Do Zen Buddhists Pray? This One Does, Absolutely
Why does a Zen Buddhist pray, and to whom is he praying?
Zen has no religion, no God, no ceremonial rites, no heaven, no hell, no soul, no sin, and no prayer.
Yet I pray.
I pray when I’m troubled, anxious, worried, or fearful. (What a cosmic joke it was to find out I was praying to myself, Ha!) I don’t pray out of allegiance to a religion or because a priest, pastor, or Zen master told me to pray.
I’m not exactly sure why I pray — the impulse just rises in me, and I do it.
Many recovering Christians in the West were attracted to Buddhism because there was no creator God. I used to say Buddhism was one of the few religions that didn’t piss me off because of the No-God Clause.
Older and wiser now, I don’t have a problem with any religion, with or without God.
Many atheists who rail against Christianity target, The Old Man with a Beard Up in the Sky version. Richard Dawkins, biologist, author, and fervent atheist, used to travel around debating these literal believers. He was picking the low-hanging fruit so he could win. But religion, God, atheism, and Zen are complicated.
