SecularFuture

If you knew an atheist who was looking for some philosophical inspiration, could Zen Buddhism be an option? Would he/she need to ignore a lot of superstitious crap just to see the meat and potatoes? Or is Zen Buddhism mostly free of that?

Toto

The most western forms of Zen have no superstition, but they do have a lot of ritual and hierarchy. The point of Zen Buddhism is not belief, but the practice of meditation.

You can read Allan Watts to get an attractive picture.

An atheist who want philosophical inspiration could just study philosophy.

aupmanyav

I would say, study buddhism or zen for sure, then go to 'advaita' and jettison all rituals and heirarchy to be on your own.

abaddon

Yes, it’s an option. Atheist or not, one’s beliefs about the universe are just the burden he takes with him.

No, he/she doesn’t need to ignore a lot of superstitious crap in Zen because the superstitious crap in question is the philosopher himself; the world being just what it is, untamed by anyone’s philosophy however “inspired”.

What’s true? what’s false? is for tourists. Zen’s not an issue of believing.

~~ Hsin Hsin Ming

Apostate1970

I think that every religious or spiritual tradition deserves a sympathetic reading. I also happen to think that few can withstand a fair reading for long before they're shown to include elements that are malicious or absurd or otherwise corruptive to people. No existing religion can do so forever. I think that Buddhism in some forms or traditions (Mahayana, Zen), can withstand a fair reading longer than most and that most people could benefit greatly from a sympathetic reading.

William

Sufism and Zen are probably the biggest non-western philosophical traditions that have influenced me. As far as Zen goes, I always recommend Philip Kapleau's "Three Pillars of Zen" because that was the first book I ever read on it, and I think it is a fabulous introduction. For the academically-oriented mind, D.T. Suzuki's stuff is nice, and for an easier read, S. Suzuki is really great. Meditation is at the heart of Zen, but it still appears to me that the heirarchical (and some superstitious) elements of it might hurt more than help. Then again, everything has its place. Whatever helps helps, and sometimes heirarchy does that for people. At any rate, I'd say it depends on the atheist. If an atheist were interested in Zen, I'd recommend for them to do what I did. Read some literature, try some short but regular meditations, and see what's up from there.

Having a good internet forum with people knowledgeable about Zen definitely helps as a supplement to all this as well

+or-1

Nope.

Gamer4Fire

Sure, I'd suggest it as a philosophical exercise. It isn't much of a religion, seeing as how it doesn't contain am inherent belief system.

Kharakov

What, with all the others who have taken the non-conformist's oath?

aupmanyav

Who asks you to confirm?
p.s. - Confirm to what?