Natural Zenliness

Zen is a matter of character and not of intellect which means that Zen grows out of the will as the first principle of life. A brilliant intellect may fail to unravel all the mysteries of Zen, but a strong soul will drink deep of the inexhaustible fountain. I do not know if the intellect is superficial and touches only the fringe of one’s personality, but the fact is that the will is the man himself and Zen appeals to it.

D. T Suzuki in his essay Satori explains Zen in terms we all can understand. Zen is not a religion. It is energy. Some religions may teach the denial of the flesh, but Zen embraces it. The soul is wrapped around our muscles and bones; it wants to experience physical reality not object to it. Philosophies that teach denial of the flesh are really teaching denial of the self, and that fuels guilt.

The soul vibrates to the energy of Zen. The body is not a thing. It is the living expression of our conscious mind. The unconscious level of the very conscious mind expresses itself through the evolution of consciousness. The expanding universe theory applies to the world we see around us, but it also applies to the conscious mind. When we try to limit the conscious mind, we create beliefs that restrict the flow of our own natural Zenliness.

We have a tendency to deny the power we have within us. We gave our power to others and we experience a distorted version of Zen. Our Zen is constantly growing. It is our responsibility to water it with acceptance and fertilize it with understanding.