The 5 things I learned from the teachings of zen

I’ve read a few zen books in Japanese and it has been very influential.

I’ve noticed that a lot of the things that went well and didn’t in my life can be explained by the teachings of zen.

Today I will share you 5 zen sentences that were most engaging to me.

1. It doesn’t exist if you don’t react to it

After reading the zen teachings, I noticed that I reacted to too many things I don’t have to.

In the teaching it explains how a problem doesn’t exist if you don’t react to it.

A good example is when somebody insults you. 

If you decide not to recognize that fact and not react, it’s 無(mu) or nothing.

You just observe and let go before your reaction. If you start reacting, then you try to have your mind go back to nothing.

I never thought of that.

But it doesn’t mean I could just postpone what I need to do. But it’s good to differentiate whether you have to react to a problem or not.

If you don’t react, then there is no incentive for the opponent insulting you, so it will eventually really do become nothing.

It saves a lot of energy and time.

2. Letting go of attachment 

It‘s tied to 1. “It doesn’t exist if you don’t react to it” but negative emotions tend to arise when you are attached too much to what’s happening.

You have a desire.

You want to be well taken care of.

But life doesn’t always go the way you want it to go. 

Negative feelings arise when you are very attached to how you want it.

Recently I wasn’t very happy when I was making a complaint to my phone carrier, and when a promise was broken without a good reason.

I used to spend a lot of energy and time to talk this through. But chances are, it gets worse.

So I just need to accept it and do what I have to do. Say “Oh well” and move on. 

Have alternatives, let go, and move forward.

3. Be good without expectations

My grandfather was a giver. My parents both worked long hours so when I was little I grew up with my grandfather. He was strict and he loved it when I was a good boy.

I still have the habits he loved.

I am generally very helpful, without expecting anything in return. 

I say “thank you” a lot. I greet people with a “Hi, how are you.” If somebody looks like they need a hand I will offer to help. Even if the person is a complete stranger.

This seems to be surprising to a lot of people I interact for the first time. But why not? In the end you feel good.

From the zen books it talked about how these small but good habits lead to trust and good relationships, which is true.

It said if you don’t have anything to provide, just give people a smile. It’s called 和顔施 waganse.

4. Focus on the now

I think this one is already very known but it still made a lot of difference to read it in the zen book. 

I value having an end in mind. But I now think it’s more important to focus on the now.

Do little at a time and it compounds by a lot after awhile.

There is really no point having a fixed mindset about your current situation even if it’s off from idealistic.

I realized that people that do get to where they want to be engage with the process.

I try to make it like a game by trying to finish it faster than before. This way of thinking helps in many areas of life, and bit by bit, the efficiency gives me more time to dedicate on what matters more to me.

Small challenges and setbacks start to get fun once I learned this way of thinking.

5. Be content

This is connected to focusing on the now, but it’s so important to be content with the now. Because future isn’t one random point you will be in someday. It’s just a path you took from what you are doing now. 

Be content with the now, make sure it leads to what you want and move forward.

Like Steve Jobs said, “If you look yourself in the mirror and you are not looking forward to today, you need to change something.”

So I think you need to have faith and look forward to something. It can be very small but have a goal of the day, and stick to it. Be positive about it and move forward.

I noticed I like using the word “淡々としている”tantanto shiteiru very often. It basically means you know what you’re doing and what you have to do now. No complaining or other negative feelings, you are focused on the now.

I’ll visit major zen temples of Japan

Reading about zen brought me to a starting point of a fulfilling journey. I had that path, but I just didn’t realize that it was already here.

It also made me want to study the teachings more. 

I found out that many major zen temples are located in Kamakura and Kansai area (Kyoto, Nara, and Wakayama)

Starting November 2023 I will start visiting these temples. I look forward to sharing what I learned with the monks there!