ISSUE 02 | FEBRUARY 2020
BIKERS CLUB ® MAGAZINE | PAGE 38
B I K E R S C L U B ® | www.bikersclub.in
The awakened One left a
teaching, practice, and
doctrine that everyone can
experience in daily life. This is
called Dharma in Sanskrit.
According to tradition, the
transmission of Zen from
master and disciple has
formed an
uninterrupted "spiritual
bloodline" that has lasted for
more than 2500 years.
In the sixth century, Buddha's
teaching was transmitted
from India to China by a monk
named Bodhidharma
(Daruma in Japanese).
Since its spread to China, the
Buddha's dharma has
flourished there under the
name of Chan or Chinese Zen.
Beliefs & Dogmas
Since the beginning of time,
man is searching for truth.
Thousands of years ago, our
ancestors, sat under the
stars, and around the
campfire discussed and
asked themselves the same
questions we ask ourselves
today. Who am I? Why am I
here? Is there a God? Is
there a life after death? Are
we alone in the Universe?
Zen is very pragmatic and
down to earth. It is essentially a
practice, an experience, not a
theory or dogma. Zen adheres
to no specific philosophy or
faith, and has no dogma that its
followers must accept or
believe in, but it traditionally
accept the concepts of karma
and samsara. This is very
different from other religions
which are filled with dogmas.
Zen does not seek to answer
subjective questions because
these are not important issues
for Zen. What really matters is
the here and now: not God, not
the afterlife, but the present
moment and the practice of
meditation (zazen).
Moreover, Zen firmly believes that
nobody knows the answers to those
questions and that they are
impossible to answer because of
our limited condition. Life is a
dream, a grand illusion that we
perceive through the filter of our
personality, our experiences, our
ego. This is a great piece of theater
in which we do not see all the
actors and in which we barely
understand the role of those that
we see.
Zen gladly accepts the idea that
men are only men and nothing
more. Man, being what he is,
cannot answer life's impossible