If I were asked who my favourite
Western Zen philosopher was, without any
hesitation, I would declare it to be Henry
David Thoreau. Although he knew in
translation
the religious writings of the Hindus, it
may be unlikely that Henry David Thoreau ever
studied the teachings of the Zen
Masters. Even then, the insight within
his own personal
writings would irrefutably make him master
of his own temple. The wisdom found
within
Thoreau's Walden can be clarified through
Zen Buddhist beliefs and ideas as the two seem
to typically compliment each other.
Where, you might ask, does religion
fit into the travelling adventures of Henry
David Thoreau? Religion has been a part of the literary tradition
from the very start.
Some of the first books ever produced were
handwritten copies of the Bible.
Pamphlets,
poems, odes, and epics throughout the
centuries have continued to reflect religious
content.
I have also read insightful essays about the hidden Christian Symbolism
in A. A.
Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh. Well, why not the presence of Zen Buddhism
within the
teachings of Thoreau's Walden? In accordance with the history of literature,
one might
say "Why not?"; in accordance
with Walden's content, I would say, "I couldn't see it
being any other way."
What is Zen Buddhism anyway? In the book Zen Buddhism, D.T. Suzuki says
that
"Zen in its essence is the art of
seeing into the nature of one's own being, and it points the
way from bondage into freedom"
(3). In the theory of Zen, our bodies
contain a spiritual
form of energy. When this energy is consciously tapped, we
will be aware of all the
underlying impulses and desires of our
heart. This "freedom" will
cause us to experience
Kensho, (seeing into one's own nature),
thus becoming happier and more loving to those
around us.
To reach the Buddhist goal of becoming one with everything, a person has
to
embrace "nothing". What is meant in the embracing of
"nothing" is that one must
abandon his or her own ego and explore
beyond the limits of social conformity.
The
problem that lies in the way of reaching
this "energy" is that most people have suppressed
it due to personal and society driven
ignorance. When this barrier is
overcome, we are in
tune with the significance and knowledge
of life. In his thoughts and in his
words,
Thoreau has seemed to utilize that energy
in Walden, opening his "third eye" to the world
around him
Zen teacher Choa-chou said that,
"Zen is your everyday thought" and Walden is a
collection of the everyday thoughts of
Henry David Thoreau. Walden is a factual
record
of Thoreau's life experiences living alone
in a house that he built with his own hands, on
the shore of Walden Pond in Concord
Massachusetts. Zen suggests that to
solve life's
problems, one must directly implore the
elements of personal experience as opposed to
book-knowledge. This approach is known as Jiriki. Jiriki refers to a person's own
attempt to "attain enlightenment
through his or her own efforts".
In Walden, Thoreau
offers the outcomes of his experience to
the reader in hopes that they too will gain
freedom from them.
While living on the shores of Walden,
Thoreau's simple lifestyle can almost be
summed up with the Zen saying "Chop
wood, carry water". Thoreau earned
his living by
the labour of his own hands and considered
his lifestyle, "very natural and pertinent"
(728).
Thoreau achieved tranquillity by means similar to those found in Zen
scripture.
He writes,
"So many autumn, ay, and winter days, spent outside the town, trying to
hear
what was in the
wind" (736). This is, to me,
reminiscent of the Zen koan "What is the
colour of
wind?"
Throughout the pages of Walden, Thoreau
seems to praise the simplicity of the
animal world that
is lacking in humankind. Commenting on
survival, Thoreau states that,
"None of the
brute creation requires more than Food and Shelter . . . for not til we have
secured these are
we prepared to entertain the true problems of life with freedom and a
prospect of
success" (733-734). This simplicity of survival has been a
constant part of
Zen life. Master Rinzai, founder of the Rinzai Sect of
Zen, remarked, "When hungry, I
eat; when tired,
I sleep. Fools laugh at me. The wise understand". Both Thoreau and
Zen religion
appear to place animals on a higher plane of existence for their intuitive
behaviour. In Walden's Economy, (or "philosophy of
living"), Thoreau writes,
One farmer says to me, "You
cannot live on vegetable food solely, for it
furnishes nothing to make bones
with;" and so he religiously devotes a part
of his day to supplying his
system with the raw material of bones; walking
all the while he talks behind
his oxen, which, with vegetable-made bones,
jerk him and his lumbering
plough along in spite of every obstacle.
(732)
Irmgard Schloegl's book, The
Wisdom of the Zen Masters, contains a Zen quote
conveying a similar message on the
elevation of animal behaviour in life.
The quotation is
as follows,
Master Nansen, asked by a monk,
"Where does he go who knows what is
what?" replied: "He
becomes an ox of the monastery supporter down the
hill, to requite him for his
help." When the monk thanked him
for his
teaching, the Master added:
"At midnight yesterday, the moon shone in at
the window." (69)
Thoreau was known to have said,
"Our life is frittered away by detail . . . Simplify,
simplify". However, this regard of simplicity seemed to
conflict with the opinions of
society.
