Zen and psychology

1. What is Zen/chinese zen? Zen was originally a school of Indian Buddhism. Bodhisattva Dharma brought Zen to China and spread it to Huineng, the sixth ancestor. Six ancestors gradually changed their practices and advocated epiphany. He believes that sitting, lying and walking in life can be practiced, and everyone has Buddha nature. If we can achieve self-nature, all beings will become Buddhas for a while. This is very different from Indian Zen. It is a kind of Zen that combines China's thoughts of Laozi and Zhuangzi. It has the characteristics of China, is the original idea of China, and is the Zen of China. Since then, it has been widely circulated and praised by the world.

2. What are the characteristics of Zen in China? On the basis of Indian Zen, China Zen combined with China cultural factors and Taoism, and formed a unique Zen thought.

Zen is the Zen of philosophy. What is philosophy? The philosophy of English word philosophy is translated from the Greek word "love wisdom". Philosophy consists of Philoso and Sophia. Philein refers to love and pursuit, and Sophia refers to wisdom. Philosophy is a theory about world outlook, which is theoretical and systematic. The basic or highest problem of philosophy refers to the relationship between thinking and existence, consciousness and matter. The ultimate goal of a meditator is to pursue Prajna (that is, great wisdom) in order to obtain bliss and reach the Buddhist land. Zen practitioners combine Laozi's metaphysical thoughts and constantly explore the relationship between self-awareness and external material. In these senses, Zen is a philosophy, a philosophy of life and a philosophy of practice.

It's dialectical Zen. There are many dialectical manifestations of Zen, but practicing in speculation is the core of Zen. For example, the Zen "Six Ancestors Tanjing" preaches: "Worry is Bodhi", "All living beings are Buddhas, and Buddhas are all living beings", "If you think of stupidity, you are ordinary, if you think of wisdom, you are ordinary"; The speculative sutra in the Diamond Sutra: "Tathagata's posture. In other words, it is not physical. " "When a person grows up, it is not a big body, but a big body." . . . . . There are many such sentences in it. Therefore, Zen is a dialectical Zen that changes thinking and sees the world from different angles.

Zen is the Zen of art and aesthetics. The art of Zen is the ultimate exploration of mind and self. The process of exploration is full of conscious methodology, a way of life, a psychological skill and art to deal with the balance between the world and the heart. Zen theory and Zen machine are reflected everywhere in life.

Especially in today's society, when people practice Zen, they consciously decorate the venue with the simple and ethereal artistic conception pursued by Zen, forming the space art and aesthetic artistic conception under Zen culture, which makes people have a physical association with the word "Zen". Zen represents a quiet, ethereal, peaceful and minimalist spiritual quality, and it is a pleasant aesthetic and artistic experience.

Zen is self-cultivation and conscious Zen. Zen is a kind of self-cultivation and consciousness, and it is a highly conscious behavior. People who practice Zen in different areas may have different specific practices, but they are all pursuing and practicing their own awareness, introspection, reflection and correction; Pursuing mental health, peace, balance, openness and wisdom; And pay attention to the self-relationship, the balanced relationship between me and society, and between me and the world, so as to achieve the realm of abstinence, stability and wisdom of Zen. Therefore, Zen is self-cultivation Zen and conscious Zen.

3. Zen and psychology are related, different and the same? ? Psychology mainly studies people's physical and mental health, interpersonal relationships, intellectual emotions, thinking, personality, behavior habits, interpersonal relationships, family, marriage, occupation and social relations. Zen pays attention to self, spirit, balance and consciousness, thus reaching the realm of Buddhism, that is, perfect harmony and entering a state of bliss.

On the surface, the difference between the two seems obvious, but when we go deep into the practice process and results of Zen, we will find that Zen and psychology are interlinked and have similar spiritual effects on people.

Both Zen and psychology are concerned with personal awareness and growth. Psychological theory seeks the truest self in the heart and trains the subconscious control ability of the team; Practice the skills and experience linked with introspective communication, so that we can always be with the body, become the masters of our own lives, and be independent; It emphasizes that there are resources in everyone's heart, and advocates exploring inner strength to achieve self-reconciliation, self-transcendence and physical and mental unity and balance.

Zen warns people to be consistent in words and deeds, so as to achieve the unity of heart and mouth. Trouble is bodhi. It is to find positive resources in difficulties and turn them into personal experience and wisdom. It is the transformation and process of realizing psychological cognition, as well as specific methodological guidance. "All thoughts are unimpeded, body and mind are integrated, and there is no stagnation" is a sign of peace and balance between body and mind; "Self-nature, Buddhism and sincerity" is the truest self inside; The realm of "Buddha" is a state of psychological perfection of self-transcendence and a high degree of unity and balance of body and mind. There are many such examples in Zen theory and Zen machine, and they cannot be listed one by one.

Zen is a highly conscious psychological practice and a method of self-healing. Although there are many similarities and similarities between Zen and psychology, Zen is a school of religion. Many people solve mental health problems by practicing meditation, but a process of inner self-exploration and healing, a process of dialogue with oneself, is an inner since since the enlightenment. Psychology is a systematic and comprehensive social discipline, which also explains social and human psychological phenomena through quantifiable data, theories and methods. The healing of mental health is more through the interaction of individuals, others and society to achieve the purpose of healing.