Zen and the Art of
Technical Writing
K.Narssimhan
Commit
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What is Zen?
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Dhyan ~ Ch’an ~ Zen
Bodhidharma in the 6th century, Japan in the
12th century
Zen is not a sect but an experience
The Ch’an-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
Serve humanity humbly, with compassion
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What is Zen?
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Passing away as a petal from a flower
Learning, observing and experiencing everyday
Will power, self-reliance, no results, only journey
Strong work ethic, zazen posture, aana-pana,
vipassana
Intuitive experiences, when you want to see, see it.
When you begin to think, you miss the point.
Satisfying sex or a good joke, Eat when you are
hungry – or eat to impress
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What is Zen?
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Practice, Practice and Practice
More observant, more confident, more aware,
more sure
The martial arts – benevolence, humanity and
restraint
No time to think, no time to prepare, no time
to hesitate
One who provokes and one who is provoked
Zen-trained martial artists respond to acts of
aggression
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Koan
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An absurd question which cannot be
answered, any way you try.
It is unanswerable. No intellectual answers.
One has to meditate on the question.
‘What is the sound of one hand clapping?’
Zen teachers use in guiding their students
towards release
Problems to stop the word-drunkenness and
mind-wandering
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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
(the primarily binary concepts understood by computers, robots,
lawyers) and the illogical (the haphazard, inconsistent concepts
misunderstood carbon-based life forms, highly intelligent
computers, lawyers) via the medium of the grammatical, the
haphazardly logical 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 is in all
cases 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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Zen Stories
Children playing with castles
 Japanese warrior Nobunaga and his
coin
 Bankei and his pupil who stole
 The First Principle – Kosen and his
pupil
 Mokusen’s hand – stingy wife
 Every-minute Zen – Nanin and Tenno
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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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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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Write Here Now
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While writing, we should 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.
While writing, we don't have to go anywhere
or achieve anything.
Just
Write
Here
Now
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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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Letting Go
Whatever feelings and thoughts arise
while writing – just let them pass by
with no attachment to anything.
 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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It is very rare!
One day, at mealtime, the Buddha put on his robe, took
his bowl and entered the town of Sravasti to beg for his
food. After he had begged from door to door, he
returned to his place.
When he had taken his meal, he put away his robe and
bowl, washed his feet, arranged his seat, and sat down.
At the time, one of Buddha’s greatest disciples, Subhuti,
rose from his seat, uncovered his right shoulder,
kneeled, joined his palms and said: ‘It is very rare, O
Buddha! It is very rare!’
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Releasing the Ego
While writing, we must release our ego.
 Zen teaches us to sever 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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Scratching the Shoe
The use of words is like
striking out at the moon with a stick
or
scratching one’s shoe because
one’s foot itches.
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Buddha Nature
Buddha Nature – objectivity
 Write to create a piece of art
 Do not write to accomplish something
 Freed yourself from goals and desire
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Have some tea
A master got up to address
a group seeking enlightenment
And had only this to say:
‘Ha! Ha! Ha! What’s all this?
Go to the back of the hall and have some
tea.’
He then got down and departed.
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Body, mind, document
Connection
 Transcend all the differences
 No separateness
 Become One
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The bridge but not the water
flows
The handless hold the hoe.
A pedestrian walks, riding on a water
buffalo.
A man passes over the bridge;
The bridge but not the water flows.
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Practice, Practice, Practice
Total concentration
 Spirit of repetition
 Total attention to minute details
 Repeat the same steps again and again
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Diamond Sutra
One day, the emperor Liang Wu Ti invited
Master Fu Ta Shih to expound the Diamond
Sutra. As soon as he had ascended to his seat,
the master knocked the table once with a
ruler and descended from his seat. The
master asked, ‘Does your majesty
understand?’
‘I do not,’ replied the emperor.
The master said, ‘I have finished expounding
the sutra.’
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Beginner’s Mind
No hesitation
 Stop the mental chatter
 “I-don’t-know mind”
 Adapt and learn from the situation
 Be alert and willing to work with
whatever is present before us
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Gateless Gate
‘The great path has no gates,
Thousands of roads enter it.
When one passes through this gateless
gate
He walks freely between heaven and
earth.’
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Everyday life
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Zen is not religion
Enlightenment is not excitement
Writing is writing
They are part of everyday life
Write as you would walk
Meditate while you write
Face challenges with confidence
It is time to get back to work
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Sources of Information
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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
Zen Flesh, Zen Bones ~ Paul Reps
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This is not the last slide…
…or maybe it is.
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