Inside The Forbidden Monastery: The Brutal World Of Ancient Zen Monks

For over 2,500 years the great truth discovered by the Buddha has been passed down through the ages to become the wellspring of many philosophies and teachings seeking the road to enlightenment. But something has made the Buddha's teachings into a durable and eternal truth. Along the path of faith over many eons how did Buddhists protect these teachings to endure until the present day? From India, the Buddha's teachings spread to Central Asia then to East Asia and the Himalayas. Moving southwards to South Asia Buddhism crossed the Indian Ocean to mainland Southeast Asia known as Suvarnabhumi. The holy scriptures they discovered are records that influence the lives of over a billion Buddhists around the world today. It is a compilation of precepts that unite all Buddhists together. The term unsui, which means cloud water is found in a Chinese poem which reads to drift like clouds and flow like water. It can apply to any practitioner of Zen who is like floating clouds or flowing water. In Japan, unsui ordination begins formal ordained practice with novices surrounding the teacher like clouds around a mountain. The novices behave like the cool, peaceful river with their daily routines move rapidly through training and adjust themselves to nature. After sunset, the monastery is completely silent. This sacred place does not allow secular visitors to enter. Rinzai-ji temples are practice centers for Rinzai Zen monks. Group meditation outside the practice hall shows dedication to training. After tonight there will be many more tests for unsui. Taijun, a newly ordained priest also faces the same challenges. Twice a year, novices leave their home temples for Zen studies at other centers. Last April, Taijun decided to join the most renowned Zen training in Japan at Rinzai-ji Monastery. A short message appears on the front door of the temple. No door leads to a great path. Matter how hot the sun is, the heat does not discourage Taijun who remains determined and committed. I joined the Rinzai-ji Monastery in order to practice Zen. I attended a Buddhist university. I was fascinated by Zen because it calmed my mind and allowed me to look at myself. Also, by practicing Zen, I was able to see my own world. I was fascinated by Zen and joined the Rinzai-ji Monastery. I visit the Monastery every week. It is a great honor for me to be able to visit such a noble temple as the Rinzai-ji Monastery. There are many good temples all over Japan. Please visit us. For Taijun, this is such a sharp rejection. However, he does not give up and remains sitting in front of the study hall. From the point of view of Zen, a path to the way out for all things must begin with full commitment. Therefore, new priests are put to the test of verbal rejection rather than welcome invitation. By 6 o'clock, his hands and feet are feeling numb, but still no sign from people in the Monastery. Why are these cold words of rejection repeatedly given to novices who seek training? This is just the first test. Rinzai Zen aims for Satori, which means enlightenment, awakening, comprehension, and understanding. Each novice must experience it individually. The first key is strength of mind. On the third day, Taijun is allowed inside the Monastery, but that does not mean that he is permitted to join the training. Taijun must meditate for three days in this room. As a young monk accustomed to enjoying life, facing silence alone is an extremely difficult test. The sliding doors left ajar as if other monks were observing him. If he fails the test, he will be expelled from the Temple immediately. After he passes the test, Taijun meets with the Headmaster. They build a student and teacher bond. The Roshi's duty is to guide the Unsui to discover a path of hope. Taijun swore that he would not leave the Temple until he achieved a state of knowledge. The story is that Zen monks were failed by sacred scripture because they found no liberating pathway from all things by memorizing scriptures. Zen has no textbook because a textbook is just a curtain covering our eyes, preventing us from seeing emptiness, the Dharma or phenomena of cosmic law and order in God, spirit, rites, textbooks and scriptures is another matter. Those who read only scripture have the true Dharma concealed by writing. Therefore, Zen monks focus on practical education rather than scriptures. They concentrate on their hearts to learn their true nature. In Zen, sacred scriptures are a valuable record of moral principles taught by Dharma. A great Zen teacher once said that there are no rights or wrongs in the sacred scripture itself. Instead, priests may misuse it, being too attached to letters, may distract from the real truth of Dharma. In the Dharma teaching hall, priests are almost done with their session. One priest is preparing food for the others. All food is donated so the kitchen is operated economically. Kitchen work and preparation is part of Zen practice. It requires concentrated hard work with no outside distractions. In the 13th century, the Japanese Buddhist priest Zen Master Aisai brought the Rinzai school from China to Japan. Zen Master Aisai reached Satori while cooking. This ancient tale still has meaning for Zen training. The Rinzai-ji chef said that all monastery activities lead to the path of knowledge. Those who lack consciousness will never reach Satori. On days of the month ending with the numbers 1, 3, 6, and 8, unsui must leave the center for takuhatsu, a traditional form of alms given to Buddhist monks in Japan. Takuhatsu is not merit-making but offering the Dharma and the monks' lives as guardians of the Dharma to the people. Ten Zen priests spent four hours walking around the town in the morning. Meditating priests wear specific clothes and headgear to cover their faces, blocking out the outside world's chaos. Once, unsui would breathe in after every three steps they took. Now, they adopt an energetic pace, almost like running. This brisk walk, or zazen in motion, helps maintain bodily health, combining movement and stillness. The unsui walk in a line, chanting OM, meaning