Zen Superstitious Origin
Zen is based on an interpretation of a sermon attributed to Shakyamuni Buddha, known as the Flower Sermon. According to Zen masters, the Buddha - instead of speaking - used "a special energy of transmission", a "silent transmission" of an undisclosed message (sent by his mind to his disciples) - but that only one person could receive that message:
"The Flower Sermon was held near a pond during Buddha's later years. When he held up the freshly-picked
lotus flower -- roots and all, dripping mud -- the assembled crowd was silent, not understanding its significance.
But after a moment or two, Buddha's disciple Mahakasyapa smiled. He was the only attendee to receive
the Buddha's message that day, but the account of The Flower Sermon is remembered and revered in
Zen Buddhism even now". The Flower Sermon
Accordingly, Zen masters believe that the Buddha employed two ways for conveying his teachings: one by voice spoken to all disciples, and another without voice, a technique of 'word-less transmission', which worked just for one disciple.
"A Wordless Transmission: It is said that when the Buddha saw Mahakasyapa smile, he told the crowd that since he,
the Buddha, possessed the true and marvellous mind of Nirvana, the Dharma eye, and the form of the formless,
a subtle Dharma Gate that needs no forms or language but is a special energy transmission,
he was now entrusting it to Mahakasyapa. Since the Buddha was getting on in years,
Mahakasyapa became his successor from that day forward".
There is no reasonable ground for suggesting a technique of delivery of information through "mind-to-mind penetration of thoughts", or simply "telepathy" - a superstition having nothing to do with Buddhism.
The sermon as a "simile":
Some Zen followers try to interpret the Flower Sermon as a 'simile' - not an actual event. A 'simile' is a story of metaphorical purpose, and accordingly, the sermon is a story to show the connection between Master (Buddha) and Disciple (Mahakashyapa). This interpretation makes the meaning of the sermon suffer deeper contradiction, because it shows that the Buddha had failed in making connection with all other disciples (who did not receive the wordless message).
Dualism at the roots of Zen beliefs
The idea of "Voice-less communication" is a good expression of dualistic thinking. Dualism regards the mental and the physical aspects of phenomena as separate. The "mental aspect of a message" and "physical aspect of voice vibrations" become as unrelated and separate of each other - in this way of thinking.
Non-duality regards that the mental and physical aspects (of a phenomenon) as different but inseparable. Zen is based on Dualism in its presenting its original metaphysical source.
The Superstitious Mind of Zen
The background of Zen description of its own roots makes of the Flower Sermon a superstitious story about telepathy transmission among two exceptional individuals: the Buddha as a "mind-energy transmitter" and Mahakashyapa as the sole receiver.
Simple and naive people would have been overwhelmed upon hearing Zen monks teling a story about the extraordinary powers of the Buddha - being able to use telepathy to penetrate the mind of that disciple, (whom they consider as their founder). Similar stories of "mind-penetration" of thoughts - were popular in folk-stories in feudal China, as the Chinese Buddhist Encyclopedia informs us:
"Once, while the venerable Anuruddha was meditating in solitude,
he considered how, by means of the four Foundations
of Mindfulness (satipatthana) the Noble Path that leads to the extinction
of suffering can be perfected.
Then Moggallana, penetrating Anuruddha's mind by his own,
appeared before him through supernormal power
and requested him to describe in detail this method of practice".
The Chinese Buddhist Encyclopedia / Penetration of Others Minds and Thoughts
Telepathy and Clairvoyance
The Skeptic's Dictionary clarifies that mind-to-mind messaging - the fundamental belief at the origin of Zen - is indistinguishable from clairvoyance:
telepathy:
“To the present day, no one has come up with a persuasive experimental design that can unambiguously distinguish
between telepathy and clairvoyance....
Based on the experimental evidence, it is by no means clear that pure telepathy exists per se, nor is it certain that
real-time clairvoyance exists.
[TELEPATHY] Literally, "distance feeling": The term is a shortened version of mental telepathy
and refers to mind-reading or mind-to-mind communication through ESP.
Since there is no way to distinguish direct communication with another mind from communication with a future
or past perception by that or some other mind,
there is no way to distinguish telepathy from precognition or retrocognition. There is no way to distinguish telepathy,
clairvoyance, retrocognition, or precognition from a mind perceiving directly the akashik [astral] record.
There is no way to distinguish telepathy,clairvoyance, retrocognition, precognition, or perceiving the akashic record from
perceiving what is directly placed in the mind by God (occasionalism)." http://skepdic.com/telepath.html
Current reference
to mind-penetration in modern Zen
After years of training their monks to silently obey and serve the master, young monks serve their master "roshi" without having to speak. This has been attributed to the ability of the master to send telepathic commands of "silent transmission" - as it is mentioned in this observation of a western Zen practitioner:
"An attendant monk is supposed to know his "roshi's" needs without being told.
Before a "roshi" reaches for his teacup, someone will fill it. Before he moves toward a door
someone will open it. ...
The quiet profound and dynamic intimacy that can develop between "roshi" and monk
is both a development of Zen " mind-to-mind transmission"
and a complete fulfilment the social convention that governs interaction
between teacher and student". The poor monk enslaved by his master must not look at the master
in the eye in order to make the silent transmission work.
Interestingly, there is a cultural difference between behaviour of
Western and Japanese Zen practitioners.
"What Western students do not understand is that this ritual formality
is actually much more detailed than they realised ... between "roshi' and monk.
As part of the same social protocol, monks in a Japanese monastery
also do not look at the face of the "roshi' but point their eyes downward. ...
they remain passive and do not speak unless spoken to.
Monks bow to the floor whenever they enter and leave the "roshi" room....
keep their eyes pointed downwards whenever they are in the "roshi's" presence and never initiate conversation.
An American practitioner who had become quite friendly with a Japanese "roshi" on the latter's trip to the United States
and England - was amazed at the way the same "roshi" was treated in Japan.
In particular he could not understand the silence of the monks in the presence of the "roshi"...
Source: page 70 - 71 of Article by G. Victor Sogen Hori: Japanese Buddhism in America,
included in book: "The Faces of Buddhism in America" edited by Charles Prebish and Kenneth Tanaka,
University of California Press, 1998.
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Author: Safwan Darshams
The Flower Sermon through the perspective of the Lotus Sutra