Enso: free form circle

The Sacred Art of Dying

By Kenneth Kramer

“…four different faces of Zen: the sect within Buddhism, the heart of all Buddhism, the true center of all the world’s spiritualities, and the Zen beyond Zen, the no-Zen Zen” (58).

              To be quite honest I formally believed that Zen was a form of martial arts that focused (more than others) on finding one’s inner balance. I learn via visual and auditory, however, I also absorb much information by asking questions and or participating/observing activities. Because I have never been exposed to the Zen practices I am woefully ignorant in my understanding in that area. While reading the text I found it necessary to reread some sections in order to better (though not fully) understand the concepts of Zen.

“I come from the No Organizational Temple, and I bow to every Buddha” (58).

              I am not exactly why I do this, but I have a habit of comparing different world religions with each other. I do not mean comparing them with the religion I practice but with all other religions that I have a vague understanding with. A major similarity I observe in many religions is that they have different levels of devotion and worship. Also, following with the concept of the Zen monk belonging to the “No Organizational Temple”(58), numerous religions have followers who refer to themselves as nondenominational.