Hypothetical Zen School

IF I WERE to teach Zen, HYPOTHETICALLY, I would do it completely upside down from how it was taught to me. And yet I think it would still be recognizable, from a lineage standpoint.

Instead of starting with all the forms and letting experience fill in, I would begin with as little form as possible. Just basic, individually adjusted posture and energetic breathing. Not even formal zazen periods.

We would first learn to flow.

Each individual’s flow would then carry them in their own direction. Dokusan (1-1 conversation) would be the first complete Zen form introduced. Practice would be adjusted according to the natural course of each person’s flow.

Sangha would then emerge into view as the next form.

In the group container, Dharma discussion would proceed naturally, incorporating each perspective. Sharing of challenges and suggestions would be encouraged. Practices that fit the group flow would arise. Sitting, movement, ceremony, service. Formal instructions as appropriate.

Over the course of a full year and all its seasons, the sangha would find itself contained within a ratified set of forms, flowing smoothly within its boundaries. The teaching at the Jukai (precepts) ceremony would be this:

Living flow is the whole of Zen. We practice forms — which we have chosen — because they create negative space around this flow, protecting it, nourishing it, letting us feel it.

We don’t need them.

We maintain them for each other’s sake, and we share them with the next ones.