Question

After reading Awakening, chapter 19, answer the following questions.

1. What was the character of Buddhism in Japan before the arrival of Zen? Was Zen just one more variety of Buddhism, or would it be accurate to say that in some ways it was a revolutionary new movement?

2. How do Rinzai and Soto differ?

3. Could you imagine yourself staying at a Zen monastery sometime? Explain.

4. Do you agree that sumi-e and haiku are very similar art forms? What makes them so similar? What makes them "so Zen"?

5. It is said that Chado brings together all of the elements of Zen. What are those elements, and how does Chado bring them together? Would you like to participate in a Chado ceremony? Explain.

Dinty Moore's Accidental Buddhist takes a look at Buddhism in America. All three forms of Buddhism that we discussed in this course -- Theravadan, Tibetan and Zen -- are examined in these short, readable, informative and very funny essays.

Your assignment is to describe 6 places, in some detail, that Dinty Moore visits and to offer your ideas on what he learns in each place.

Answer 1

• 2.Soto is the leading school of Zen Buddhism. It was initially founded in China as the Caodong lineage of the Chan school of Buddhism and was later imported to Japan in the thirteenth century by Dogen Zenji, after which it was called Soto Zen.
  
• It tended to be more popular among peasants in medieval Japan because of its relatively simple and straight forward practice chanting and meditating do not require you to be literate, and a somewhat more egalitarian culture, to the extent Zen can ever be seen as egalitarian.
• In the Soto school of Zen, Zazen, or sitting meditation, is the core of the practice. After all, Zazen was the vehicle of Buddha's Awakening. Shikantaza or "just sitting" is the essence of Soto Zen. There is no goal to be attained beyond the practice itself.
• Soto is the passive hand of Zen, Rinzia the active hand. Soto says you are already already Buddha, so just sit and let your nature come forth. Do nothing, know nothing, make absolutely no effort.
• Soto Zen practitioners do not actively seek Enlightenment or Satori (the Zen Buddhism term for enlightenment), but rather they seek to fully experience every moment; that is, to be acutely aware of every action in the here and now.
• Rinzai comes from the Linji school of Chan in China. It doesn't have as strong a sense of having a founder as Soto does.Rinzai is focused more on achieving a kensho experience, sudden enlightenment, and then building off of that, so it uses a mix of koan practice and meditation.
• Unlike the Rinzai koans that are very formal, Soto koans are more dynamic and sometimes represents the master's spontaneous answers to a question, instead of being a predetermined question or riddle.
  
• Soto Zen's vision of Enlightenment, or Satori, is different than that of the Rinzai school. As opposed to what many people may think, in Soto Zen, Satori is not a special state of consciousness. It is simply a return to a human being's original condition. It can be compared to the consciousness of a newborn baby that has not been "contaminated" in any way; that is, a consciousness that is pure and in full harmony with the cosmos and the universe.
• Due to time limit,the remaining questions can be asked as another question,they will be answered,thankyou for your cooperation