Zen The Path of Paradox Vol 1汇总.doc

Zen: The Path of Paradox, Vol 1 Talks on Zen Talks given from 11/06/77 am to 20/06/77 am English Discourse series 10 Chapters Year published: Originally tape title Path of Paradox. Zen: The Path of Paradox, Vol 1 Chapter #1 Chapter title: Join the Farthest Star 11 June 1977 am in Buddha Hall Archive code: 7706110 ShortTitle: PARAD101 Audio: Yes Video: No Length: 92 mins LIKE THE EMPTY SKY IT HAS NO BOUNDARIES, YET IT IS RIGHT IN THIS PLACE, EVER PROFOUND AND CLEAR. WHEN YOU SEEK TO KNOW IT, YOU CANNOT SEE IT, YOU CANNOT TAKE HOLD OF IT, BUT YOU CANNOT LOSE IT. IN NOT BEING ABLE TO GET IT YOU GET IT. WHEN YOU ARE SILENT IT SPEAKS; WHEN YOU SPEAK, IT IS SILENT. THE GREAT GATE IS WIDE OPEN TO BESTOW ALMS, AND NO CROWD IS BLOCKING THE WAY. First a few fundamentals Zen is not a theology, it is a religion -- and religion without a theology is a unique phenomenon. All other religions exist around the concept of God. They have theologies. They are God-centric not man-centric; man is not the end, God is the end. But not so for Zen. For Zen, man is the goal, man is the end unto himself God is not something above humanity, God is something hidden within humanity. Man is carrying God in himself as a potentiality. So there is no concept of God in Zen. If you want you can say that it is not even a religion -- because how can there be a religion without the concept of God? Certainly those who have been brought up as Christians, Mohammedans, Hindus, Jews, cannot conceive of what sort of religion Zen is. If there is no God then it becomes atheism. It is not. It is theism to the very core -- but without a God. This is the first fundamental to be understood. Let it sink deep within you, then things will become clear. Zen says that God is not extrinsic to religion, it is intrinsic. It is not there, it is here. In fact there is no there for Zen, all is here. And God is not then, God is now -- and there is no other time. There is no other space, no other time. This moment is a