Zen in the Art of Teaching - Part 1

A photo I took in Kyoto, Japan, 2016

Life is never dull and the universe is never stationary.

I am reading a provocative little volume by Eugen Herrigel called Zen in the Art of Archery published in 1953 after the author spent some years in Japan in order to understand Zen and ended up learning the practice of archery. The book has been credited with popularising Zen in the so-called "west", particularly in Europe and The United States.

There is a lot to be said for Zen Buddhism, but, blow me down, if this little book got it quite wrong. That is, Herrigal gave us the idea that Zen and archery are intertwined in Japan and, like a number of Japanese rituals (for example, the tea ceremony) has become a core method for learning Zen.

I learned this when I dug further into how the book came about. It's all to do with the translator that Herrigel had to use while he was a student of archery and then he wrote in German, after which it was translated back into Japanese and a number of other languages. Circular translation at work. It turns out that archery was really only ever used for physical exercise or pleasure.

Anyway, enough of this preamble.

Reading the book made me wonder about Zen. At the same time I was watching a series on SBS OnDemand called Ride Upon the Storm about a Lutheran priest and his family in Copenhagen, in which Buddhist ideas had a strong part to play with one of the characters. And, for some reason, it got me thinking about teaching and religion and ... life and other catastrophes.

YOU WALK INTO A CLASSROOM AFTER THE STUDENTS HAVE ENTERED AND ASK THEM FOR QUIET SO YOU CAN TAK THE ROLL. IT'S THE LAST LESSON ON FRIDAY, YOU KNOW THE ONE. IT'S BEEN AN UNSEASONABLY WARM DAY AND THE ROOM IS A LITTLE STUFFY, EVEN CLAUSTROPHOBIC. THE STUDENTS ANSWER YOU ONE-BY-ONE FROM THEIR TABLES. YOU KNOW THAT YOUR INTENTION TODAY IS TO SET THEM TO WORK IN TEAMS TO COMPLETE A TASK THAT REQUIRES SOME RESEARCH, DISCUSSION, CONSENSUS-REACHING, DIVISION OF TASKS AND ROLLS. BY THE END OF THE TASK THEY WILL HAVE GAINED IMPORTANT KNOWLEDGE AND HONED THEIR SKILLS.

YOU OPEN UP THE SESSION TO QUESTIONS FROM THE KIDDIES. THIS IS A GOOD THING, YOU REASON, BECAUSE THEY NEED TO HAVE A CLEAR IDEA OF THE TASK THAT LIES AHEAD OF THEM.

"WHY DO WE HAVE TO DO THIS, SIR?"

"BECAUSE IT'S PART OF THE COURSE, JASMINE (IT'S ACTUALLY JAZMYNNE)."

"BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT," COMES OUT IN A SORT OF WHINE.

"WHAT DONA'T YOU UNDERSTAND, THEN?" A REASONABLE QUESTION WHEN YOU WANT TO CLARIFY IT FOR HER.

"EVERYTHING."

That's one thing about life. Mostly it feels like it is "everything". But, sometimes it turns out to be nothing. What's all that about?

Anyone got an answer?

Yeah. I know one, some people say. 

What is it? I ask.

You just have to live it, they reply.

But what's that mean? I ask again.

You have to live it to know, they say.

Nothing but smartarses, them!

Just be there, says one of them. 

Probably a try-hard and even more of a smartarse.

"WELL, JAZMYNNE, THAT'S NOT SOMETHING I CAN EASILY HELP YOU WITH." [YOU PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE SAID 'WITH WHICH I CAN EASILY HELP YOU' BUT ITS FRIDAY AFTERNOON]

"BUT SIR, IT IS PRETTY HARD," ADDS ANOTHER SUFFERING LEARNER FROM THE BACK OF THE ROOM WHERE YOU HAPPEN TO BE STANDING. 

YOUR HEAD SWIVELS TO STARE AT THE SPEAKER AND REALISE THAT YOU CAN'T AVOID THIS MOUNTING CHALLENGE. DANTE (THE SAID SPEAKER) DUCKS HIS HEAD AS IF HE'S ABOUT TO BE SWALLOWED UP BY AN INFERNO AND THE POSSIBILITY A RELATIVELY QUIET FRIDAY AFTERNOON MELTS INTO THE CERTAINTY OF AN ACTUAL LESSON.