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From: srinath@unix.cis.pitt.edu (Srinath Viswanathan)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.eastern
Subject: Re: Be Here Now (Was Re: Zen Buddhism)
Message-ID: <14728@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Date: 21 Mar 90 14:30:19 GMT
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In Article <1990Mar17.213617.4393@mthvax.cs.miami.edu> aem@mthvax.cs.miami.edu
(a.e.mossberg writes
>One quote I always think of in the book, which rings true with my initial
>reactions to Hindu visual arts is, 
>
>	"All I personally felt was this tremendous pull toward Buddhism
>	because Hinduism always seemed a little gauche--the paintings were
>	a little too gross--the colors were bizarre and the whole thing
>	was too melodramatic and too much emotion. I was pulling toward that
>	clean, crystal-clear simplicity of the Southern Buddists or the Zen
>	Buddhists"
>

     IMHO, this is the prejudice that "education" confers on us. In
reality, what appeals about Zen is not its simplicity but its sophis-
tication. Eastern religions almost uniformly suffer from this separation
between their philosophy and their practice and prompts many, particularly
Hindus, to find sanitized explanations for the crude manifestations of
lofty ideals. Zen is the flower of Buddhism even as Vedanta is the flower
of "Hindu" thought. The modernity of outlook of Swami Vivekananda similarly
contrasts with the simple faith of Sri Ramakrishna. Let us however not
forget that while the flower is a thing of beauty, it is the fruit that
nourishes.

     I am reminded of an anecdote for which I cannot recall a reference
at this moment. A western visitor to Japan was escorted by a Japanese
colleague to a Shinto ritual. After observing the activities for some
time the visitor asked his colleague,"Your rituals are interesting, but
what is the essence of your ideology and your philosophy?" The escort
thought for a moment and remarked in all seriousness, "We don't have a
philosophy, we dance." A useful thought indeed; we might debate philosophy,
but can we dance?

>aem
>a.e.mossberg/aem@mthvax.cs.miami.edu / aem@umiami.BITNET / Pahayokee Bioregion
>Start with the sun, and everything will slowly, slowly happen.  - D.H.Lawrence

                                                    Srinath