Zen and the busy city
© Zen Lab
Leipzig is one of Germany’s fastest growing cities. It has a thriving arts and culture scene as well as a music scene with worldwide repute. The east of the city is home to the infamous Eisenbahnstraße dubbed by the German media as “the most dangerous street in Germany”. Although there is some truth to the claims that the Eisenbahnstraße is home to drug dealers, criminals and sex workers, the street is also a thriving example of Germany’s emerging multi-culturalism; a street where immigrants, refugees, economic migrants and leftwing activists and hipsters rub shoulders on a daily basis. It’s a place of loud and chaotic interaction.
David Dörken and Clara Schüler, two of the Zen Lab’s founders © Zen Lab
And yet, in a nondescript side street, one can find tucked away on a corner the peaceful and quiet space of the Zen Lab. The Zen Lab is a community run and community funded project which aims to bring Zen practice and meditation to the city of Leipzig. I interviewed two of the Zen Lab’s founders, David Dörken and Clara Schüler, about the project and how Zen might help us live and consume more consciously in the busy, modern world.
Justin Honeyford: To begin, maybe you could say briefly what exactly is Zen Buddhism?
David Dörken: Zen Buddhism is a traditional approach to study body, mind and phenomena. It is a practice that facilitates personal and communal transformation in the direction of wisdom and compassion - to support a satisfactory life. In the West, it grew during the anti-war movements in the 60s. People were dissatisfied with the Western consumer lifestyle and what it led to as a society. Zen originates from India and then China and found its most prominent form in Japan.
JH: Could you tell our readers how the Zen Lab project came about? What motivated you to start a meditation space in the heart of such a busy and lively district?
DD: I started meditating a few years ago when I met the Zen teacher Richard Baker through my parents. I always went to the monastery in Johannishof, in the Black Forest. I went there a few times and was meditating on my own and I felt that most people weren’t my age, they were in their 40s, 50s or 60s. Me being in my mid-twenties, I felt like there were so many life questions that I have like: what am I supposed to do? How is it possible to live a more conscious, fulfilling life? What are the foundations of my decisions? All of these types of questions that you have in your mid-twenties or mid-thirties when everything is still in progress and I felt I couldn’t really share them with the practitioners around me.
I was looking for people like me who also had questions that will influence their life or people that are open to go in new directions. Then I found an already existing Zen place in Leipzig. It’s a more formal Zen practice. It’s quite nice. But my experience was still the same: it was mostly people in their fifties practicing once or twice a week. And it didn’t seem like the practice became a part of their life. It didn’t seem like a way of life for them, it seemed more like a hobby, like something you do occasionally. So, my wish was to share this practice with younger people and that’s how the Zen Lab idea started.
JH: Was it a conscious decision to open in the east of Leipzig or was that just convenient for you?
DD: It was a very conscious decision. We felt like we had lots of discussions. Some people couldn’t understand why we wanted to rent this place because from the very beginning we knew it’s probably too small, it’s probably a bit too loud. But my feeling, and some of the group really shared the same feeling, was we didn’t want to hide Zen practice or do it in some random place a bit far away. Rather the idea was, from the very beginning, to do something which invites people in, which is transparent.
I really like the idea that the Zen lab is an old store where you have these big shopping windows which invite people to have a look inside to join. From the very beginning we wanted this kind of openness and this transparency and this exchange between the craziness on Eisenbahnstraße and the calmness of the practice.
© Zen Lab
JH: I’m curious about you offering a meditation class at a festival like Wilde Möhre. Festivals are usually associated with excesses like drinking, dancing, drug taking and more hedonistic pursuits. Meditation is for me the opposite of these pursuits. Did you not feel out of place in such an environment?
DD: I think at these festivals there is a lot of searching going on. I feel Zen practice, or at least we at the Zen lab, feel there is a certain vibe coming through young practitioners searching and going on a path like this. I personally always feel very motivated to integrate these kinds of young people and to have them around. Also politically minded people, people that want to live in different ways or who want to change their circumstances and their environment. Usually you have many of those types of people at a festival. We felt at the festival there were quite a number of these types of people coming to our workshops.
Clara Schüler: Yea, I agree with what David just said about the topic of integration and inclusiveness. I was quite surprised to see how many people came and who were really interested and some who even had had some meditation experience before. Even if they didn’t have experience, they were open and eager to discuss Zen. Some people even said they would come and join us in Leipzig sometime. So that was our main goal and that was really cool that that worked out.
