The destination…

…and the Journey.

  It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.

Which of course everyone knows, or at the very least has heard.

But that’s also the case when it comes to so-called enlightenment, satori, Ultimate Truths, or however you want to label it.

Though listening to a wide range of masters or gurus you would be hard-pressed to gather that precious nugget.

That’s the impression I was left with anyway having listened to a number of Zen podcasts during my last trip to the coast.

Looking for something a little different from the audiobooks I had been listening to, stuff such as Henry Miller’s Paris, 1928, as well as a few Daniel Negreanu poker podcasts, I had punched ‘Zen’ into the search menu.

Then, being relatively new to the whole podcast universe I simply tapped on the first or second that came up.

Now, I don’t mean to be critical of the efforts of others. Thirty years ago, embarking on my own voyage of discovery, I probably would have lapped these things up, been drawn into their labyrinths and puzzled over every word, every idea.

But that was then.

A lot of life has intervened, as tends to happen when you forge ahead with earnest though muddleheaded curiosity.

Now, thirty years on, I know without a doubt in my mind what a genuine Zen master would say, or more accurately do, to this latter day bunch of Zen Meister wannabes.

He or she would deliver such a resounding smack on the shin with whatever came to hand that these over serious pretenders wouldn’t soon fill the air with their endlessly rehashed koans, metaphors, and scriptural interpretations.

What is Zen?

Simple.

It is Life.

Do you play a sport, say football or basketball, dance, play a musical instrument?

A genuine Zen master wouldn’t fill your head with explanations and ideas, he or she would smile and without a word hand you a football, a basketball, dancing shoes or slippers, guitar, violin, whatever.

And then, if you asked more than one question, would grab the nearest stick and chase you from the hall.