A monk asked Joshu why Bodhidharma came to China.
Joshu replied, “An oak tree in the garden.”
The above exchange is a Mondo, a Zen dialogue between a Master and a disciple. If you are bewildered by the response of the Master, you cannot be blamed. Welcome to the world of Zen! A world which goes beyond the logical and the rational to get to the transcendental dimension. Zen is crazy! If you are too hung up on the rational and logical method, then Zen would appear shocking to you.
Zen Masters routinely use absurdity as a weapon to thwart the intellectual probing of the student. Zen believes that the state of enlightenment cannot be arrived at through a process of reasoning. Because it lies beyond the domain of the intellect. It also cannot be reached through encyclopaedic knowledge which is not relevant to the quest. The knowledge of why Bodhidharma went to China is not going to emancipate the student even one bit. So instead of answering the question, Joshu deliberately baffles the intellect of the student: An oak tree in the garden!! The intellect stops dead in its tracks. With the intellectual rambling out of the way, the Master can now work on the disciple.
Come. Taste the flavour of Zen. Soak in the wisdom of the great Zen Masters. It’s unlike anything you have experienced before.
REVIEWS
Dr Priyaranjan Mohan *****
One of the best books I have read in recent times. The writing is clear and engaging. This book is an absolute delight and essential reading for anyone with even a casual interest in this subject matter.
Sameer Gudhate ****
Ever wondered why a monk would respond to a question about Bodhidharma with, “An oak tree in the garden”? Welcome to the whimsical world of Zen, where rationality takes a backseat, and enlightenment is a dance beyond logic. Narendra Murty’s “An Oak Tree in the Garden” invites us to waltz through this mystical journey of Zen, exploring the universe beyond the intellectual horizon.
A book that’s not exactly a story but a mirror reflecting societal conditioning. Murty unravels Zen mysteries through paradoxical Koans, urging us to shed intellectual layers. This isn’t just a narrative; it’s a guide, a tool for breaking free from the ordinary and profane, opening our eyes to the transformative power of Zen. Murty’s pen dances between simplicity and clarity, sidestepping intellectual landmines. He doesn’t explain Zen; he nudges us to feel it. Paradoxes pepper the pages, challenging our thinking. The book becomes a journey, an exploration of Zen’s essence made easy, like a poetic unravelling of mysteries.
In the book, Murty introduces us to the characters of our minds. He peels back layers, exposing societal conditioning. The ideas are not just original; they’re revolutionary. This isn’t a book; it’s a call to perceive beyond norms, a guide to genuine understanding.
Imagine a book that explores truth without being shackled by language. Murty connects Zen to real-world issues, using allegories that resonate. The narrative becomes a journey beyond intellect, a call to break free and experience enlightenment. This isn’t just a book; it’s an emotional rollercoaster. Moments of intellectual collapse echo our journey of self-discovery. It’s not just thought-provoking; it’s a symphony that urges us to question and evolve.
Murty’s strength is simplicity in conveying Zen’s complexity. The book excels in peeling away layers, fostering genuine understanding. Each story is a sledgehammer to conditioned thinking, and that’s its superpower.
Harish *****
Zen stories are always either a hit or a miss for the common reader. Some of them bring to you an ‘aha’ moment, unveiling the mist that covers your intellect and making you observe the entire world around you in a new light. But most of them go right above your field of perception. You are not able to make any sense, but you always get the notion that if you were able to appreciate the story, it would change you profoundly. It’s not that Zen stories are very long, complex, or confusing to the reader. They often use ordinary settings and feature ordinary people and snippets of their ordinary lives, but somehow they come out extraordinarily dense. This ordinary nature of them makes it too embarrassing to accept our failure to grasp them.
For example, consider the story where a monk asks a Zen master the reason for Bodhidharma’s arrival in China. His reply is simply, “an oak tree in the garden.” That’s it! There is no punch line, no final revelation, or a surprise twist. What sense can be made out of this? Is it just a wise reply with a profound inner meaning, or is there a botanical metaphor in it? How should our minds approach the story in order to decipher it? I have read some collections of Zen stories before and have had this unsettling feeling inside me while reading such stories. They defy our common sense and try to escape out of the reach of our intellect.
In his book, An Oak Tree in the Garden, Narendra Murty attempts to demystify such stories and take his readers more deeply into Zen living. I used the expression ‘Zen living’ consciously because, after reading the book, I feel that it cannot be called a philosophy or religion in a practical sense. A philosophy or religion needs scriptural backing that uses human intellect, knowledge, and authority in its construction. Zen is beyond such a conventional approach. To understand Zen, conventional knowledge is a hindrance. One must come out of the shackles of knowledge, preconditioning, prejudices, and learning and get ready to unlearn. Only with an empty cup can one comprehend it fully and immerse oneself in it.
I was enamoured, particularly by a concept that compares religious scriptures to menus in restaurants. The reason we enter a restaurant is to have good food. But instead of that, we just read the menu of the restaurant and come out. We never strive for the complete spiritual experience, but find ourselves satisfied by filling ourselves with knowledge from texts and considering ourselves spiritual beings. By the end of the book, we also realise that the ultimate Zen experience is not just about enlightenment. That experience only reaches fulfilment when the enlightened master reaches back to the world and works among the poor, emanating his Zen to others, as established in the final tale of The Laughing Buddha.
An Oak Tree in the Garden is another achievement for the author, in which he helps the readers on their first step towards a concept that sounds very simple but is rather tough to follow through. It is so important to not miss the forward by Abhay Mishra, in which he gives a perfect preparatory introduction to Zen. Also considerate is the detailed list of works by different philosophers that the author consulted, as it can help the readers continue their journey towards Zen and finding their inner Buddha.
Rutuja Ramteke *****
An Oak Tree in the Garden” isn’t a book in the traditional sense. It’s a single koan, a paradoxical Zen riddle, presented for contemplation and introspection. This book introduces the reader to the enigmatic world of Zen, where logic surrenders to intuition, and enlightenment lies beyond the grasp of the intellect.
The book expertly conveys the essence of Zen through the baffling simplicity of the koan. We, like the monk, are left bewildered, questioning both the Master’s sanity and the very nature of our own understanding. This initial shock is precisely the point. It disrupts our comfortable mental constructs and opens us up to the possibility of a different way of knowing.
The book emphasizes that Zen knowledge cannot be attained through intellectual pursuit or conventional learning. It exists outside the realm of language and logic, and can only be glimpsed through direct experience, through a shift in consciousness. The book invites us to abandon our rational armour and “taste the flavour of Zen,” to immerse ourselves in the paradox and allow it to spark something new within us.
It’s a gateway to a different way of thinking, a glimpse into a world where logic gives way to intuition, and the answer to “why” lies in the quiet presence of an oak tree in the garden.
“An Oak Tree in the Garden” isn’t a conventional book, but rather a provocative provocation. It challenges us to step outside our familiar boxes and encounter the world with a Zen-like mind, open to possibilities beyond the grasp of our usual understanding. If you’re ready for a unique and unsettling adventure, this is exactly what you need. One sentence really is worth mentioning, “Buddha is not considered as a God” and yes it is so true, Buddha is Knowing and Knowledge. It’s truly an insightful read that needs to be devoured really slow, one story at a time will change a lot for anyone who reads it. Go for it.
It taught me, ‘there are no answers, only the rustling leaves of the oak tree and the echo of your own reflection.’
