Genjokoan Essay

Question 1

1 Study the Self

Answer 1

Zen begins with examining one’s own experience
Meditation reveals how the ego constructs reality

Self awareness and seated meditation reveals insight about the nature of the self

Question 2

2 Forget the Self

Answer 2

The self is not a fixed entity
Ego is constructed through thought and attachment

Awakening occurs when ego-centred thinking dissolves

Question 3

3 Collapse of ego

Answer 3

Subject vs object distinction breaks down
Reality is not divided

Zen non-duality

Question 4

4 Actualized by Myriad things

Answer 4

the world is no longer an object
reality expresses itself through all phenomena

Experience becomes world centred rather than ego centred

Question 5

Practice = Enlightenment

Answer 5

Dogen rejects idea that enlightenment is future goal
In Soto Zen practice zazen (meditation) is the expression of enlightenment itself

practice and enlightenment are inseparable