How Zen Buddhism Improved my Short Story Writing.
The circular brush stroke like one that was hand-painted is a common symbol in the understanding of Zen.
Up until I read the 101 Zen Stories compiled by Nyogen Senzaki, I never felt attracted to flash fiction, let alone writing it.
Zen Buddhism and its teachings fascinated me for a brief while when I practised writing short stories. Which then lead me to not only these stories in particular, but also Zen Koans.
If you’re not familiar, Koans are a common writing practise among Zen Buddhists. They are usually questions, stories or anecdotes often subtle, mysterious or even paradoxical in nature. They are primarily written with the intent of challenging the reader or listener’s understanding of Zen as part of their learning journey as disciples to masters.
It fascinated me something fierce, but above all that, I loved listening to the stories themselves.
These tiny pearls of wisdom that read for less than a minute at a time, inspired me to try doing the same. Perhaps not to encapsulate the nature of Zen, I doubt I could do that with the respect it deserves. Rather, I wrote extremely short stories like those in “101 Zen Stories” and “The Gateless Gate” that displayed interesting fables that had subtle, or even no meaning to them.
You may be familiar with the one story known as “A Cup of Tea” in which an eager pupil knowledgeable in Zen wishes to learn under a Zen Master. The master then fills a cup with tea until I overflows, yet continues pouring. As the student breaks and consoles the master to stop, the master famously says: “Much like this cup, you too are also filled with your own ideas and preconceptions. How can I ever hope to teach you Zen, unless you first empty your cup?”
Tightening or shortening your ideas and stories down to small or flash form can be a great exercise in making sure that every word counts. When I sent in my manuscript for my first novel to a publishing house, their first recommendation was to cut it down to a more reasonable size. Though tough, I actually went from 200,000 to 180,000 words and I honestly believe the story is better because of it. Stripping the story down and then down again really helps you hone in on what’s really important and necessary to the story and themes you’re trying to convey.
Many amateur to veteran writers will encourage you many times to ensure that your prose/story is as honed in as possible, with no added fluff that isn’t the story.
As such, when writing flash fiction, your lens is smaller. Everything is easier to digest and there’s not as much pressure to fill up so much space. These stories of Zen and the ones I’ve written, help put the true fun and skill of storytelling into perspective.
And when your word count is limited, every word counts.
Every word counts, a lesson that should continue when you return to your long-form fiction.
Plus, writing short stories like these can be cathartic as well. When you’re trudging through a massive project like a novel, the moment of satisfaction when you finish it is severely delayed, rewrite after rewrite. With short stories, you receive that healthy release of dopamine sooner and far more frequently depending how often you write them.
These Koans and anecdotes were my salvation in between my novel, which I can now say with confidence is approaching closer to publication.
Give “101 Zen Stories” and “The Gateless Gate” a read as well as other texts when you get a chance, they are calming to ponder upon and you may feel wiser after consuming their contents.
Thank you for reading and have a beautiful day!
Daniel
(Hey, what’s this coffee doing down here? Click it perhaps?)
