Our teacher, Zen master Shinzan illustrates sanzen by the face to face meeting of Zen Master Eno (638-713) and the monk Myo:
‘Eno said, “Not thinking good, not thinking evil, what is your original face before your parents were born?” Original face means true nature – what are you really?
‘Myo was looking, looking, Eno facing him. They were together how long I don’t know. “What is my true face?” – looking, looking. Then Myo exclaimed, “I got it! It is the same as somebody drinking water—they know directly whether it is hot or cold.” Not thinking, no learning, they just know. This is kensho.’
The term “sanzen” (参禅) literally means “to participate in Zen” or “to engage in Zen.” It is derived from two Chinese characters: 参 (san), meaning to participate or join, and 禅 (Zen). We meet “Zen” – we meet the way and also the fruits of the way – in meeting another. Sanzen is not a meeting to discuss intellectual concepts or psychological concerns (although even these things can be grist to the mill) but is rather a transformative encounter that brings the participants face-to-face with the true nature of their mind and existence.
Usually sanzen is thought of as a meeting of student and teacher, but this is not always the case. In the meeting above, Eno goes on to specifically refuse the teaching role, emphasising that he and Myo are fellow students of the fifth ancestor of Zen. Master Shinzan was so persuaded of the power of human beings meeting together in a place of truth that he developed what he called “group sanzen.” This approach involved peer-to-peer encounters as well as meeting the teacher. As you probably know, we continue this group sanzen emphasis in our “Breakthrough to Zen” retreats.
We can consider sanzen even more widely than this. How would it be to do sanzen with every single person you encounter? Could you do sanzen with the barista in the coffee shop? How would it be for you to meet all the daily life manifestations of reality in this place of truth? Could you do sanzen right now with this text, with your hands, with the light in your room? This sanzen encounter is pointed to in the verse:
The donkey looks into the well;
The well looks into the donkey.
Please make sanzen a central part of your practice. Please make every enounter a Zen encounter and an encountering of Zen. Perhaps there is nothing more important than this.