Hi. My name is Shaun and I am a Zen Atheist. The aim of this blog is to get a couple of things written down that I have been thinking about for a while.
What is Zen Atheism? Isn't that a bit of a contradiction? Well, not really. As I see it, Zen doesn't really have much to do with Buddhism and so could be seen as a good framework for atheism as well. I will use the terms Zen and Buddhism interchangeably. While there are lots of schools, teachers and interpretations out there I count them as as one. I'm not even sure I count Buddhism as a religion, more a self help guide. But before we get into that, a little bit about me.
I didn't grow up in a religious household. My father was the wrong branch of Catholic and so nowhere nearby would christen me. I did RE at school, but mainly as I liked the teacher and it looked easy. I didn't really get anything from it other than there are a lot of conflicting beliefs out there. Everyone has their own god and everyones god is right.
In my teenage years (80s) I got into the Beats (Kerouac, Burroughs, etc) and read Robert Pirsigs "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". I don't know if the books reflected something in me or I got something from the books, but something about it all clicked with me and I started to notice Zen everywhere. Or at least in all the cool books and films. I then read a couple of the standard Zen texts (Suzuki, etc) on it and promptly gave up.
Skip forward twenty years (00s) and I pick up Brad Warners "Hardcore Zen" while on holiday in New York. That really spoke to me as a) it was written in the context of the real world and b) It didn't seem too hung up on the whole Buddha thing. I Recently picked up Alan Watts book on the subject and I consider that is more of a halfway house.
Buddhism doesn’t have any god figures or creation myths. It is just some ideas someone had. There isn’t even a definitive book. The way I see it, Zen is a bit of a puzzle or riddle. There is no prize at the end but it's fun to try and work out what it all means.
I don't go to any groups, I don't have a teacher, so this is all self taught. I believe Zen (and life) can be summed up in three statements.
What is Zen Atheism? Isn't that a bit of a contradiction? Well, not really. As I see it, Zen doesn't really have much to do with Buddhism and so could be seen as a good framework for atheism as well. I will use the terms Zen and Buddhism interchangeably. While there are lots of schools, teachers and interpretations out there I count them as as one. I'm not even sure I count Buddhism as a religion, more a self help guide. But before we get into that, a little bit about me.
I didn't grow up in a religious household. My father was the wrong branch of Catholic and so nowhere nearby would christen me. I did RE at school, but mainly as I liked the teacher and it looked easy. I didn't really get anything from it other than there are a lot of conflicting beliefs out there. Everyone has their own god and everyones god is right.
In my teenage years (80s) I got into the Beats (Kerouac, Burroughs, etc) and read Robert Pirsigs "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". I don't know if the books reflected something in me or I got something from the books, but something about it all clicked with me and I started to notice Zen everywhere. Or at least in all the cool books and films. I then read a couple of the standard Zen texts (Suzuki, etc) on it and promptly gave up.
Skip forward twenty years (00s) and I pick up Brad Warners "Hardcore Zen" while on holiday in New York. That really spoke to me as a) it was written in the context of the real world and b) It didn't seem too hung up on the whole Buddha thing. I Recently picked up Alan Watts book on the subject and I consider that is more of a halfway house.
Buddhism doesn’t have any god figures or creation myths. It is just some ideas someone had. There isn’t even a definitive book. The way I see it, Zen is a bit of a puzzle or riddle. There is no prize at the end but it's fun to try and work out what it all means.
I don't go to any groups, I don't have a teacher, so this is all self taught. I believe Zen (and life) can be summed up in three statements.
And these will be explained in the posts that follow.
I read one of Brad Warner's later books "Sit Down and Shut Up" recently, and am about to start "Hardcore Zen". I've read dozens of books on Zen, Buddhism, and the Buddha, but being a roaming alcoholic and addict I've rarely immersed myself in zazen or further studies. It's time. I'm 63, and just survived an accident which led to ten weeks in the hospital. I almost died. They had the crash cart next to my bed, and fully expected me to croak. The doctor actually said "You were circling the drain." But, to everyone's surprise, my body rallied, and I survived. My last chance to practice what I've been studying as a Buddhaphile my whole adult life.
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