Note: Zen parables may appear short and sweet, but they are also complex. Oh no! A paradox already? To get the most out of teaching Zen parables, spend a little time with them. Reading skills aren’t the only skills students will practice. Critical thinking, cultural understanding, questioning, discussion, and patience are lessons students will find buried in the brief paragraphs of these parables. This article is the first part, or foundation, of two articles dedicated to teaching and learning from Zen parables.
Wax on; wax off — Remember “The Karate Kid?” A bullied boy turns to the building handyman, who passes the time trying to catch flies with chopsticks, to learn karate. The gang of bullies know karate, and young Daniel believes learning is the best way to defend himself. He has a goal, and his goal is to kick some @ss. Instead, he finds himself waxing a car and painting a fence. That’s Zen.
WTF? He finally wonders. “I want to keep my face from resembling raw hamburger, and you want a fresh coat of paint on you fence?” Not cool.
Sometimes learning is like that. There are all these assignments and readings that appear to be “busy work” when you just want the shiny gold star. What happens when we stop focusing on that shiny gold star? Well, learning happens. Memorizing concepts and literary terms to vomit back onto exams isn’t learning. It may be part of the learning process, a necessary evil to facilitate comprehension, but it’s not learning.
Zen: A Little Background
Zen is part religion and part philosophy, yet it is not running around doing acts of kindness, quoting scripture, or worshiping at any sort of temple. Well, unless you consider yourself a temple. Seeking enlightenment requires abandoning everything you have, including your thoughts. Zen seeks to reveal a state of mental tranquility, balance, spontaneity, and fearlessness, which everyone is capable of finding, with practice.
While there is a teacher and a student, the teacher never promises to teach enlightenment. It can’t be taught. It takes practice and patience while requiring the student to actually lose sight of the goal in order to reach it. No doubt the western world values goals and achievement, but our “eyes on the prize” mentality becomes an obstacle when encountering Zen philosophy.
Unfortunately, there’s another problem the western hemisphere encounters when discussing the concept of Zen. Stereotypes overshadow the simplicity of Zen. When we hear the term “meditate,” a Zen practice, we often produce images of half-naked men sitting Indian style, in a forest with a bubbling brook, eyes closed and fingers awkwardly placed on knees, repeating “ohm — ohm — ” over and over again.
Yeah… that’s not it. While the bubbling brook and soft breeze wafting the scent of cherry blossoms is relaxing, it’s not required. (I’ll provide activities and projects in the next article.)
Zen and the Art of Literary Terms: Paradox and Parable
Paradox isn’t an easy concept to teach. The definition is easy. Memorizing the definition is easy. Students tend to “get it” when I point out examples of paradox. But — ask them to find an example and prepare for the “chirp, chirp” of crickets.
When encountering contradictory ideas, images, or statements that defy logic, it’s easy to write them off to some sort of literary hooey, like similes or metaphors or onomatopoeia. Without guidance, students may never learn to appreciate the beauty of stuff that just don’t make no sense.
Parables are brief anecdotal stories, which have multiple levels of meaning. On the surface, they’re short and sweet and easy to understand for literal meaning. Without knowing the official term, most likely, students have been hearing parables since early childhood.
Below the surface is a more complex, thought-provoking tale. Without exploring a parable’s message students may walk away wondering why they had to read such a “stupid” little story. Some parables’ messages may be easier to access than others; but without discussion, the impact of a parable’s message may be lost.
Zen and the Art of “Star Wars”
The Karate Kid” isn’t the only movie to use Zen concepts. Yoda knows “attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed, that is.” Using a scene or two from either “Star Wars” or “Karate Kid” to introduce Zen concepts and facilitate understanding is highly recommended. It may even help to watch, or rewatch, these films before planning a lesson on Zen parables.
So… Which parables should teachers explore with students? How do teachers introduce Zen parables? What classroom activities and projects will achieve the best possible results for comprehension? In the second part of Teaching Zen (Parables, That Is), I’ll provide titles and interpretation for three Zen parables, discussion ideas, and culminating activities and projects to further understanding of Zen philosophy.
More in Education on Y!CN:
Teaching Poetry: How to Help Students Understand Poetry
Three Techniques for Improving Student Writing
Teachers, Let’s Shoot the Breeze: Eliminating Clichés in Student Writing
Sources:
Prentice Hall Literature: World Masterpieces, Volume I. Pearson Education. 2007
