Aristotle follows Plato and goes further: he divides up all of human knowledge and experience into categories and subcategories, and establishes methods by which Reason can discover Truth. This is the foundation for modern science and logic.
Our inheritance from the Greeks, then, is this esteem of reason over all else and the use of this faculty in the dualistic consideration and analysis of the world. (And, what is notable for our discussions later, is that reason was also made the center of our personal identity.)
Eastern philosophy, whose principal sources are the teachings of Lao-Tzu and Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha), presents a sharp contrast to the above. For one, it is non-dualistic in spirit, which means perceiving the wholeness, the unity in anything.
Opposites are seen to be different aspects of the same thing, as the two sides of a coin or the two poles of a magnet. Opposing elements balance each other, need each other; to see a white figure, you need a dark background; to play a sport or game you need an opponent. Even cookery can be a balancing of sweet and sour.
Man is not seen to be separate from nature, nor is it his natural right to exploit and manipulate it. He is but one part of nature, one manifestation of the whole, of the Tao.
Man's real self or identity and source of all his potential is not the faculty of reason, but a deeper self whose intuitions can be realized through wordless perceptions. The intellect is considered to be more of a mechanical device, useful in its own way and capable of certain things for utilitarian purposes; but considering it anything more than that is likely to result in its being a barrier to experiencing and enjoying the real, everyday world.
The word Zen is the Japanese version of the Chinese word Ch'an, which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyana, which refers to a kind of meditation. This meditation, one part of traditional Zen study, leads to inner peace, realization of self-nature, heightened sense awareness, and increased capacity for focused attention.
It is characteristic of Zen study in that it requires personal experience and doing and not reasoning. Eugen Herrigel had to learn Zen from archery because Zen is a way of experiencing and is not to be found in or learned from words about experiencing (this also points out that Zen is a way, and not a philosophy or a religion in the strict sense).
The reader should be aware that the use of "Zen" in all of these discussions is somewhat arbitrary — that wherever there is activity, there can be Zen, and this kind of experience has been known by other names in the West. The Zen of the East, having permeated whole cultures for thousands of years, is easier to study than the few scattered recorded references of the West.
To the question "What is the nature of Reality?" a scientist¹ could discourse endlessly, beginning perhaps with the atom, going on through the chemical structure of organic and inorganic matter, and finally taking up the scientific classification and knowledge of all living things.
The same question to a Zen master would be: "What is the ultimate principle of Buddhism?" He would answer in an unpredictable, extra-rational way, such as remaining silent, or saying, "A sesame bun".
In the first case, he may have the first line of the Tao Te Ching in mind: "The Way that can be described [in words] is not the Way." You cannot use the limited to describe the limitless.
In the second instance (if our questioner is really determined to get a verbal answer), he is pointing out that what is true and important for us is to be found in the ordinary; or perhaps that since every part of the world is a manifestation of the whole, any answer is as good as any other — why not indeed a sesame bun?
In either case, he is implying that the questioner can only discover what is real and true for himself through his own experiences and not indirectly through an Authority.
The truth for the scientist lies in the forms and principles underlying all phenomena; for the Zen master, it lies in being aware in all of our everyday experiences, every moment.
We would like to ask them, "What is the true nature of horn playing?"
(To follow)