The Zen of Folding Clothes

What is Zen? I am sure that many people would volunteer answers and these answers will all be different. Each of us would have a different take.

For me, Zen is nothing religious or formal. In fact, it can be viewed as an antidote to religiousness. The beauty of Zen lies in its secular and everyday nature. I once offered an introductory course on Zen to American high school students. During Open House night, I told the parents of my students that Zen is a secular spirituality. In my book, The Zen Teachings of Jesus, I wrote that Zen is an art of living. So many people think of Zen as something ethereal and abstract. But the beauty of Zen lies in its concreteness. Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh is known to teach children mindfulness by asking them to slowly peel an orange, carefully noting the fragrance and the sensations.

Many people think that Zen is a school of Buddhism. But Zen is a product of the Chinese mind, which is very different from the Indian mind. Indians, just like Westerners, excel in abstract thinking. But the Chinese mind comes alive with the concrete.

Let me illustrate with a personal anecdote. I remember lending an iron to my Japanese dorm-mate when I was in graduate school at New York University. If memory serves, it is the summer of 1979. When she returned the iron, she packaged it so beautifully that I was afraid to…