Dear Brothers and Sisters,

What is Zen?

People say a lot of things about Zen – breathing in and out, Vipassana (observing body, feeling, thought, and Dharma), and many other methods with many names people have created. But they all are not Zen – they are methods of practice, hopefully to get to Zen; but they are not Zen.

Zen is a state of the mind called Enlightened (Giác ngộ).

When you have Zen, your mind is empty of all opinions, speculations, and prejudices (read A cup of tea); you are absolutely calm, even when unfairly persecuted (read Is that so); you are free in spirit and know what need to be done in each situation, and don’t let anything restrain your action (read Muddy road); you are fearless (read Great waves); you love all people (read No loving-kidness); and nothing of the world means anything to you (read Buddha’s Zen).

Don’t confuse the means and the end. Too many people take the means for the end, and they have the illusion that they have Zen. What a pity!

The Sixth Zen Patriarch Hui Neng was illiterate – he couldn’t read and write – and didn’t have any Zen training, but when he heard his neighbor read the Diamond Sutra sentence “No sticking to anywhere, the Enlightened heart is born”, he immediately became Enlightened. That is because he had the right heart, not because of any Zen training.

With compassion,

Hoành

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