Love is all you need

Posted on: Thu, 05/10/2007 - 09:56 By: Tom Swiss

"Love is all you need". That's playing in Mojo Bar right now.

I was reading one of the books I picked up Tuesday, on the nature of "not being religious" in Japanese culture. The author seemed to be a fan of Shin, or Jodo, Buddhism, where you put your faith and trust in Amida Buddha. At first this to me seemed to be a cheap way out, but then I realized that it was a pretty good form of "love" yoga.

The ancient Hindu teachers recommended several forms of yoga, or "yoking", binding, as religious practice. Today the term yoga is often thought to refer just to the path of physical culture, but there was also the path of work, the path of love, and the path of psychological investigation. Different paths are appropriate for people of different disposition.

All of these can also be found within Zen. The Zen martial arts are very much a physical culture working toward enlightenment. Practical working Zen is there in the story of Hui Neng, and in many classic koens. The path of love is found in Zen in the image of Kannon, and in other forms of Buddhism in the compassion of Amida Buddha. And zazen is a path of psychological investigation.