This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "The Way of Zen" by Alan Watts. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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Is Zen Buddhism Mahayana? How did ideas from India shape a philosophy that emerged in China?
Alan Watts discusses the origins of Zen Buddhism in his book The Way of Zen. He explains that Zen ideas came largely out of three different traditions. One of these is Mahayana Buddhism, and Watts outlines two concepts that the two philosophies share.
Keep reading to learn how Mahayana Buddhism helped shape Zen Buddhism.
Is Zen Buddhism Mahayana?
Is Zen Buddhism Mahayana? Zen is considered to be a form of Mahayana Buddhism, but Mahayana is only one school of thought that Zen and its ideas trace back to. The others are Taoism and Confucianism, which are Chinese forms of thought and religion. On the other hand, Mahayana Buddhism is an Indian school of Buddhism. Each of the three traditions contributed ideas that would become foundational to Zen Buddhist teachings about life and enlightenment. Let’s examine Mahayana Buddhism and its influence on Zen.
Mahayana Buddhism reframes the pursuit of nirvana, the traditional Buddhist idea of release from karma and cycles of death and rebirth. Mahayana takes the idea of this cycle figuratively, explaining that the pursuit of nirvana is futile and we’re continually reborn from moment to moment until we stop trying to escape what’s really happening in the present moment.
(Shortform note: Mahayana Buddhism is a family of Buddhist traditions (rather than a singular school) that proposes that all beings possess the potential for awakening. So it’s not surprising that while Watts characterizes Mahayana’s views of karma and nirvana as figurative, other scholars offer alternate explanations. Philosopher Jay Garfield explains that it’s a core idea of Buddhism that we’re reborn every moment. Some traditions also teach that we’re reborn to new biological lives while others don’t consider this idea important or take it literally. But Garfield notes that in Mahayana Buddhism, a belief in cycles of biological rebirth is almost a prerequisite: Pursuing awakening is difficult and may require multiple lifetimes to achieve.)
Two ideas from Mahayana Buddhism had a major impact on Zen: the idea that we don’t perceive the world as it really is and the idea that there’s nothing for us to attain in life.
We Don’t Perceive the Real World
Important to Zen is Mahayana Buddhism’s teaching that illusions obscure your perception of the world. Watts explains that the principle of maya is that the language we use to describe the world obscures what it really is. Maya is about relativity: We name things like “light” and “darkness” or “good” and “evil” and consider them opposites. But, in reality, they aren’t separate. Watts explains that Hindus and Buddhists refer to the world as “nondual” rather than as “one” because even the concept of “one” draws on a false duality (it’s conceptually opposite to “many”). Letting go of the impulse to name and delineate things enables you to perceive the relativity and impermanence of the world and experience moksha, a “liberation” from maya.
(Shortform note: Experts say that maya hides the true nature of reality and moksha occurs when we shed the illusions of maya. Writer George Saunders, who practices Nyingma Tibetan Buddhism, explains that Buddhists believe a significant gap exists between the way things are and the way we perceive them, and this causes suffering. Saunders notes that if we could believe what Buddhism teaches—that our lives are impermanent, the world as we know it is transient, and that we have no fixed self—then our pain would disappear.)
It follows from the principles of maya and moksha that language also curtails what you can understand of yourself. Watts writes that in all forms of Buddhism, you can’t apprehend your true self because there’s no permanent or unchanging self to understand. He points out that what you think of as your self or ego is just an abstraction. Your true self eludes your understanding if you hold onto that abstraction.
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Here's what you'll find in our full The Way of Zen summary:
- The major principles and history of Zen Buddhism
- How to experience Zen in everyday life—without a strict meditation practice
- Why calling Zen a "practice" is a mistake
