Synopsis "Zen and Tao- A Little Book on Buddhist Thought and Meditation (in English)"
"Zen and Tao, A Little Book on Buddhist Though and Meditation" is really not a little book. It is a collection of Buddhist quotes, thoughts, and meditations from the school of Zen and the Tao. The Translations of the Hsin Hsin Ming, The Tao Te Ching, and Nargarjuna's Tree of Wisdom by Dennis Waller are included along with a collection of 50 selected quotes from Chuang Tzu, Okakura Kakuzo, and Buddha. Also included are selected commentaries on Zen and the Tao from the works of Dennis Waller. An Excerpt from the book- Throughout Buddhism, Taoism and Zen there it much talk and mention about Nothingness, Emptiness, Oneness, the Void, and Suchness. In the western world, this makes no sense, "There has to be something, even nothing is something, right?" The western world cannot understand these meanings, maybe because there are no meaning to these words in the East. This is a major conflict between the two worlds. The west always believes that there is meaning in everything, there is always a "why" and a meaning to that "why." In Zen, in the true meaning of life, there is no meaning. In Zen, it is call existence. In existence, there is no need for a meaning or explanation, it just is what it is. There is a story about Picasso the painter. One day an observer watched Picasso start a painting. As the day wore on Picasso continued to paint till he finished with the work in the afternoon. Upon completion, the observer asked Picasso what the painting represented, what was the meaning of it. Picasso became upset, angry, even mad. He shouted, "Go ask the roses in the garden what is the meaning of the roses! Why do people come to me and ask for the meaning? If the rose can be there without any meaning, then why cannot my painting be there without any meaning?" Meanings are a thing of the mind. It is the mind that seeks a meaning to everything. Sometimes this is a good thing, like in science and medicine. But for nature, there is no meaning, there is just is. This is the precept of existence in nature, for there is no need for meaning. Look at it this way, how absurd would it be to ask a cloud, "What is the meaning of this? Why are you here and where did you come from?" I am sure the cloud will have no answer for you. Because the cloud is being a cloud, doing what clouds do. That is the dharma of a cloud and it is fulfilling that dharma. It would be the same thing if you asked a dog why it barks. What do you think the answer would be? The dog cannot answer the question, because it doesn't understand why you're asking such a question. Dogs bark and cats meow, because that is their nature. If a sentient being is living its dharma, there is no need for meaning, its existence is enough. All throughout nature, there isn't any meaning placed on anything by nature. It is us that has a ego driven need for meaning and to place meaning on things. If we do not have meaning we began to feel insecure and worried. We feel out of place or disconnected. This behavior isn't seen in nature, only in man. In creating meaning, we create separation. As long we are in separation, there can be no enlightenment. Enlightenment is losing separation and meaning. When you focus on the meaning of something, you have missed the point. Because the something really isn't what it appears to be."
