... no God to worship, no ceremonial rites to observe, and no future abode to which the dead are destined. In essence Zen is free from all these dogmatic and religious impediments. Whatever teachings there are in Zen, they come out of one's own mind. Fundamentally we teach ourselves and Zen merely points the way. Zen Buddhism is not a religion but rather more of a philosophy in which one uses to discover their true self. To fully understand the power of Zen Buddhism one must reject the external world and embrace the 'vast emptiness within (de Bary, 378). Zen's principle is to discipline the mind itself, to make it its own master, through an insight into its proper nature (de Bary, 392). The process of getting into the real nature of one's own mind or soul is the fundamental object of Zen Buddhism. Zen, therefore, is more than meditation ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now