Religions

Running Head : ZEN IN THE WESTKey Ch whollyenges That fond disease Practitioners calculate in the westside point is a specific form of Buddhism , which appe ard in post-Heian full point All demigod teaching is based on Buddhisticicic scriptures , such as Perfection of Wisdom Sutras and Diamond ships boat Sutra . pane of glass tradition alike appreciates the teaching of famous demigod master of the past . Same as Buddhism , venereal disease became accommodated for those , who drill it . So , it obtained clean characteristics in the westside . This process of appointment was repeated in each country where window pane appe bed . In the West , because there is no well-defined Sangha (religious community ) or Buddhist context for the course session of venereal disease , there has been weensy lateral contact surrounded by the various groups (Colcutt , 1988 , 205 . acid institutionalise faces a number of laboriousies in the WestThere argon two main elans of passing pane traditions in the West . depression of all , there ar dose get the hang , who immigrate from China and Japan . These masters keep close to the airplane pilot tradition of acid Buddhism . At the homogeneous time non-Asian disciples , who disseminate panelling in the west often pay much less attention to the traditions and philosophical elements of dosage westward teachers of social disease make main emphasis on meditation enforces and deemphasize rites and usance of tralatitious Zen Buddhism . Soto school gives sixteen precepts of Zen way of heart . These precepts are taking refuge in Buddha , Dharma and Sanga , succeeding(a) the first lead precepts non doing evil , doing scarce well be entertaind and doing good for former(a)s , living according to ten grave precepts , which are not killing , not stealing write familiar conduct , telling no lie , keeping ever so from drugs and drinking , not judging others , be generous and being not angry . All these precepts shape everyday honest rules of Zen Buddhism . In addition , Zen , which is based on the principle of spontaneous action often , turns to calligraphy , archery , rime and marital arts as additional means (cited in Kraft , 1988Taking into account the situation that eastern and western mentalities are absolutely different , it goes without saying that the implementation of a new religious trunk should flummox through the stages of adaptation Gomez proposes three stages of Zen adaptation : doctrinal adaptation which includes dogmatic , scriptural and philosophical adaptation , then practical adaptation , which includes ritual adaptation , and adaptation by experimentation (Gomez , 1983 ,. 38 . overture through these stages of adaptation Zen has its peculiarities in the West immediately masters , who canvass Zen in Vietnam , China , Korea or Japan undercoat their own schools in the horse opera countries . All these established schools present unchangeable elements , notwithstanding at the same time they engage a lot of elements , which differ for each country . It is severe to image all challenges non-theistic , oriental teaching can march while assimilating in the West . Zen produces change by Hesperian corporation but the order it self in any case gets transformed by Zen . There are several(prenominal) basic challenges Zen practitioners meet in the West . pairing Americans and Europeans have implemented new traditions to Zen Buddhism Annual see of representatives of different Zen Buddhism schools is one of such innovations . Such practice is not accepted in Asian counties , where Zen masters do not communicate much with each other . In the annual meetings , organized in the West , practitioners and masters from different Zen schools , come together to share their perplex and discuss important issues . As Bodhin Kjolhede , an abbot of Rochester Zen meaning , states , Within individual Sanghas , too , we have seen a general horizontalization of authority since the first generation of ( close toly Asian ) Zen teachers founded their centers (Kjolhede , 1989 ,. 340There are major changes inside the monasteries and Zen centers , as well They are also watchd by temporal tendency and the balance between weird and secular is often moved to the side of secular . Zen originates from China , the country where Confucian traditions have influenced all social , religious and political processes . Propriety filial faith and obedience to authority are the main principles of Confucianism , which had great influence on all religious movements , and Zen is not an exclusion . Special relations between masters and disciples have call on one of the distinctive features of Zen Buddhism . Master had almost oceanic power on his students and there were even cases when masters killed their disciples . It is spare that these principles could not have been accepting by the occidental society and North American one . Confucian principles could not be used for Western tradition of Zen . First Western Zen centers based on these principles could not attract legion(predicate) a(prenominal) followers and had to adapt to the Western ideology . Zen had to suffer serious transformation in the question concerning an view to women . In Asian countries women were not usually allowed to participate in Zen practices , especially they were not allowed to give way masters . As Bodhin Kholhede notices , The largely invisible eccentric of women in Asian Buddhism is no cloistered . Official teacher inventoryages , or patriarchal lines are by definition composed exclusively of men (Kjolhede , 1989 ,. 321 . Such women s role in Zen and Buddhism was conditioned by the role of women in the Asian society . Women were not considered to have same weird and religious abilities as men didIt is evident that such thinkers could not have been accepted by Western Zen practitioners . Western women stockpile an active part in Zen practice and this finally caused the change in behavior , and attitude towards women grounding of women to Zen practice has another important meaning Nowadays Western Zen centers try to replace hard and weary practices with more moderate ones in to make them suitable for twain , masculine and female practitioners . The change of female role also influences Zen vocabulary . Some phrases which could have been addressed to male practitioners only now become gender neutral . For example , the very term patriarchal line , which means the line of masters who succeed each other , in roughly monasteries is now replace with ancestral line in to emphasize that women also can be Zen mastersWestern Individualism has become a serious barricade for Zen in the West All Western culture is distinguished by melody to individualism and self-autonomy . While these notions are not widely true in Asian countries , they have become central in the West . Individualism is peculiar to all Western countries , but it is qualitatively different from the traditional Asian conception of self , in which a person is defined within a nexus of social relations , and dependent on a contextual web consisting of other persons as well as place , time , and history . This definition resonates strongly with Buddhist doctrine , in which the self is so thoroughly mutualist that it has no essential reality (Kjolhede , 1989 ,. 342In Buddhism self and individuality are not the part of the objective reality . They are the parts of gentle nature , which can be expressed only through social interaction . Self is rejected by Zen as an independent reality . That is wherefore eastern hostility towards self and identity meets fierce resistance in the West . Western people are not ready(a) to leave their identities so easily . Very careful attitude to self becomes a great disadvantage and even obstacle for the practice of ZenUsing mental hygiene as a part of spiritual practice also has become Western innovation . psychotherapeutics is a very popular system of healing in the Western culture , and it took slightly time sooner Zen masters recognized possible profit they could get exploitation it . Western Zen students have psychologically oriented minds and this fact can not be neglected Moreover , psychotherapy became a part of Zen practice in some Western centers and monasteriesZen , which became a symbiosis of Buddhism , Confucianism and Daoism , is often accepted as hostile devotion in the West . Christian religion controversies many principles of Zen and this controversy creates additional difficulties .

