How to Speak Zenglish
In this week's Dharma talk, Jonathan Prescott offered 5 ways to understand (and benefit from) the teachings of our Golden Age Zen masters. During Zen’s Golden Age in China (6th - 10th centuries), Zen teachers spoke a direct, poetic language. Modern English speakers can have a hard time understanding what they were saying, so Jon suggested that we learn a few Zenglish hints. They include:
The Zen Master is answering a deeper question than the one you asked
Confusion is a good thing
Shouts and blows aren’t about shouts and blows
The best way to say something is to say nothing
Zenglish becomes clear and elegant as you become clear and elegant
Confused? Wonderful! Listen to the talk on our Podcast page, and see if you can crack the Zenglish code.