(11-96) There is a simple Zen story about two monks arguing whether the flag was moving by itself, or moved by the wind. During their heated debate, a third monk passed by, and said: "You both are wrong, neither the flag moved, nor the wind moved, it's your heart that moved."

It is easy to think that the third monk has the spirit of Zen. However, if you think that his position, the heart moved, is the right answer for Zen, then you are wrong. The Zen spirit comes from the ability of the third monk moving the argument away from the first two position. It does not entail that the third position is better than the other two. Zen is the ability to move from position to position. Zen does not have a pluralistic view. Zen is pluralistic.

Many Buddhists think of Zen as a body of philosophy that provides some wisdom. They try to find meanings and explanations. Little do they know such pursuit often leads them to assume a position. No matter how complex and pluralistic the position is, it will be against the spirit of Zen. The spirit of Zen is to be everything, not to view everything as true. To view everything as true is still a position. From what I learned for the last few months, Zen is a training of the mind. Put your mind in a position that you hate and try to appreciate the beauty of it; that's the first step towards Zen.