What is ZEN?
ZEN is a real-time Java ORB being developed by the Distributed Object Computing groups at the University of California, Irvine and Washington University in St. Louis. ZEN is currently under development. For more information, see http://www.zen.uci.edu/. A ZEN mailing list is available. To subscribe, see http://doc.ece.uci.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/zen-users.
Zen takes its name from the Chinese word “ch’an” meaning meditation. Zen as we practice it today was largely shaped in Tang Dynasty China and spread from there to Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. In the 20th century, Zen teachers traveled from Asia all around the world. Though often presented in the context of Buddhism, Zen teaches clear mind and appropriate action in each moment and does not dwell on questions of philosophy or metaphysics. As a practice, Zen meditation ushers us into complete realization of this moment: what is it?
This is a tough question because if you ask it to 100 people who practice Zen, you will probably get 100 different answers. Even asking the same person twice will probably yield different answers. Roughly put, Zen can be defined as the mental discipline that allows you to act freely when you have to. Originally part of the Eastern philosophy this has been popularized by martial artists and athletes in the Western world. The phrase, “Just do it,” was not created by some advertising agency — it was lifted from a book on Zen. The study of martial arts is often associated with Zen because the martial arts give you the mental discipline to act freely when you have to in a self defense situation. It is the constant practice that can make a martial artist’s reactions to danger almost automatic. This ability to act, without wasting time on a conscious thought process, is the essence of Zen and what it is like to “Just do it.” Back to table of contents …
