# Holy Word Monk · Zen and Enlightenment

Author: Shengyan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The enlightenment of Zen, or without a ladder, it is attained with a touch, or through diligent contemplation and sudden self-awakening. The philosophy of Zen is a clear and flowing stream of emptiness, openness, and bright illumination in the human world. The life of Zen is active, free, simple, and a self-fulfilling way of finding peace. The ideology of Zen teaches people to first learn to let go of how, self-deception, self-blame, self-conceit, and self-imposed shackles, so that they can soar freely in boundless skies. The method of Zen teaches people to first practice self-awareness and self-affirmation, and then shatter the self, which is the prerequisite for the manifestation of enlightenment.