I've been doing research on Zen and Japanese Gardens. Of course it's obligatory and paper-induced, but it's still interesting stuff. Last night I laid around in my bare feet in the back of the library reading what was really either very meaningful or totally meaningless stories about Zen masters. I found this one particularly interesting/fun(ny):

A monk called Hung Chou came to visit Ma Tsu and asked "What is the meaning of Bodhidharma's coming from the West?" (In an earlier passage, it was explained that this question basically means 'What is the truth?') Ma Tsu said: "Bow down to me, first." As the monk was protrating himself, Ma Tsu gave him a vigorous kick in the chest. The monk was at once enlightened. He stood up, clapped his hands and, laughing loudly, cried: "Oh, how wonderful this is, how marvelous this is! Hundreds and thousands of Samadhis and infinite wonders of the Truth are now realized on the tip of a single hair!" He then made obediance to Ma Tsu. Afterwards he said to people: "Since I received that kick from Ma Tsu, I have always been cheerful and laughing."

I knew that Fight Club was influenced by some Zen philosophy, but I didn't realize how much. That's basically the plot basis of the movie right there. Pain leads to enlightenment.

I was really becoming very interested in Zen ideals - meditation, calm, the whole "every day is a good day" bag - until I read through some rules established for Monks in a Buddhist monastary. If you dropped your bowl inside the temple you had to burn a candle and fast for penance. You should also avoid people and scenary outside of the monastary. There were a lot more that I can't remember. First of all, I don't understand the whole paying penance for dropping of a bowl. The idea behind Zen is not a God-figure, it's attaining a level of consciousness. How can you disrespect a level of consciousness by dropping a bowl? Even if it were about a God figure, it would be sad to think that he was that picky. As for not leaving the monastary...they go on to say enlightment is found in everything from a pile of dung to a face, but then they seclude themselves completely from these things? That just doesn't make sense to me.

The single coolest thing I read went as follows:

The greater the doubt, the greater the awakening:
The smaller the doubt, the smaller the awakening.
No doubt, no awakening.

Awesome, I'm on track.