I get into the strangest conversations
I still remember the first time I was asked by a museum patron, “What is Zen?”
My completely honest reply was to burst into laughter. Of course I could have provided a completely passable explanation of Zen, or suggest a book that would give a more reserved account of a somewhat misunderstood branch of Buddhism, or even told them the one about the Zen teacher who walks into a bar and…hilarity ensues. But even I know that you’re not supposed to turn it into a joke–this is serious stuff, and as befitting a complex subject, the answer to such a question is seldom simple.
And so I am asked, “How can a samurai be a Buddhist?”
The code of the samurai holds him more strictly than the bond of life and death; for even after his death, his honor redoubles. In life, death is to be meditated upon, to be accepted as fact. Given that Buddhism is giving up desire, it follows that the samurai is the penultimate Buddhist.
However, because he must also kill, is he not the worst kind of Buddhist?
D.T. Suzuki says no, and even makes the point that a samurai’s nature feeds the intensity of his practice and that Zen is the only path for the samurai: “Morally, because Zen is a religion which teaches us not to look backward once the course is decided upon; philosophically, because it treats life and death indifferently.”
On second thought, maybe the answer is simple. But considering that I’m about to begin reading Hagakure, maybe I’ll be changing my mind about that last statement.
3 Responses to “I get into the strangest conversations”
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xensen on May 20th, 2009 at 11:45 am
The famous ronin (masterless samurai) Miyamoto Musashi, who was the model, I think, for one of the samurai in the film Seven Samurai and who wrote the Book of Five Rings was, like many samurai, a Zen practioner. The final volume of the Book of Five Rings especially shows the influence of Zen. “In the void,” Musashi writes there, “is virtue, and no evil.”
There are various historical reasons why this particular school of Buddhism was popular with samurai. But it is also said that the samurai felt an affinity for Zen because, more than some other schools, it emphasized self-reliance and mindfulness of death.
bittermelon on May 20th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Alright you two, I’m growing fond and envious of this good example of how an engaging blog post can beget engaging and enlightening convos / Qs.
Shalom on May 29th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
This is a very interesting topic. I’m surprised that the honorable DT Suzuki didn’t bring up the issue of the conflict between the first of the five Buddhist precepts (Do not kill), and one of the most fundamental jobs of the samurai, to kill on the command of one’s master, without the slightest hesitation. This is far from a trivial conflict; rather, it strikes me as a diametrical opposition.
Of course, almost all of the qualities that typify Zen practice and life (except for the not killing part) would benefit a samurai, and it makes sense that samurai would draw from this deep reserve, but I question whether the life of the samurai and that of the Zen practitioner are fundamentally, philosophically, practically compatible.
That said, I’m very eager to see the show, and will be there, at the members’ preview, on June 11th.