Zen For Life

For some, Zen Buddhism is not just a religion, it’s a way of life; however, the center of this religion is, in fact, the way that one lives their lives through what is considered the three essentials: body, speech, and mind. Living through these things leads to an inner peace on multiple levels that can seem to be lacking in other religions at times. Why?

Because Zen Buddhism focuses on the things that we use most in our lives—body, speech, and mind—it could be considered as taking our most basic of natures and applying them to a visible sphere of thought and action. Often times, I think that the way humans work is that they act on impulse, not thinking through their actions and what consequences they will cause—be it good or bad. In everyday life, humans can become stressed or sick with a variety or ailments, causing them to lose the balance that is supposed to be kept between the three essentials.

“A simple message of the teaching is that much of the pain, suffering, confusion, and contradiction you encounter in your own life is simply caused by not paying attention to what you have closest to you from the beginning and using it well: speech, body, and mind.” (Snyder) In this passage, we can see that this simple message is very focused on the fact that body, speech, and mind are the roads to keeping the base of your life. It is an essential of what the Zen Buddhism is about, but it is not a belief that what will save you from pain and suffering is that which comes from a higher power. “…adherents are drawn to this 2,500 year old “new” religion because it offers a way to deal with suffering…” (Finney)

Where it does begin is with the individual themselves. The individual must decide whether or not they want their suffering to end, and if they do, then they can apply the knowledge learned from Zen Buddhism to this. While religion often gives people an inner peace of mind where they are taught to accept suffering as a test of their strength of will, it does not eliminate pain, suffering, and confusion altogether. Again, this is where Zen Buddhism comes in and allows the adherent to attain levels of peace in all areas through unity of mind, body, and speech.

If the key elements of Zen Buddhism were even applied to other religions, I believe there would be more peace attained by the adherent.


Finney, Henry. “American Zen's ‘Japan Connection’: A Critical Case Study of Zen Buddhism's Diffusion to the West”. Sociological Analysis, Vol. 52, No. 4, Religious Movements and Social Movements (Winter, 1991), pp. 379-396

Snyder, Gary. “Zen Buddhism in America (1976)”. The Real Work: Interviews & Talks, 1964-1979. New Directions Publishing Corp.