Can Zen Be Defined?
When asked “What is Zen?” a Zen master replied, “Your ordinary, everyday life.” Zen, like life, defies exact definition, but its essence in the experience, moment by moment, of your own existence – a natural, spontaneous encounter, unclouded by the suppositions and expectations that come between you and reality. Zen is a paring down of life until you see it as it really is, free from your illusions; it is a mental divestment of yourself until you recognize your true nature.1 Your Wise and Compassionate Friend Because it is refreshingly free from dogma, Zen can help you to lead richer, less anxious, more compassionate and ultimately more effective life. It teaches you to acknowledge your emotions, lay negativity to rest, and answer fundamental questions about your own being, and about life, death and what lies beyond. “Zen is like a wise a compassionate friend: humorous and enigmatic, challenging yet supportive, old as the hills yet young as a new day, even present around us yet located
