Hakuin Ekaku: “Song of Meditation”

Questions for Further Study

• 1. The word Zen is one that is tossed around casually in the West, often used to refer loosely to some sort of enlightenment or awareness, as suggested by the famous 1974 book by Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Do you think that Hakuin Ekaku would applaud this development or condemn it? Why?
• 2. On the one hand, Zen Buddhism emphasizes calm, meditation, relaxation, enlightenment, and liberation from rational thought. On the other hand, many observers have suggested that the Japanese people lead extraordinarily hectic lives; the Japanese “salaryman,” who works long hours with low prestige in a white-collar profession, has become the subject of frequent commentary. How do you think Japanese society and culture reconcile these two apparently contradictory trends?
• 3. According to one Japanese baseball coach, “Student baseball must be the baseball of self-discipline, or trying to attain the truth, just as in Zen Buddhism.” How do you think Japanese baseball players might apply the principles of Zen Buddhism, and specifically those of the “Zazen Wasan,” to the game? What does it even mean to “attain the truth” in a competitive team sport? Do you think that meditation could make a person a better batter or (in basketball) a better free-throw shooter?
• 4. How can an insect have “the nature or the inherent quality of the Buddha”?
• 5. In what sense can “Zazen Wasan” be thought of as analogous to modern-English translations of the Bible?