Introduction
I am a Zen student of the Chosei Zen Dojo that follows the Chozen-ji Rinzai lineage established by Tenshin Tanouye Rotaishi and his teacher Omori Sogen as the first training monastery outside of Japan (Honolulu, HI). Later, Kenneth Kushner Roshi founded Chosei Zen on the mainland in Madison, WI. Gordon Greene Roshi, current Abbot, then established the Spring Green Dojo nearby as a rural training community. I live in Florida, but do both virtual and in-person intensive training with Chosei Zen.
At Chosei Zen, we all practice a martial art and a Japanese fine art to enhance our Zen training because it’s an extremely physical practice through posture and breathing. Tanouye Roshi believed that we could enter Zen through the body and that “Zen without the accompanying physical experience is nothing but empty discussion.” In my case these physical practices are kyudo, iaido, and shado. Even when we do calligraphy, often copying from a manual by Yamaoka Tesshu that he brushed for his wife, it feels like martial arts. The brush is like a sword. Breathing and focus are critical. Ink is laid down not through the wrist, but through the entire body. One of the concepts I have been taught is that what we paint evolves as our minds evolve, becoming truer as we discover the depths of our True Self/Original Nature–like a spiritual diary. I have seen motifs like the Enso painted rendered before and after Zen masters had their enlightenment experiences. There is greater and greater clarity. It is said that painting the Enso is one of the most illuminating activities for a Zen calligrapher. The result is a direct reflection of the state of one’s mind, here and now, in this very moment. When I gaze on the Enso works displayed in my home, I feel the presence of Zen masters and their teachings (Nakahara Nantenbo in particular), stretching back 400 years and even more. The dharma transmission of the mind-seal (inka shomei) from master to disciple ensures that the experience of enlightenment and the teaching of dharma is an unbroken strand that reaches all the way back to Siddhartha Gautama.