Living Zen

I'm reading a book about Zen. It's Nothing Special: Living Zen by Charlotte Joko Beck. It was recommended to me by one of my coworkers. Well now he's an ex-coworkers because he needed to sail with Flag Ship Studio. Anyway, he said that his life was influenced by the ideas in this book. Now, this guy isn't much of a hippy so I was interested in what he saw in Zen.

 

I'm not done reading yet, but it's very interesting. I'm curious about the Zen. I didn't know exactly what it was before. I thought it was a religion, but it's more of a philosophy of life that is compatible with many religions. They are fascinated with sitting. They spend years sitting. I always thought they tried to empty their mind and relax when sitting, but it's actually quite the opposite. They sit to think about the problems in their life. Sitting allows them to critical analyzes their life and plan what do to in the future. I spend a lot of time walking and doing the same thing. I think they'd all be in better shape if they walked and thought rather than sat to think.

 

The book is full of metaphors. Life is like a river and we are all whirlpools in it. Sometimes trash flows down the river and ends up in your whirlpool. It swirls around in it for a while and then moves one. It's important the your whirlpool isn't stagnant because then it will be gross and grow algae. I'm not really sure what this metaphor is trying to say, but I think I like it. Maybe it's saying we should be hard-skinned and go with the flow. Well that's easy. Maybe I can be a Zenner.

 

We all have baseboards. This metaphor kinda lost me, but it seems important. Apparently when we are having problems we plug into our baseboards, kind of like pulling in a lamp. When a young child has a problem, he might through a temper tantrum. This is just him plugging in. It's a way to deal with an uncomfortable situation. Once you're a good sitter you learn to use your baseboard less and this is a really good thing. I believe the idea is that you shouldn't use a pre-canned emotion to deal with a situation. You should sit and think about it before you do anything.

 

The goal of being Zen isn't what I though it was. It's not about being peaceful and bliss. It's not supposed to be fun or comfortable. It's supposed to be joyful. You get joy by bringing harmony and growth to everyone. If you are in a situation that is a little uncomfortable for you but it brings harmony to others then you are doing well. You are suppose to find jobs, relationships, and everything that maximizes the amount of harmony and growth you can give to others.

 

Does anyone that's reading this blog know more about Zen than I? Am I getting it right? I'm not quite sure what harmony is. Hopefully this book will tell me. Anyway I'm enjoying the book. It's very well written and it is teaching me about something that I know very little. Owmmmmmmm...Owmmmmmm...