I feel that I should point out, to myself if no one else, that my version of Japanese culture has more to do with its white, Episcopalian (meaning high WASP), American interpretation than with Japan itself. An interpretation, I might add, that is so thoroughly Americanized it allows for the drinking of herbal tea rather than green tea, and the sitting on chairs (or even laying flat on your back) when necessary.
Still, I wonder...is Zen really necessary at all? I mean is it? Or is it just a waste of freaking time? God, I wish I knew.
Because I do feel it might be somehow unnecessary. Doesn't mean I shouldn't practice, but also, if I find it inconvenient to practice, I might want to avoid it.
(OK I'm researching seppuku. Well, it seems to be a samurai practice. As Soto Zen is distinctively "farmer" and not "samurai" Zen [Rinzai] it looks as though I'm well in the clear here. Soto Zen = safe.)
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you should read Murakami's "Norweigan Wood" for a rather Western-centric Japanese perspective. But, it's pretty exploitative on our end, thats for damned sure. if nothing else, it is a great book.
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