Zen Essay On Zen

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Zen Essay

The essence of Zen is to see into the nature of one’s being. Due to the egotistical nature of humans, achieving this is not as simple as it seems. Humans also constantly go into new situations or events with predispositions and concepts that cloud the mind and prevent it from being open. The mind is also generally imbued with thoughts of the self. All day, humans are constantly talking to themselves, thinking about how a certain situation will affect them or what they need to do next in order to benefit themselves. Instead, Zen teaches to strip away this egotistical bondage with the self in order to see the raw nature of one’s being‒it is in this that one consummates a true open mind. This then relates to many Christian traditions, including Jesus’ core teaching of giving up everything and following him. Humans must give up their egos in order to follow the teachings of Christ and find their true natures. The problem with finding one’s true nature is that it …show more content…

At the heart of Christian ideology is to love God above all and to love others as yourself. Essentially, compassion is at the center of both Zen and Christianity, however, Christianity puts an emphasis on the ‘living experience of unity in Christ’. This means that Christians become united to Christ when they live the way Christ lived‒putting other’s needs before their own. Christians are to strip away their egos and devote their lives to the care and compassion of others. This correlates to the Zen ideal of finding one’s true nature. In Zen, one must deplete his ego and free himself from the bondage of himself, for “Zen’s concern for social justice lies at the heart of its teachings” (Text 162). As soon as the “I” is depleted in Zen, “the suffering of others becomes one’s own” and “the natural impulse to alleviate suffering by working to correct social injustices” is implemented (Text

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