If one were to follow the advice that
Walden give's us for living, as Thoreau puts
it, "God will see that you do not
want society" (823). In The Norton Anthology
of
American Literature, Hershel Parker, of
the University of Delaware comments that,
"[Thoreau's] life became a refusal to
live by the materialistic values of his neighbours"
(709).
Henry David Thoreau had no desire for material possessions. He writes: "I had
three pieces of limestone on my desk, but
I was terrified to find that they required to be
dusted daily, when the furniture of my
mind was all undusted still, and I threw them out in
disgust" (746-747). After all, as Zen master Mumon said,
"The treasures of the house do
not come in by the front door". Thoreau abandoned the objects that did not
necessitate
the living of his life. Often in life we acquire new things even
though objects still
possessed could do the desired job. Thoreau was uncomfortable with that quality
of man
pronouncing that, "bare feet are
older than shoes, and [one] can make them do" (739).
This statement is quite similar in thought
to a Diogenes quote found in The Little Zen
Companion:
"I threw my cup away when I saw a child drinking from his hands at
the
trough" (133). Thoreau believed that money unnecessary for
the lifestyle of his choosing.
He believed that, "None can be an
impartial or wise observer of human life but from the
vantage ground of what we should call
voluntary poverty" (735). This
belief is shared
with the Zen masters. Zen text says:
A monk asked Chao-chou, "If a poor
man comes, what
should one give him?"
"He lacks
nothing," answered the Master.
By chatting unnecessary things,
you are left, in turn, with fewer things to worry about.
Thoreau's own comment about the society
around him was that, "We worship not the
Graces, nor the Parcae, but Fashion"
(740). In Walden, Thoreau spins a tale
to illustrate
the point,
Madam Pfeiffer, in her adventurous travels
round the world, from east to
west, had got so near home as
Asiatic Russia, she says that she felt the
necessity of wearing other than
a travelling dress, when she went to meet
the authorities, for she was now in civilized country, where ---
people are
judged of by their
clothes'. (739)
This curious anecdote brings into mind an
ancient Zen Story,
Wealthy donors invited Master Ikkyu to a
banquet. The Master arrived
there dressed in beggar's robes. His host, not recognizing him in this
garb,
hustled him away. The Master went home, there changed into his
ceremonial robe of purple
brocade, and again presented himself at his
host's doorstep. He was received with due respect, and ushered
into the
banquet room. There he put his stiff robe on the cushion,
saying, I expect
you invited the robe since you
showed me away a little while ago,' and
left.
These were, according to
Thoreau, the "childish and savage taste of men" (741). Walden
powerfully displays how deep the routine
of tradition and conformity are entrenched into
civilized life.
Thoreau believes that the problem
with society is their dependence on conventional
habit.
Men are "machines" and "are so occupied with the
factitious cares and
superfluously coarse labours of life that
its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them" (730).
Further into Walden, Thoreau comes to the
realization that, "the life of the civilized people
[is made] an institution, in which the
life of the individual is to a great extent absorbed, in
order to preserve and perfect that of the
race" (744). It can be seen that
Thoreau thinks
that individualism has been lost in
civilized man. He concludes that
civilization would be
"Better if they had been born in the
open pasture and suckled by a wolf, that they might
have seen with clearer eyes the field that
they were called to labour in" (729).
This may be
related to the thoughts of Tao te Ching,
who said "Act without doing; work without
effort". Tradition may be broken as well. In Walden, Thoreau's insight is that "It is
never too late to give up our
prejudices" (731). Social biases
are shunned in Zen Religion.
There are no separations; you are one with
everything. Thoreau repeats his point by
saying that, "The finest qualities of
our nature . . . can be preserved only by the most
delicate handling. Yet we do not treat ourselves nor one another
thus tenderly" (730).
Henry David Thoreau is the Master and
I am the student. He truly believed in
living his life rather than wasting
it. I believe that he attained Buddhahood
by finding the
nature of his own true being. Using Walden as a vessel for his awakened
wisdom,
Thoreau would like everyone to experience
Kensho and identify with their own true
nature, "Let every mind his own
business, and endeavour to be what he was made" (821).
In Thoreau's mind, life was not
constricted by rules. He boldly states
in Walden, "Here is
life, an experiment" (732). It almost seems as if Thoreau had based his
own life on the
teachings of Chinese philosopher
Tao-te-Ching:
In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and
generous.
In governing, don't try to
control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely
present.
Yamada Roshi, great Zen master
declared that "The purpose of Zen is the perfection of
character". Keeping that in mind, I believe that Walden has secured Henry David
Thoreau's place as one of the greatest Zen
philosophers.
WORKS CITED
Schiller,
David, trans. and ed. , The Little Zen Companion. New York: Workman, 1994.
Schloegl, Irmgard, trans. and ed. , The
Wisdom of the Zen Masters. New York: New
Directions Books, 1976.
Wood, Ernest, Zen Dictionary. Japan: Charles E. Tuttle Co.,
1973.
ENDNOTES
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