventually a deep realization from within convinced him that Zen Buddhism was far and beyond the quaint notion that somehow just the act of sitting would procure “an awakened mind.” He argues how Dōgen’s zen is quite radical and far from the authentic Buddhadharma: read more