Zen. I't s a school of Buddhism that teaches meditation and relaxation to reach enlightenment, happiness, and contentment. More importantly, it teaches the necessity of personal experience as a means of acquiring wisdom. Theories are less important, and walking out the door and really living will lead you to happiness, according to Zen. While I believe that theoretical study is, in fact, important as well, I do believe that without exploration and experience, it is impossible to say that you are a master of something.
For example, I knew a lot about London and English culture before I moved to London for five monthes last year. I wouldn't have told you that I was an expert, but I probably would have told you that I generally knew what I was talking about when it came to British Customs and such. Of course, I arrived and realized that I was a complete idiot, and knew very little. By being there, and experiencing it first hand, I learned. Now, I know better than to say that I know a lot about English culture. I know better than many Americans, but I still know that I have much to learn.
Zen also recommends discovering these experiences mentally, through meditation. Dreaming, thinking, and creating circumstances to understand them. I can't agree with that enough. Stella Adler Studio of Acting, where I went to school and now work, teaches imagination as a means to understand the situation of a character while acting. Zen also emphasizes finding the beauty in the world around you to help lead you to enlightenment, which, hilariously enough, is kind of the point of this blog. If I was more relaxed all of the time, I would crack a joke here about how I've been a secret Zen master all along. However, I'm not a particularly relaxed person. I'm better than I used to be, but I can be rather tightly wound at my worst moments. Most importantly, though, I am working on it.
In any case, symbols of Zen are pretty well known. Buddha statues, Zen gardens, Green Tea, lotuses, cherry blossom, lanterns, and tea houses. That's not any kind of an official list, that's what I associate with Zen. It's a pretty big concept, but here are some images I have found online to share with you.
May they bring you enlightenment!
PS. Yes... I realise that I posted this on a Saturday, and not a Friday. It was meant to auto-post yesterday... and it didn't work. Oops.
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