the rain of Dharma. When local people hear the sound, they join to welcome the priests with food and money given willingly. Unsui must pass every house, rich or poor, regardless of potential donation. The bowing position is a dropping away of the ego. Accepting alms from ordinary people encourages priests to practice more devotedly and concentrate more. At nine o'clock, a sound of prayer is heard from the dining hall. One portion of the prayer contains thanks to the donors. Prayers have finished. The dining hall is completely silent, with no talking or even any sound of chewing. Everyone communicates by sign language. For the new priests, this is not easy. They share a simple meal of sesame rice with pickled radish. There are adequate amounts of food for the human body's needs. Every drop of water in the monastery is precious. Studying priests are only permitted to drink four times daily. Tea left in cups is not wasted, but used to wash dishes. A wooden sign in the dining room reads, even on a stormy day, the daily schedule cannot change. Every day, Roshi assigns jobs for Unsui. In its essence, Dharma is nature, so satori, or liberation, is found in everyday life. These activities are not about performing tasks dutifully. Satori cannot be achieved by lengthy Dharma studies, memorizing more prayers, or patiently worshipping a statue of the Buddha. Satori occurs when we look deep into our hearts and understand our inner self It is our inner nature to experience enlightenment that may be instantaneous. So gardening work is not just about pruning branches, but to tend individual consciousness. Cleaning temples is not just about polishing and dusting, but also cleaning away ignorance about oneself. Rinzai-ji has 15 practicing priests now. They range from a formerly homeless person to a successful businessman who joined the group. In this monastery, everyone must focus on what they have been searching for. Past life has no meaning here. The question is, why did they decide to become Zen monks? In the 21st century, we are living in a world where we are surrounded by so many things. We feel like we are being chased by something. Therefore, what is happening in front of us, and what is happening in front of us. In this era, we are living in a world where we are surrounded by so many things. Stress, anxiety, worry, responsibility, pressure. We are living in a world by so many things. Today, Japan has 90 million Buddhists. If we include Shinto worshippers, this brings the number to 100 million of a total population of 120 million. The Japanese people have long practiced a blend of Shinto and Buddhist beliefs rather than only one religion. As the saying goes, the Japanese people are born into the Shinto religion, live a Zen life, and die like Buddhists. Putting their faith in a Shinto god, they also value Buddhist concepts of life after death. An increasing number of Japanese people practice Zen. They all have the same reason to heal the suffering mind. I did a lot. After I quit my job, I started working Even when I was sleeping, I was thinking about Zen Buddhism. I realized that Zen Buddhism doesn't matter at all. I realized that Before the ordination of Zen monks, they may perceive Zen at 500 study centers throughout Japan, connecting everyday life with the moral principles of Dharma. I would like to take this opportunity to look back at myself and say, I will do my best with a pure heart from now on. I would like you to listen to my story. Half an hour of Zen practice weekly does not suffice to cure the suffering mind, so some people choose ordination. At 5 o'clock, the monastery is imbued with solemnity and stillness. A large sign above the door of the meditation hall lists rules. The last one mentioned is that whoever does not follow the rules will be considered as an impediment to others and will be expelled from the academy and not permitted to return. Taijun must adjust to strictly follow the right path, acknowledging awareness. As I practice, when I encounter a wall in front of me, I sometimes get irritated inside myself. How to suppress and how to guide is what I think has changed in me. Zen meditators believe that the pyramid structure of the seated Buddha is the most effective posture for the practice of Zazen meditation. The head is at the pyramid's top, crossed legs at the base. Breathing should be from the nose, so the mouth should be closed with tongue touching the palate just behind the teeth. Eyes should be lowered to gaze at a point two or three feet in front of the meditator, neither fully shut nor fully open, so that the meditator is not distracted by external stimuli. With controlled breathing, thoughts are concentrated and new experiences felt. The Keisaku, a flat wooden stick or slat, is used to remedy sleepiness or lapses of concentration with a strike on the meditator's back and shoulders in the muscular area between the shoulder blades and the spine. The Keisaku may cause a momentary sting if performed vigorously, but does not cause injury as a symbol of the secular life. In summer, its use is lighter, so the thickness of the tip should be five millimeters, and for winter a tip thickness of one centimeter is ideal. The Keisaku is used to alert the meditator about a distracted mental state and to encourage energy for practice. It is not about punishment. Bodhidharma lived during the 5th or 6th century. Tradition credits him with transmitting Zen Buddhism to China. Bodhidharma's teachings and practice centered on meditation and the Lankavatara Sutra, a prominent Mahayana Buddhist text. Awareness must be rid of complicated learning which leads to emptiness. Emptiness has the same meaning as sunatha, meaning void, or in Theravada, the unsubstantiality of all phenomena. Emptiness is an important Buddhist concept. The earth and life are empty from a Buddhist point of view. Zazen meditation and thinking about Dharma puzzles as well as daily conscious development guide us in that direction. This popular approach among Chinese monks spread through Japan in the year 1191 after some visits to China. Japanese people are not very philosophical, preferring a