Engaged Zen
Zen Pathways February 10, 2022 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780197573686.003.0014 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism |
| Key points | Argues that Zen and Mahayana Buddhism treat everyday duties and social engagement as spiritually significant, a theme the chapter traces through the Vimalakirti Sutra and Dogen's encounters with monastery cooks. It presents Thich Nhat Hanh's Engaged Buddhism as teaching that meditation equips practitioners to re-enter society and that "being peace" is a prerequisite for "bringing peace" to others, and it examines the tension between spreading peace and fighting for justice. |
Abstract
Abstract: This chapter connects Zen’s teaching of wholehearted engagement in the duties of everyday life with the modern movement of Engaged Buddhism. It explains how Mahayana Buddhism stresses the spiritual significance of everyday life in the midst of society. This is exemplified in the Vimalakirti Sutra and also in the lessons that Zen master Dōgen received from two monastery cooks who were totally devoted to caring for their communities. The founder of Engaged Buddhism, Thich Nhat Hanh, says, “Meditation is not an escape from society. Meditation is to equip oneself with the capacity to reintegrate into society, in order for the leaf to nourish the tree.” He teaches that we need to practice “being peace” in order to be capable of “bringing peace” to others. The chapter ends with a probing discussion of the relation between spreading peace and fighting for justice.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience | 1995 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist and Psychological Perspectives on Emotions and Well-Being | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Too Early to Tell: The Potential Impact and Challenges—Ethical and Otherwise—Inherent in the Mainstreaming of Dharma in an Increasingly Dystopian World | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From self to nonself: The Nonself Theory | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |