Steve Jobs and his secret life as a Zen Buddhist Jobs believed that Zen meditation taught him to concentrate and ignore distractions. He also learned to trust intuition and curiosity — what Buddhists call beginners mind — over analysis and preconceptions. More visibly, Apples sleek, minimalist designs reveal Jobs zeal for Zen aesthetics — the uncluttered lines of calligraphy and Japanese gardens. Did you know that Steve Jobs was a Zen Buddhist? And that he pondered moving to a Buddhist monastery when he moved to silicone valley? Well you can say no you didnt along with most of the rest of the world. Now that Steve has moved on his spiritual life that was kept a secret his entire life to most is all laid out on the table. Nothing is being pulled when it comes to the details. In the new book that tells all about Steve Jobs, his biography, the author Walter Isaacsons clearly outlines all you want to know about the genius behind Apple computers! From the author of the best selling biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein, this is the exclusive biography of Steve Jobs. According to the recent interview of the Isaacsons, “Steve Jobs believed his whole life that he was on a journey, a journey for enlightenment. And he said you’re never going to achieve all the answers, or perfect enlightenment, but that the journey is the reward. Just being the seeker, somebody whose open to spiritual enlightenment, is in itself the important thing and it’s the reward for being a seeker in this world. Steve was not conventionally religious because he was very unsure. He said, “I’ll never know the answer. It’s the great mystery.” But he at least knew it was a great mystery instead of dismissing the whole notion of a quest.” He engaged in Zen Buddhist training and a quest of his own to India, as he sought enlightenment. At age 13 was when Steve had a very enlightening experience, he learned real quick that “man made” religions are just that and no more and they contain all the faults that lie with a creation from man. Isaacsons said, When he was 13, he looked at a cover of Life Magazine that had two starving children. And he had been going to the Lutheran Sunday school of his parents. And he brought it to the pastor and he said, “does God know about this?” And the pastor said, “Steve I know you don’t understand, but God knows everything.” And Steve said, “Well I don’t want to have anything to do with that God.” And he didn’t go back to church. Some time in his early life when he was able to travel Steve went and searched India for a personal Buddhist guru. Not finding one that he was happy with he traveled back to the US where he found what he was looking for. After that his life changed, he got heavy into Zen Buddhism, meditation and studies that could have eventually led him into a life of ordained Zen priest. But before that happened his ideals about Apple intrigued him. And just a year of practicing Zen Buddhism at the Haiku Zen Center in Los Altos, California he stopped and pursued his dream with Apple. According to a news article with USA Today, Jobs and his guru Zen master quickly forged a bond, discussing life and Buddhism during midnight walks. I ended up spending as much time with him as I could, Jobs told Isaacson. Zen has been a deep influence in my life ever since. Les Kaye, a Zen teacher in Silicon Valley who also studied under master Kobun (Jobs Zen teacher), remembers Kobun as enigmatic and wise. He was the epitome of an enlightened being: sweet, kind and generous. People flocked to him. When Jobs died his last words were recorded by his sister in her eulogy, they were, “Ow wow, Ow wow, Ow wow.” What ever he was searching for his whole life some seem to think he found it at that moment. Maybe what Jobs was seeing was the pure land that is taught in Pure Land Buddhism. What ever it was those last words have become famous as people from every walk of life try and decipher what it was that Jobs actually seen. As a Zen Buddhist we do not ponder on such things because if it is not going to contribute to our enlightenment and the end to our suffering or the suffering of other sentient beings then there is just no use. But as a Zen Buddhist maybe what Steve found was the peace that we all search for, an incredible peace that we always pursue in meditation but most never find. As Steve Jobs was known to say, life is a great mystery. Jobs began offering meditation classes at Apple 12 years ago. He particularly wanted Apples engineers to learn meditation to boost their creativity. Despite his Buddhist background, Jobs was often mean, manipulative and egocentric, writes Isaacson, whose book is filled with tales of the Apple chiefs abusive behavior. Maybe this is one reason or the very reason Steve decided to keep his Zen Buddhism a secret. If he knew that he was known to be a mean person then what would that say about his Zen teacher or Zen Buddhism it self? Possibly he was protecting the innocent from the way he was knowing that he could have been more compassionate and Zen like in his personal life. Unfortunately his Zen training never quite produced in him a Zen-like calm of inner serenity, Isaacson writes, and that, too, is part of his legacy. Kaye, the head teacher of Kannon Do Zen Meditation Center in Mountain View, Calif., said Jobs didnt practice Buddhism long enough to let it sink in. He got to the aesthetic part of Zen — the relationship between lines and spaces, the quality and craftsmanship, Kaye said. But he didnt stay long enough to get the Buddhist part, the compassion part, the sensitivity part. But no matter what, we are all human and no one is perfect. Jobs just following the path of the Buddha his whole life is awesome in itself to know. In light of this new information on one of the worlds most power men makes you wonder just how many more people are following the Zen path understanding what it can do for you. With more and more turning to the Buddhist path now is a great time to understand just what it is that Zen Buddhism can offer a person.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 14:00:45 +0000
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