Zen and the Actor

Extract

Zen has been called “the religion of no religion.” It is a branch of Buddhism, both having originated in a single event: the enlightenment of Guatama Siddhartha who, after meditating for six years, is said to have awakened, as if from a dream, to become The Enlightened One, the Buddha. It is significant that the seed of Zen Buddhism was neither a set of scriptures nor a messianic creed, but the dedication of a single man to gain greater perception into his own nature and the nature of reality through meditation. The practice of meditation is at the heart of Zen, and the word “Zen,” derived from the Chinese “Ch'uan,” means “meditation.” Predicated on practice rather than belief, without sacred scriptures, fixed canon, or Divine being, Zen is “no religion.” It is rather a type of training intended to promote a special presence, a particular quality of consciousness with which to meet the world.