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ZEN: A SYSTEM THAT HELPS PEOPLE TO OVERCOME ATTRACTION AND AVERSION --- New Device was Developed at High Tech Zen Monastery in Adirondack Mountains --- Special to the Sentinel-Observer by Richard Elkins Suzuki Aiku Roshi is Abbot of the High Tech Zen Monastery in New York's beautiful Adirondack Mountains. Roshi, as he is affectionately called by his monks and lay disciples, can only be described as a radiant being, a saintly presence. I drove up to the High Tech Zen Monastery in a jeep that I had borrowed from a friend, who lives in Albany. I first saw Roshi as he tended to the beautiful Japanese garden that surrounds the monastery. The monastery was erected in an elegant Japanese style. Roshi was shorter than I am, a frail man. He was wearing a wide-brimmed hat to protect his face from the May sun, which was just beginning to bring out the life in the long dormant Adirondack landscape. "You are the reporter," he said, and I immediately wondered whether this had some deep spiritual meaning that I didn't understand. Why would he tell me something that I already knew? Was I just taking it for granted that I was a reporter? Maybe I really wasn't a reporter. My mind swarmed with questions and I guess he could see the confusion in my face. "The mind is like a monkey," he said. Derek, one of the monks, who was attired in traditional Zen monk garb, escorted me to Roshi's office. "Roshi will join you presently," Derek said. I wasn't sure what Derek meant by that. Could it be that the Roshi was already with me in some sense that only an advanced Zen student like Derek could understand? Or maybe Derek was making some kind of esoteric prediction of my own eventual enlightenment. Or perhaps ... "Mr. Elkins, I am so happy that you came to visit us," Roshi said, as he entered the office. "I hope that you have absorbed these beautiful surroundings, the elegant Japanese table, black lacquered with a vase of beautiful flowers, the burning incense, the wind chimes outside the windows, the pot of steaming green tea, and the beautiful Japanese tea service." I had not noticed any of those things. "Have some tea," he said, pouring some of the steaming liquid into the porcelain cup. "Roshi, it is very peaceful here," I said. "Yes." I drank some of the tea. "I know that when I drink this tea, it's not the same as when you drink it," I said, trying to communicate my rudimentary understanding of Zen esoterica. "Yes. This is true. When you fart it is different than when I fart!" His remark hung in the air for quite some time before he broke the silence. "You came here to discuss our the new virtual reality prosthetic device that we are developing here at High Tech Zendo." Zendo means Zen monastery. "Yes. You call it ZEN." "Yes." "Could you tell me about ZEN?" Roshi studied me carefully. "Do you mean Zen, which is life, or do you mean ZEN, the virtual reality?" This struck me as a trick question. "Tell me about the virtual reality," I guessed. "Good. A man should complete the work that a man has set out to do. So, I am going to return to my garden and my monk, Derek, will tell you about ZEN." I was disappointed. I did not want to learn about ZEN from a lowly monk, but from the Roshi himself. In any event, Derek returned, with that subtle arrogant air of his, and he sat right where the Roshi had been sitting. "ZEN is a virtual reality prosthesis that we plan to have ready by this time next year. It helps people to overcome attraction and aversion." "Attraction and aversion to what?" I asked, turning on my chip recorder. "Attraction and aversion to samsara, the world of illusion," he replied, almost mechanically. "Is that Zen?" I asked. "Yes, that is the whole essence of ZEN," he replied. "You mean, all this fuss about Zen is about overcoming attraction and aversion?" I asked. "Now, which Zen are we talking about?" he snapped back, seemingly irritated. "Are we talking about Zen, which is life, or are we talking about ZEN, the virtual reality?" "I'm only interested in the virtual reality. I'm not interested in life," I yelled, suddenly aware of my anger, as if I was not really committed to it. "Forget about life. Just tell me about the virtual reality!" "Very well. You see, in order for us to attain liberation, enlightenment, we must overcome attraction and aversion. Then, we can act spontaneously from within ourselves. We will no longer be controlled by our habitual perception of things." I jotted down some notes in my reporter's notepad although my chip recorder was capturing every word. "The idea of the ZEN prosthesis is to make the attractive appear less so and the aversive less so, so that a person can come closer to the actual reality, which is not so emotional, but which is full of life." I hadn't expected such an eloquent explanation from Derek. He looked quite ordinary, but I began to see the intelligence in his face. "ZEN monitors brain activity using existing technologies that can intercept perceptual and emotional patterns. So, suppose a typically lustful young man sees a beautiful woman on the street. ZEN will detect that perception and the emotional response, of desire, that it elicits, and it will immediately use virtual reality technology to transform the visual appearance of that woman so that she appears less attractive. The more violent the lust he experiences, the greater the distortion that the virtual reality system will create. So, if he really has the hots for this woman, ZEN will turn her into a hag. If he is just slightly attracted to her, ZEN will detract from her visual