Zen meditation is the top choice in the USA for those seeking Buddhism as their religion. Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism. The underlying belief that Zen Buddhism embraces is that all sentient beings have:
~ the universal nature of inherent wisdom
~ Buddha-nature
~ Buddha-nature is nothing other than the nature of the mind itself
Therefore, the goal of all those who practice zen meditation is to find this Buddha-nature within themselves. This is accomplished strictly through mindfulness and meditation.
So, Why Is Zen Meditation Popular In The USA?
Meditation is not easy for those in the western world. Our lives are so full of input that it is difficult for our minds to stay focused. This is commonly referred to as ?monkey mind?. For example, take a drive and just notice how many different things you have run through your head. Chances are you drummed up a whole bunch of random thoughts. Really all you were doing was going for a drive, wasn?t it? I guess not.
Mindfulness is simply being aware of exactly what you are doing. Right now. So, if you are washing the dishes. You are washing the dishes. If you are thinking about sweeping the floor, then you are no longer being mindful. This is easy to do in the USA. You can be practice this no matter what your schedule may be.
Meditation is also easy in the USA. You have the choice of meditating anywhere between 10 minutes and an hour or more. Whatever your schedule may allow. 20 minutes, twice a day, is widely considered to be optimal for a zen practitioner.
Other schools of Buddhism are a lot more involved, for the most part. Some require advanced degrees and large amounts of study. Others require living a specific way. In America, our lifestyles are simply too 'full' as to allow us to fully embrace the other schools of Buddhism. Many monks in the eastern world are able to devote most of their time to the study of Buddhism. In the mean time most of us in the western world choose to practice Zen Buddhism because of it's ability to fit in with our busy 'monkey mind' lifestyles.
Tim Semones
Author Bio
Tim Semones lives in Ohio where he spends much of his time researching and blogging about home medicine and spirituality.
