# everything zen **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [March 4, 2000, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-zen/783 "2000-03-04T07:48:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![peachfuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dfb087/32.png) [@peachfuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peachfuzz)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-zen/783/1 "2000-03-04T07:48:00Z")
there has been some talk about the saying “if a tree falls and noone is around to hear it…” it is in fact, another zen riddle. my problem is, i don’t really have a good grasp on what zen is. i’ve asked, looked up, and questioned every resource i could, (and gotten loads of facts and statistics) but to no real avail. please help me out, i have the feeling a few good opinions will show me what i need to know. forgive my communist font. * * * there is no such thing as a weird human being. it’s just that some people require more understanding than others. ---
**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-zen/783/2 "2000-03-04T17:31:00Z")
Zen Bubbaism teaches that everything is subject to change and that suffering and discontentment are the result of attachment to circumstances and things which, by their nature, are impermanent. By ridding oneself of these attachments, including attachment to the false notion of self or “I”, one can be free of suffering. Most Zen writtings teach this philosophy by example or parables. Like most ancient philosopies and religions, Zen is aimed at people who are not necessarily philosophy majors. It’s easier to show the masses what the color “blue” is than it is to tell them what the color “blue” is. Most people with little knowledge of physics and the physiology of the retina, couldn’t comprehend any adequate definition of “blue”, but a teacher can show them a berry or a jay and hope they figure it out. This is basically how Zen Buddaism is explained. By example. So basically you have to go out and look at some berries and birds before you will truely understand Zen. Try Hermann Hesse’s “Siddhartha” or the “I Ching” (by ?, I forget). Good luck, grasshopper. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-zen/783/3 "2000-03-04T17:59:00Z")
To have a beer and to not have a beer…is that Zen Bubbaism? ---
**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2000, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-zen/783/4 "2000-03-05T06:07:00Z")
Is there a such thing as adult-onset dyslexia? Is it beer hunting season yet? ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2000, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-zen/783/5 "2000-03-07T06:15:00Z")
Have you ever felt absolutely obligated to post a reply in a thread, even though you had nothing worthwhile to add? * * * _It is too clear, and so it is hard to see._ ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2000, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-zen/783/6 "2000-03-07T22:52:00Z")
To add a little, the notion of the Zen riddles comes into play with the meditation. The object of meditation is to cease thinking, to let go of all conscious thought and to the notion of the self, and just to be without any thought. Often called the oneness of being. The idea is that by achieving a state of being without any form of thought or self, you are then connected to the rest of the universe, and thus achieve enlightenment. How does one stop thinking, though? That is where Zen riddles come in. They are meaningless contradictory statements to help the person focus on not focusing. It’s a starting point by taking the mind off worrying over your problems and daily life, plans for tomorrow, or any directed thought for a self. Instead you get a riddle to think about to help you not think. Or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2000, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-zen/783/7 "2000-03-07T23:03:00Z")
**Cecil** on [What is the sound of one hand clapping](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_049.html) , which also talks about Zen in a general way. I’ll leave it to **Jill** to decide whether the OP is sufficiently **Cecil** -related to leave it here or to transfer the thread. * * * [Change Your Password, Please](http://204.95.48.199/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ubbmisc.cgi?action=getannounce&ForumNumber=3&Start=2451545.99&End=2451911&Session=2451598.1854) and don’t use HTML, as it has been disabled, but you can learn about superscripts [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000795.html) ---
**Author:** ![JillGat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2000, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-zen/783/8 "2000-03-07T23:50:00Z")
Thanks, Manhattan, for the link. This topic comes up now and then in our forum, and I’m not sure if it refers to that column or not. OP, you okay with it here or would it get a broader audience in General Questions? Jill ---
**Author:** ![peachfuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dfb087/32.png) [@peachfuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peachfuzz)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2000, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-zen/783/9 "2000-03-08T00:47:00Z")
wonderful, thankyou for the links and i’m starting to grasp the reason behind the riddles and such. thankyou again… fuzz * * * there is no such thing as a weird human being. it’s just that some people require more understanding than others. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2000, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-zen/783/10 "2000-03-08T16:11:00Z")
Also related to [http://boards.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000432.html](http://boards.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000432.html) ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2000, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-zen/783/11 "2000-03-08T20:41:00Z")
Well if you like the riddles, come over here and let me show you about the part where the Zen Master cracks his student upside the head with a stick. * * * Plunging like stones from a slingshot on Mars. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2000, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everything-zen/783/12 "2000-03-10T02:41:00Z")
Feh. Read 3 different bad translations of the _Tao te Ching_, then come back and discuss. I’m verklempt. I’ve read that Zen _koan_ (“riddles”) are supposed to help the mind transcend logic or something. “If appleseed turn to wing, it’ll fly away a beautiful butterfly; but if butterfly turn to appleseed, it’ll just lay there on the ground.” [from a _Monkees_ episode]