Zen and the Art of

Technical Writing

K.Narssimhan

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What is Zen?

� Dhyan ~ Ch’an ~ Zen

� Bodhidharma took it to China in the 6th century, Japan in the 12th century

� Zen is not a sect but an experience

� The Zen masters ~ not followers but friends of the Buddha

� Self-searching through meditation

� Strict self-discipline and simplicity of living

� No fear, no doubt, no craving, no ambition

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What is a Zen moment?

� Passing away as a petal from a flower

� Intuitive experiences, when you want to see, see it

� When you begin to think, you miss the point, like a good joke

� Eat when you are hungry – don’t eat to impress

� A butterfly flapping away over flowers and leaves

� Learning, observing and experiencing everyday

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Koan

� An absurd question which cannot be answered, any way you try

� ‘What is the sound of one hand clapping?’

� It is unanswerable. No intellectual answers

� One has to meditate on the question

� Zen teachers use in guiding their students towards release

� Problems to stop the word-drunkenness and mind-wandering

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Selling Water by the River

For forty years

I have been selling water

By the bank of a river.

Ho, Ho!

My labors have been wholly without

merit.

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Technical Writing

“Technical writing is the art, craft, practice, or problem of translating that which is logical into that which is grammatical.

Technical writing forms a bridge between the logical (binary concepts understood by computers, robots, and lawyers) and the illogical (the haphazard, inconsistent, misunderstood carbon-based life forms) via the medium of the grammatical (the haphazard system incomprehensible to both).

The practice of technical writing presupposes that you, the illogical, actually want to learn about the logical subject, which of course, in all cases is false.

This basis in a false presupposition makes technical writing a pursuit typically favored by those with arts degrees from obscure universities.” ~ Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy

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Hey! Wait a Minute!

One night when Master Taigan was writing a letter a thief came into his room carrying a big naked sword. Looking at the thief, the master said, ‘Which do you

want – money or my life?’‘I came for money,’ replied the thief.

The master took out his purse and handed it to the man and returned to writing his letter.

The thief began to feel at ease and began to leave the room, over-awed.

‘Hey! Wait a minute!’ called the master.The thief stood back shuddering.

‘Why don’t you shut the door?’ said the master.

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Right posture

� Right posture = right state of mind

� When one's posture is right, he

automatically breathes correctly

� Breathing should be natural and

constant

� ‘Aana pana’ – Buddha’s technique still

practiced

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Every-Minute Zen

Zen students are with their masters at least ten years before they presume to teach others. Nan-in was visited by Tenno. Tenno had recently become a teacher. The day happened to be rainy, so Tennowore wooden clogs and carried an umbrella.

After greeting him, Nan-in remarked, ‘I want to know if the umbrella is on the right or left side of the clogs.’

Tenno, confused, had no instant answer. He realized that he was unable to carry his Zen every minute. He became Nan-in’s pupil. He studied six more years

before becoming a teacher.

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Write Here Now

� Be mindful of each paragraph, sentence, word, letter, punctuation, with total concentration

� Zen teaches us to do everything with total presence of mind

� That is, we need to concentrate on what we are doing now

� Forget about past and leave the future alone

� Just Write Here Right Now

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Joshu’s Zen

A student once asked him, ‘If I haven’t anything

in my mind, what shall I do?’

Joshu replied, ‘Throw it out.’

‘But if I don’t have anything, how can I throw it

out?’

‘Well,’ said Joshu, ‘then carry it out.’

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Letting Go

� Whatever feelings and thoughts arise while writing – just let them pass by with no attachment to anything

� Impermanence

� Zen teaches us to open our minds and see things as they are

� Be ready to let feelings and thoughts come and go without our engaging them or judging them

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Nothing Exists

Yamaoka Teeshu, a young student visited Dokuan.

Desiring to show his knowledge, he said, ‘The mind,

sentient beings do not exist. The true nature of

phenomena is emptiness. There is no giving and

nothing to be received.’

Dokuan, who was smoking silently, said nothing.

Suddenly, he whacked Yamaoka with his pipe. This

made the youth quite angry.

‘If nothing exists,’ enquired Dokuan, ‘where did this

anger come from?’

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Releasing the Ego

� While writing, we must release our ego

� While sending our documents for editing, we

must release our ego more!

� Zen teaches us to amputate our identification

with the ego, which makes us believe and

anticipate

� Once we release the ego, we can move with

flow of energy, moment by moment

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The First Principle

Kosen wrote the words ‘The First Principle’ in calligraphy two hundred years ago for the Obaku

temple in Kyoto.

Legend has it that Kosen’s work was constantly criticized by one of his bold pupils.

Kosen patiently wrote one sheet after another until eighty-four First Principles had accumulated, still

without the approval of the pupil.

Then, when the young man stepped outside for a few moments, Kosen thought, ‘Now is my chance to

escape his keen eye,’ and he wrote hurriedly, with a mind free from distraction.

‘A masterpiece,’ pronounced the pupil.

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Buddha Nature

� Objectivity, harmony, flow

� Write to create a piece of art

� Free yourself from goals and desire

� Body, Mind, Document – Connection

� Transcend all the differences

� No separateness

� Become One

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Learning to be Silent

Four pupils of the Tendai school of meditation, who were intimate friends promised to one another to

observe seven days of silence.

On the first day all were silent. When night came and the oil-lamps were growing dim, one of the pupils

could not help exclaiming, ‘Fix those lamps.’

The second pupil remarked, ‘We are not supposed to say a word.’

‘You two are stupid, why did you talk?’ asked the third.

‘I am the only one who has not talked,’ concluded the fourth.

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Beginner’s Mind

� Stop the mental chatter

� Total concentration

� Total attention to minute details

� “I-don’t-know mind”

� Be alert and willing to work with

whatever is present before us

� Adapt and learn from the situation

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In the Hands of Destiny

A great Japanese warrior named Nobunaga decided to attack the enemy although he had only one tenth the number of men the opposition commanded. He knew

he would win, but his soldiers were in doubt.

Before the battle, he addressed his men and said, ‘I will toss a coin. If it is heads, we will win, if it is tails, we

will lose. Destiny holds us in her hand.’

Heads appeared.

His soldiers were so eager to fight that they won their battle easily.

The coin had heads on both sides.

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Everyday life

� Face challenges with confidence

� Write as you would walk

� Meditate while you write

� Enlightenment is not excitement

� Be here, now!

� Be aware!

This is not the last slide…

…or maybe it is

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Sources of Information

� Zen Flesh, Zen Bones ~ Paul Reps

� Zen: The Path of Paradox ~ Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

� The Book of Five Rings ~ Miyamoto Musahi

� Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance ~ Robert M Pirsig

� The Monk who Sold his Ferrari ~ Robin S Sharma

� K.Narssimhan ~ narsi@commit.in / narsi@commitgroup.com(+91-9820026636)