attractiveness in a more subtle way." Derek poured me some more tea. He did not take any for himself. "You see, a person who is ruled by desire is not free. He is not free to express his own creative nature. So the ZEN prosthetic device is designed to help that person become aware of his overwhelming attractions, those desires that might be interfering with his own happiness. As the Buddha said, life is suffering and the cause of suffering is desire." "But what about aversion?" I asked. "You also mentioned aversion." "Yes, aversion also interferes with the healthy life. So, the ZEN prosthetic device detects aversion and alters a person's perception so that aversion is dampened. For example, people have aversion to unpleasant sights. This is the whole theory behind Microsoft's Helmet device. The ZEN prosthetic device uses the same technology, but for a different purpose. Suppose you are walking down the street and a person approaches you who is all covered with lice and ugly lesions, a poor person, a homeless person, a person in ragged clothes. The ZEN prosthetic device will detect your exaggerated aversion towards that person and change your perception of that person so that he appears more normal." "But, ZEN seems opposed to Zen, the way I understand it," I said, knowing that I was on dangerous ground. After all, Derek was an actual student of Zen. "Isn't Zen about seeing reality clearly. How can you help people to see reality clearly if you distort it?" Derek answered forcefully. "In fact, people don't see reality, but a distorted version of it. Attraction and aversion distort perception. The ZEN system tries to make people aware of their own distortions by compensating in the opposite direction." He leaned forward and placed his hands on the black lacquered desk. "The distortions that the ZEN prosthesis creates are obvious. They are intended to make people aware of how they distort reality because of their attractions and aversions. If a beautiful woman is made to appear ugly, the system is telling the wearer: 'You are seeing this woman with desire and not in her true aspect.' If the homeless person is made to look more attractive, the system is saying: 'You are seeing this person with aversion and not in his true aspect'. So the ZEN prosthesis is a teaching system that does help people to see reality more clearly. It does this by making them aware of how their emotions distort reality." By the time Derek had finished his explanation, I felt in awe of him. I realized that his intelligence was deep and also that he had been a guiding force behind the development of the new ZEN technology. Just as Derek finished his explanation, Roshi reappeared. "Thank you, Derek," Roshi said, bowing with respect. "I will now take Mr. Elkins on a tour of the monastery and our computer facilities." Roshi was a gracious host and I did appreciate the sophistication of the Monastery computer laboratories, but I was more interested in the Monastery itself, the meditation hall, the dining hall, the dormitory, the spotless kitchen, the beautiful artwork, the lustrous wooden floors. It seemed that the Monastery became more beautiful with every turn. I became more and more aware of the subtle artistry behind everything. "The idea is to awaken all of the senses so that a person can realize that the essence of the person is seeing, feeling, hearing, smelling," Roshi explained. And Roshi became ever more magical in appearance as he took me on the tour. I realized that his wisdom must be immense and his radiance was unlike anything that I had ever seen before. By the time evening came and it was time for me to leave, and this was after a peaceful meditation session and a delicious vegetarian meal, I was totally enthralled with the entire Monastery atmosphere. I was a bit sad that I had to return to the ordinary world. I stood at the door of the monastery with the beautiful Japanese garden dancing in the wind before me. The perfume of the early spring flowers filled my soul, the wind chimes filled my being with music and joy. Roshi, the radiant and ultimate embodiment of supreme wisdom, stood by my side. Derek ran up with a box filled with chocolates and he presented them to me as a gift. "The monks make these chocolates here at the Monastery," Roshi explained. I opened the box and the chocolates seemed to shimmer with a special energy. I intuited that they must have some potent spiritual qualities if they are made here at the Monastery. I imagined constructing a little altar in my apartment, eating the chocolates in full lotus posture, in a valiant effort to erase eons of evil karma. "Roshi, this is wonderful! This is truly wonderful!" I exclaimed, with tears in my eyes. "Just one thing, before you leave!" Roshi said. He called for Derek and Derek came out with a virtual reality helmet. Roshi helped me to put on the helmet. "Let's place this on your head for a few minutes. It's a prototype of the ZEN system that we are developing." I looked out at Roshi, at Derek and the Monastery through the goggle-eyes of the perceptual prosthesis. I was shocked by what I saw. The Roshi looked like a total fool, drooling at the mouth, a clown, a joke. Derek was completely changed in appearance. He looked like a sniveling moron. The garden looked dead, like a garbage pit. The Monastery buildings looked like the cardboard huts of a fetid Calcutta slum. I opened the box of chocolates. They looked like brown pellets that had fallen from a rat's behind. "That's better," Roshi said, removing the helmet. "Now you can go."
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