practical attitude to life. This characteristic made Zen attractive to samurai and nobles as well as monks Zen teaches us to let go and abandon the self, allowing warriors to conquer fear in wartime. This relates to Bushido. Bushido developed between the 16th and 20th centuries although some claims have dated it back to the 10th century when the term Bushido was rarely used. A long time ago, children learned spiritual things such as etiquette and in the sense of Bushido, they learned Kendo and Judo from middle school students. That's how it is now. So, everyone understands that Bushido aims for the advancement of spiritual things. Practitioners must be focused. Their minds must be emptied of anything but their goals and purposes. Zen strictly controls the mind as determined warriors have recognized. Bushido has been called a prototype for the Japanese people. It allowed the violent existence of the samurai to be tempered by wisdom and serenity. Bushido appeared to sanction battlefield killings and praise a Zen-trained warrior's willingness to die in combat. As a result, I was able to calm down and concentrate on my actions and actions we can say peace and contentment. So I have to More than a martial art, over a century ago, Bushido became the basis of ethical training for all of Japanese society. Mental control and strength, as well as physical and verbal calm were its bywords. Professor D.T. Suzuki promoted Zen Buddhism as part of his advocacy of Japanese nationalism, defending Japanese war efforts in the Western world. Professor Suzuki believed that Japan and Zen are indissociable, to the point that without Zen, Japan would no longer be the same nation. Zen has greatly influenced the Japanese as a way of life in many cultural dimensions. Several art forms have been influenced by Zen temples. Zen temples contain more paintings of the Buddha than statues. A painted Dharma puzzle may enlighten us, while a statue of the Buddha can only lead to recollection. Paintings taken from China during the Muromachi period of Japanese history, from about 1336 to 1573, provided prototypes for Zen art. These paintings were not popular in China because of their unconventional form and format. From a Zen perspective, these works may lead to a new sense of beauty. Zen paintings stimulate the viewer's thoughts. This landscape is drawn with no model. Free lines and brush strokes reveal the artist's subconscious. Empty space in the painting refers to the Zen saying that truth cannot be told in words. Zen prioritizes aesthetics over moral inspiration. Zen sees aesthetics as a path to knowledge. Over seven months Taijun has remained inside the monastery, and his test will begin again this evening. Taijun and the other Unsui must meet the Roshi, who will give them Dharma puzzles to solve. Several monks were nervous about the challenge, while others felt confident that they were prepared. Koans are apparently impossible puzzles, problems without solutions, used to provoke great doubt and test a student's progress in Zen practice. They are meant to destroy preconceptions and long-held beliefs. Rinzai has a collection of over 18,000 koans. To be promoted to Roshi, all of these puzzles must be solved, which could take 10 or 15 years. This room is known as the battlefield of Dharma. After Taijun bows at Roshi, they are on an equal level. Taijun may speak or gesture in any way to answer a question. He may even strike Roshi, but then Roshi would feel free to strike Unsui or dismiss him. Roshi might reject Unsui from his first step into the room, based on his walking posture, reflective of the meditator's inner mind. A koan conversation is a secret between Roshi and the student, not to be revealed to anyone else. A bell ringing means that the answer is not approved. Taijun must leave the room and return again. The more Taijun tries hard to solve the Dharma puzzle, the further away the answer seems. Puzzles cannot be solved by common sense or logic, but by dismissing distractions. Roshi repeatedly reminds Taijun to distinguish interpretation from accessing the true meaning of the koan. It is not like a crossword puzzle or psychological test with a set solution. Interpretation of koans may be free. A rock, river and breeze are instruments impelling Taijun's mind towards enlightenment. Often, novices decline meetings with Roshi because they have no response to the puzzle. They will be apprehended by Roshi each time they cannot provide an acceptable answer. Finally, the novice will see the pointlessness of sense and knowledge in the world. Then they discover hidden elements as well as their true selves. No matter how much you have experienced, no matter how much you have meditated, no matter how much you have learned the koan, it is the world of your own mind. It is the world of your own mind. What is the stage of satori? How does satori differ from nirvana? In the course of training, you will have a religious experience. You will see things in a different way. You will receive things in a different way. You will see yourself in a different way. But that is only temporary. It will not last forever like Buddha. That is why in our daily lives, we have to train hard to protect it and cherish it. We have to train hard to protect it and cherish it. How many monks in this monastery will attain satori? There is a saying that by stepping into the mind of the beginner, we become an innocent newborn. Satori brings one into contact with one's true self with no special mysteries or superhuman powers. There are many questions and problems in terms of the year and the koan. But I can't say that I attained satori at the end. That doesn't mean that my training is over. I have to face that hard until I die. That is the strictness of Rinzai Zen. How does satori differ from nirvana? In January, Taijun was permitted to go home. For the first time in many months, novices leave for the outside world. What has he gained from this difficult training? How far did he get in solving koans? Did he ever achieve satori? Taijun cannot say. He only revealed that while it takes a moment to ask a question, it takes a lifetime to answer it.