But then, also on the other hand, regarding your question about the hedonistic lifestyle I would say of course there were parts of the festival that I personally didn’t feel part of or where there was a mismatch of how I would like to live my life versus what is being presented there. But also, here, usually I’m not such a fan of having extremes or categorizing things. So even at a festival I can find moments where I am dancing super expressively where I really feel like I am in a sort of meditative state. So I don’t think that a festival and Zen practice are completely two different things where there is no overlap at all.
JH: The theme of TEMA 5 is “Consumption” and our guiding question for this issue is: “What if less was enough?” How might a Zen Buddhist approach the topic of needing and wanting less in our daily lives?
© Zen Lab
CS: I think when considering Zen it’s important to emphasize that Zen practice isn’t about a strict set of rules or about having a picture in mind that it is somehow bad to consume things or bad to be a consumerist and feel guilty for having any experience and try hard to not buy anything. I would say what is more important is to not necessarily see these things as bad in themselves but rather to look at where these desires are coming from. It’s quite interesting to look at what kind of need is behind all of this.
© Zen Lab
So, from a Zen perspective the one interesting thing is to start looking at your own behaviour without categorizing or judging yourself too harshly. A good thing is to first observe what you are actually doing and to maybe see what it does to you, but then also see where this impulse comes from? And then, in my own experience, relating to this “less is more” part is that through Zen practice I have better access to anchor myself within myself. This, at least for me, resulted in wanting less because it gives me more of this feeling of long-term, deeper satisfaction.
JH: In the West ancient traditions such as yoga and meditation have become an entire industry in themselves and often come with an entire range of accessories that can be purchased and used to promote a certain lifestyle which is perceived as “spiritual”. Do you have any thoughts on the commodification of Eastern spiritual traditions such as yoga and meditation in the West?
CS: Yes, so I am a little ambivalent on this question. I mean I think it’s quite obvious if it’s just this outer shell sort of vibe that’s being presented by wearing certain clothes or buying certain cushions and accessories without having anything to do with what is happening inside of you. I think it’s a pity. But then on the other hand, in general, I would say that doing yoga and meditation has really become a much more common thing here in the West nowadays. Or at least everyone has heard of it. I think this also has the advantage that more people are able to come into contact with these practices. My own first contact with yoga was at a university class where yoga was offered, which I think is a very mainstream place to get into contact with such a practice. But I’m very glad that the university offered it. I think the danger of just having this outer shell of certain spiritual looks or objects lies in the fact that from the outside it may seem that this is the thing you are looking for or maybe believe “oh this is it already” and then there is no chance to look deeper. So, I think it always depends on how it is presented.
DD: I really like what Clara said but I do think that when meditation gains wider acceptance it will also become easier to practice deeper and more earnestly in the West. And hopefully, with time, even things like going to the monastery to practice deeper meditation won’t be seen as joining a cult or have any kind of negative bias, for example.
For me, as well as the Zen Lab, we intentionally made the decision to use social media, for example. In a way we have heard the criticisms of other Zen groups who said this could be seen as a superficial approach to Zen Buddhism. But we made the conscious, intentional decision to do so because it should also attract young people who are new to meditation. So, for example, people come to our Zen practice who are attracted through social media, or through Instagram, but then stay because they find something deeper that resonates with them.
JH: For me Zen has a very minimalist ethos and an equally minimalist aesthetic. Are there any practical insights from Zen Buddhism our readers could apply to their own lives, especially those living in bustling, modern cities?
DD: I wouldn’t call it advice, but since you asked for a tip for your readers, I would say that it is important to sit on a regular basis, even for five or ten minutes. I think that the experience of Zen practice is just that: it’s a practice, like a craft that only comes from doing it. And you really can’t get a feeling for it if you don’t start sitting.
And then maybe another tip is to really try and do it for a longer period and then to be patient and try to see if there are any subtle changes that are coming from it. Yea that’s basically my tips: to sit on a regular basis, be patient and observe the subtle changes over time. But also, try not to be too goal orientated about these changes. Try to just make it a routine. Zen Lab project
Foundational principles of Zen
Everything changes.
Everything is interrelated.
Where does Zen Buddhism come from?
In the West, it grew during the anti-war movements in the 60s. People were dissatisfied with the Western consumer lifestyle and what it led to as a society. Zen originates from India and then China and found its most prominent form in Japan.
How did Zen move to the West?
There was a mutual process of Asian teachers immigrating to the West and inspired Westerners seeking teachings and insight in the East.
What are some of the daily rituals and practices of Zen?
To sit in stillness on a daily basis and to learn to intentionally direct your attention. A practice might be to bring your attention to your breath whenever you stop at a traffic light.
