What is Zen? ... 2
The essentials of the doctrine known to us as Zen antedate Buddhism. They are implicit in Lao Tzu, who was a contemporary of the Buddha in the Far East, and they are explicit in Chuang Tzu a couple of generations later. The Tao Te Ching was not the annunciation of a new doctrine, but a commentary on a teaching already ancient.
Zen doctrine has come down to us in a Buddhist context and it is impregnated with the teaching of the Buddha. Even if the traditional origin of the Flower Sermon could be regarded as authentic the Chinese element has an independent origin in the original Taoism.
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Has no materialist ever suggested that Zen is the reductio ad absurdum of Buddhism? If not, why not?
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The Void of Buddhism becomes more readily understandable if it may be regarded as meaning that which is void of qualities, evaluations projected by the dualistic human mind.
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