ZEN DISEASE: A critical examination of zen Bhäraté : There's something ruthless about zen. An-Yi : Indeed. Embracing any dogma or ideology whole-heartedly is a ruthless process. Daiki : To me, zen seems like an approach to dying – all that it does is negate. Bhäraté : Yes, and then it negates the process of negating. It's utterly absurd. Chariya : (laughing) And do you think that life is logical? Cut all desire Clear all pretense away Remove all compassion Never let manners get in the way Cut concepts of past or future Let "wisdom" wash away Eradicate all morals Erase any doubt about what I say Cut! Cut! Cut! Until there is Only nothingness Only the sword knows the way An-Yi: (sighing) Ah, all sorts of problems happen when little men love their swords… Bhäraté: Hey – the same thing happens when big men love their machine guns… An-Yi: Hasn't there been enough cutting in this world world already? When is the time to mend? ===================================================================================== from _Pan-Asian Pulses: Poetry, Art, and Dialogs about Asia_ by T Newfields SUMMARY: A poem and dialog about Zen sickness, nihilism, and negation. KEYWORDS: Zen sickness, Zen nihilism, negation, anti-Buddhist thought Author: T Newfields [Nitta Hirou / Huáng Yuèwǔ] (b. 1955) Begun: 2005 in Tokyo, Japan ≜ Finished: 2022 in Yokohama, Japan Creative Commons License: Attribution. {{CC-BY-4.0}} Granted < LAST https://www.tnewfields.info/BambooGroves/orchid.htm TOC https://www.tnewfields.info/BambooGroves/index.html NEXT > https://www.tnewfields.info/BambooGroves/when.htm TRANSLATIONS DEUTSCH: https://www.tnewfields.info/de/zenk.htm ESPAÑOL: https://www.tnewfields.info/es/zen-enferm FRANÇAIS: https://www.tnewfields.info/fr/zen-m.htm NIHONGO: https://www.tnewfields.info/jp/zen.htm