the doctrine abrupt

Zen is called ‘the doctrine abrupt’ as opposed to all others which can be termed ‘progressive doctrines’. For Zen we use the singular while for the others we use the plural because ‘the doctrine abrupt’ can only be one. There are as many progressive doctrines as there are people for every one progresses in their own way. So although there can be millions of progressive doctrines, there can only be one abrupt doctrine. It can’t be different for different people because it is abrupt. It doesn’t depend on who you are, it depends on only one thing; that you disappear. And this disappearance is abrupt, sudden. This point is fundamental to Zen.

Lets consider Yoga, a progressive doctrine. In yoga, samadhi is attained; you have to improve upon yourself, you have to go on and on working on yourself. It is a great program of improvement, achievement and accomplishment. In Zen you just have to find that you are already a buddha. There is no accomplishment, no growth, no attainment, buddhahood is everybody’s inner nature. Everybody is a buddha; whether you know it or not makes no difference. There is no method in Zen. Methods are given only to prove to you , to your heart’s desire and contentment, that all methods are useless. You work on the method and slowly, slowly you realise the futility of it. Higher and higher methods are given until you ultimately, slowly, slowly you will eliminate all methods because you will see the futility of it all.

One day you will come to the point where you will see that there is nothing to be attained, nowhere to go. That moment in Zen is called ‘the great doubt’. Known in the West as ‘the dark night of the soul’ you are in a kind of shock; nothing to be attained, no where to go, all future disappears. Who are you? What are you doing here? And why this existence? If there is no way to reach, no where to reach and nobody to reach, then what us all this? A great doubt arises. You are falling like a dead leaf into some unknown, bottomless pit and it is all dark, and there is not even a ray of light. This great doubt or dark night of the soul, always precedes satori. Either you fall back because of the doubt – movivng back to methods, ways, paths, scriptures, principles and philosophies, you fall back just to avoid the doubt. But if you are really courageous, you leave yourself in this dark night of the soul, helpless, lost, utterly lost – seeing no meaning and no future. If this courage is there, satori happens. Suddenly out of the great doubt, and the pain and agony of it, you become awakened.

Then why make any effort at all? Just to see the futility. Once the futilty is proved, then one is left only with the constant question. This great doubt precedes satori; the realization of which consists in realizing that the idea of realization is illusory, and the idea of the way to realization is illusory, because all is realization from the very beginning. This is the fundamental vision of Zen.