Healthy Living for a Healthy Lifestyle
Pillar of Good Relationship
Stephen Lau
Pillar of Good Relationship
Stephen Lau
http://www.healthylivinghealthylifestyle.com
More About Zen
by
Stephen Lau
by
Stephen Lau
CopyrightŠ by Stephen Lau
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Zen is a unique feeling in which you are completely at one with yourself and the world around you. You feel total harmony as you whole being experiences clarity and inner peace that seem to be out of this world.
These moments of sublime tranquility can be likened to the tranquil moments when you are all alone by yourself, watching the sunset and listening to the rhythmic lapping of gentle waves at the shore.
Zen can be a journey rather than a religion. Zen is a philosophy of healthy living - a healthy lifestyle in which daily life problems are minimized, though not eradicated. Zen is a journey to relative truth. However, Zen does not alter any truth: it merely changes the way you perceive it. According to Zen, truth is relative, and the way you perceive it makes the difference. Just as John Milton, the famous poet, says: "The mind is its own place, and in itself can make Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven." It is all in the mind.
One can intuit the essence of Zen, but can never consciously pursue it. Because Zen emphasizes spontaneity of all matters, it does not encourage any conscious effort to achieve anything; even the essence of Zen has to be intuited, not acquired or pursued. The essence of Zen comes naturally to an individual through enlightenment or intuition.
Intuition is self-awakening: it may be attained by reflection of the four Noble Truths of Zen.
(1) The first Noble Truth is that human suffering is natural because you become what you are through your own experiences. Accordingly, you have to live within the constrains of your own experiences, and these constrains cause suffering.
(2) The second Noble Truth is that attachment further constrains you. You are impermanent, and everything around you is impermanent, including your emotions and all material things you desire. Buddha once said: "Attachment to anything impermanent is the source of human misery." The reason is that human craving is an attempt to make permanent out of what is impermanent.
(3) The third Noble Truth is that there is another way - the way of Zen, which is a way "through" rather than a way "out." In other words. Zen does not and will not get you out of your problems: you can only intuit through self-enlightenment the wisdom of knowing "how" to live with your problems.
(4) The fourth Noble Truth is that Zen does not have any hard and fast rules for you to follow, neither does it provide any direction or guideline. Your becoming enlightened - how, when, or if - uniquely depends on your own.
What Zen offers is a way of life based on spiritual virtues, which are the facets of human wisdom interacting with one another. These spiritual virtues include:
These moments of sublime tranquility can be likened to the tranquil moments when you are all alone by yourself, watching the sunset and listening to the rhythmic lapping of gentle waves at the shore.
Zen can be a journey rather than a religion. Zen is a philosophy of healthy living - a healthy lifestyle in which daily life problems are minimized, though not eradicated. Zen is a journey to relative truth. However, Zen does not alter any truth: it merely changes the way you perceive it. According to Zen, truth is relative, and the way you perceive it makes the difference. Just as John Milton, the famous poet, says: "The mind is its own place, and in itself can make Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven." It is all in the mind.
One can intuit the essence of Zen, but can never consciously pursue it. Because Zen emphasizes spontaneity of all matters, it does not encourage any conscious effort to achieve anything; even the essence of Zen has to be intuited, not acquired or pursued. The essence of Zen comes naturally to an individual through enlightenment or intuition.
Intuition is self-awakening: it may be attained by reflection of the four Noble Truths of Zen.
(1) The first Noble Truth is that human suffering is natural because you become what you are through your own experiences. Accordingly, you have to live within the constrains of your own experiences, and these constrains cause suffering.
(2) The second Noble Truth is that attachment further constrains you. You are impermanent, and everything around you is impermanent, including your emotions and all material things you desire. Buddha once said: "Attachment to anything impermanent is the source of human misery." The reason is that human craving is an attempt to make permanent out of what is impermanent.
(3) The third Noble Truth is that there is another way - the way of Zen, which is a way "through" rather than a way "out." In other words. Zen does not and will not get you out of your problems: you can only intuit through self-enlightenment the wisdom of knowing "how" to live with your problems.
(4) The fourth Noble Truth is that Zen does not have any hard and fast rules for you to follow, neither does it provide any direction or guideline. Your becoming enlightened - how, when, or if - uniquely depends on your own.
What Zen offers is a way of life based on spiritual virtues, which are the facets of human wisdom interacting with one another. These spiritual virtues include:
| ˇ | Saying the right thing |
| ˇ | Taking the right action |
| ˇ | Earning a living the right way |
| ˇ | Making the right effort to accomplish things |
| ˇ | Paying the right attention |
| ˇ | Having the right concentration |
| ˇ | Developing the right perspective |
| ˇ | Getting the right thought |
Zen is a way of life, not just for thousands of years ago, but for contemporary healthy living. Zen is an appreciation of life itself. Zen is healthy living at its best.
For more information, also visit my website: Zen Health.
For more information, also visit my website: Zen Health.
Zen is a way of life. It is the way to healthy living, good relationship, and a healthy lifestyle full of tranquility and peace of mind. Zen is not a way "out" of life problems, but rather a way "through."
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