Perhaps there are no practices as indescribable than the practice of zen, for even within the strands of practice that use its name there is so much controversy about what it is, or what it means. Usually, definitions are simple. It is like a deep exploration into the chaos of everything all at once, only to renounce everything at the same time.

Japanese zen was brought to the US by D.T Suzuki in the early 1900s. D.T Suzuki was a brilliant philosopher and speaker, and did several projects with spiritual masters, as well as with psychologists such as Carl Jung. D.T Suzuki’s explanation of zen was exhaustive; he articulated the depths of what it was in such a way that a western mind could retain what was consistent with our language and worldview, while also recognizing the deep mystery that was beyond our ability to understand.

It is very important to understand that zen does not come from western ideologies. In fact, the study of zen can cause mental disturbances for those of us without a firm grasp on the philosophies that underly zen.

After D.T Suzuki, there came Shunryu Suzuki, who started the San Fransisco Zen Center, and during the 1960s popularized zen as a practical way of life. Shunryu Suzuki did not give much attention to philosophical matters, at all. Instead, the style of zen brought to Americans by the second Suzuki, was simple, direct, and neither peaceful nor violent; it was just what it was.

At the San Fransisco Zen Center, you will notice that the chant that is recited before zazen practice is much different than you would hear at a Tibetan meditation hall. The explanation of the four noble truths of the Buddha is given in opposite context. Rather than recognizing with the mind, and training the intellect to see the world differently, the zen practitioner simply renounces the mind itself by proving its invalidity as a container of truth.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are easy to view from the lens of zen because the first few sutras are very clear that it is the disturbances of the mind that cause the seer (purusha) to misunderstand reality. This is consistent with zen, which says that there is no such thing as mind (i.e. mind is an illusion) and therefore considering what the mind is doing from the perspective of the mind is absurd. True enough.

What differentiates the Yoga Sutras from this type of zen is that we are giving ourselves permission to consider, intellectually, what is happening. In yoga, we see two aspects of consciousness; the field of consciousness itself (chitta) and the fluctuations that disturb that field (vritti). Yoga is not trying to end the field, it is trying to bring a sense of calm and peace. From the perspective of yoga, practicing zazen or other types of zen meditation are in line with the efforts of the eight limbs. Zazen is asana, in its most rudimentary form, and is therefore a valid practice of yoga, if you want to call it that. The states of mind, per se, that come about from the practice of zen are described differently by zen, as opposed to yoga.

According to Shunryu Suzuki’s zen, you do not need to do anything special at all to become buddha. In fact, you already are buddha, you are simply unaware of this because you believe your mind.

Similarly, but explained slightly different, is the perspective of yoga, which believes in the self (atman), and that your practice should be a journey towards the self. The self, being impossible to destroy, outlasts all aspects of subjective realities provided by the physical manifestations of prakriti. As such, we can see that yoga is a bit more complicated.

Practicing zazen is a practice of admitting to yourself that you are buddha. When you take meditation in this way you are accepting that part of yourself. Because you are buddha aside from only what is disturbing you in your mind, it is perfectly valid, then, to disavow the mind entirely. That is to say that there is no mind, at all. Believing, thus, that there is no mind, completely and without hesitation, is to believe that you are buddha, and in some ways of looking at it, this may be all that is required to break the spell of samsara. If we were to simply “open our eyes” we would see that it is all an illusion, and that we are all buddhas in disguise.

So, in closing, the practice of zen is a stand alone way of life that is even simpler than the path of yoga. If we see ourselves as yogis, we may choose to practice zen as a part of our sadhana. If we see ourselves as zen practitioners, then that is fine too.