One Cuckoo
I do not currently participate in any particular linage, although I would probably be most closely associated with the Soto school of Zen. My opinions, therefore, are not to be taken as official, but merely as my own assessment.
The ideal: You enter into practice under a Zen Master. Through a series of interactions with the Master and the other students, one’s conceptions of self and reality are dispensed with until there is only the Truth. These interactions can take the form of private interviews with the Zen Master, (the student is the one being interviewed), where a series of impossible to answer questions (known as Koans) must be answered, along with the usual one upmanship with fellow students.
In this idealized system, the Zen Master is a Zen Master because he has attained enlightenment, and has received transmission from the Zen Master he studied with. In other words his Zen Master has certified his attainment. This assumes, of course that his master had himself received transmission.
The actual: Over the course of centuries, the Zen Masters have pretty much disappeared. The systems are still there; the participants are still there. I believe that transmission is still being given. After all, if someone has been in the monastery for 30 years and the abbot has taught them all they know (even if that didn’t include the deepest of enlightenment), then it is important to pass on to them what the abbot has to give in order to perpetuate the school.
Which isn’t to say that there aren’t some great teachers here and there, or some people doing really important and wonderful work. But, are they of the caliber of a full Zen Master?
Zen really came to the west in the ‘60s, through the likes of the Suzukis, Alan Watts and many notable others. A victim of its own popularity, the word Zen is applied as a marketing gimmick for instant name recognition and cachet. 
1 comment:
Dear Bodhimind
In light of what you have written in this post, it would be interesting to hear your perspective on -
If what you are writing is the general case/direction, what implications then are there for:
1. The transmission, evolution and 'survival' of Zen as a tradition of practice and teachings, and
2. A Zen student who aspires to know the full depths of enlightenment in today's age
Further, and finally, what potentials exist to sustain the living Zen tradition in its truest and most complete sense ie one that maintains depth and knowledge of truth in the 'full' sense you indicate and allows therefore for transmission from Zen Master to Zen Master.
These are the uncertainties that came up for me when reading your post - and I would be interested to hear your perspective if it is appropriate to share them here. I respect your decision either way.
In any event - thankyou for your time and for sharing with us on this blog.
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