Ch'an; Zen; Buddhism

Satori Zen is of immense interest to anyone pursuing authentic metaphysical knowledge because it claims to offer an astonishingly straightforward path to full Spiritual Enlightenment. And in terms of outright simplicity and immediate applicability, there is no other spiritual technique quite like it, in any other tradition anywhere. But does it do what it claims to do ? Can you really ‘power your way into heaven’ by brute meditative force ? And does this then mean that satori is equivalent to Supreme Spiritual Enlightenment ? This essay will examine the key elements and claims of Satori Zen in the light of independent and objective metaphysical knowledge.

This is a study on the meanings of the term qíng 情 in Medieval Chán Buddhist texts, with a focus on the phrase wúqíng shuō fǎ 無情說法 'Non-sentients expound the Dharma', as well as the discussion of "Buddha Nature" (佛性) in medieval China. One focus is one the monk Huìzhōng 慧忠 and the presentation of the doctrine of wúqíng shuō fǎ in the Zǔtáng jí 祖堂集.

Uncovering socio-religious amalgamations, it has been revealed that things such as meditation, ‘Zen art’ like the ensō, poems, and conveying certain moments of epiphany, were aesthetic additives to Zen developed though the Kamakura (1185–1333) to the Takugawa or Edo (1600–1868) periods. Most of these ideas were primarily introduced during the Heian era (794-1185) with the first Japanese imperial anthology, Konkishu. Such was left to permeate the religions of Japan and assimilate themes to the context of things such as Zen and satori. The Zen master then became a poetic figure and romanticized the idea of Jōshū’s ‘Ordinary Zen’. 
The Heian period precursors the time of Dōgen, and is usually described in such a way:

The last division of classical Japanese history. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height. The Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese imperial court and is noted for its art, especially poetry and literature.

It is here we begin to see the descriptions of satori and their quality as ineffable. The Zen tradition has a philosophical corpus which in the modern context has mostly been expressed through various arts. Within these arts, there is an underlying connotation for emotive expression. Therefore to ‘see’ Zen, one would not seek scholarly approach but look to sumi-e prints (Japanese ink wash), haiku, karenasui (dry landscaping), ukiyo-e (floating world prints), nanga or bunjinga (literati painting), or kōan introspection, which usually depicts nature and life in raw form. Even then, unless the art is embodied by the observer it can only be looked upon as a disconnected visual representation. What it represents is by its very definition is self-defeating in so much as the ‘beauty’ consists in its being ephemeral. The practitioner is attempting to capture a moment where the moment is already gone. The perspective of recalling an experience such as satori changes it leaving the faintest trace. Yet, the common notion of Zen relishes in the paradox of this contradicting gesture and is labeled as yūgen.

The III INTERNATIONAL TERESA DE JESÚS AND INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE AWARD aims to promote and favor interreligious encounter, and motivate scholars of all religions to carry out work that helps in this mutual rapprochement. This Award is aimed at works that develop some type of comparative study or approach to the mystics of the Teresian-Sanjuanist Carmelite tradition (Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Edith Stein, among others), or any of their works, from the broad perspective of interreligious dialogue.