Gradually , Zen is being adapted to Christianity , same as it was adapted to Asian religions earlier Different books , which study relations between Zen and Christianity appear . Christian elements appear in traditional Zen practice . Zen is more tolerant to other religions . Buddha incomplete rejected nor affirmed the existence of God . At the same time Zen teaching is based on the composition that there is a source , which precedes all religions . These inclinations are well-nigh connected with the basic ideas in Christianity . Coming in price with Christian doctrine is easier than introducing Christian rituals to Zen . The very idea of nirvana , which is a central idea of Zen , is difficult for Western mind . It is necessary to remember that the idea of enlightenment is basic for the most Oriental religions , such as Hinduism , Buddhism , Taoism and many others . This idea is not as widely developed in Western religious tradition . This fact creates additional difficulties for Western practitioners , as they create additional false expectations and hopes connected with the idea of enlightenment and they get frustrated when their expectations do not come true (cited in Kraft 1988Widespread of Zen Buddhism in the West has another interesting effect on the Western society . This effect was achieved when the Zen principles developed for individual practice , have been applied for resolving social and political problems . Western Zen Buddhist does recognize an importance of individual practice as a way to help all living beings . At the same time they stress that social environment has extremely important influence on the human flavour , and that is why they take an active part in it in to break these fields of human life Western Zen practitioners take active part in social and political lives of their countries . They become engage in resoling environmental issues taking part in the development of educational programs and taking active part in different social movements . This innovative approach and social use are new for Zen Buddhism . The promise of the contemplative life that has characterized Asian Zen is that selfless meditation is rather than an flight of steps , the most essential way of healing the so-called humanity that is nothing other than Mind . Still , the need for social and political activism has never been more pressing . Never before have systems and institutions held such global power , thus extending the repercussions of human greed , anger , and delusion to threaten the very biosphere (Kapleau , 1980 ,. 345The most serious difference between traditional Zen and its Western variant is a lay nature of Western Zen . It is hard to trace real number of Zen practitioners in the West , because most of them do not belong to Zen monasteries or Zen centers . Many people practice Zen at home . They lead normal way life and bring Zen to their everyday routine . Western Zen practitioners can have families , be successful at their exploit places They do not make any restrictions in ingest and drinking . This has become one of the main reasons of popularization of Zen in the West . So moving away from traditional monasticism , traditional and customs became the distinctive feature from Western Zen Buddhism . Western Zen Buddhism is a new religious system in the West and , before being adapted in a new surrounding , it had to come through situation stages of adaptation Nowadays it is obvious that Zen Buddhism is popular in the West due to its fundamental principles and valuesReferencesCollcutt , Martin (1988 . `Epilogue : problems of authority in Western Zen . In Zen : tradition and transition . Edited by K Kraft . capital of the United Kingdom passenger , pages 199-207Gomez , Luis (1983 . `Expectation and assertions : perspectives for growth and adaptation in Buddhism . Eastern Buddhist (NS , 16 , pages 26-49Kapleau , Philip (1980 . Zen dawn in the West . London : passenger and CompanyKjolhede , Bodhin (1989 . Afterword to The Three Pillars of Zen in Kapleau , Roshi Philip , The Three Pillars of Zen : Teaching , Practice , and Enlightenment , Garden City , unexampled York : AnchorKraft , Kenneth , editor (1988 . Zen : tradition and transition . London Rider . Zen in the West PAGE 8 ...If you unavoidableness to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay

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