Zen and the Art of Shaving

Every couple of years I get the idea for a new book. I haven’t written one yet, but I dutifully jot down the basic premise, run each new idea by a few good friends, monitor the idea for a few months, and then bring it to rest on the shelf of old ideas. I could cite numerous examples, but the one I still love the best is a simple concept, the kind of book you might find on the counter next to the register at a Borders, or a Barnes and Noble, an impulse buy around fathers day, a book about knowledge passed down from generation to generation, father to son, a book titled "Zen and the Art of Shaving".

I suppose I am guilty of imposing a stereotype of the westerner, one that would find strange the idea of any simple, everyday activity becoming an act of meditation, and instead might think of meditation only as this lofty, noble pursuit. In reality, the act of meditation has a profound effect on the human psyche, calming the body, while centering the mind and spirit. Western tradition has long understood that any activity, carried out with the mind properly focused, can become an act of meditation. From St. John of the Cross to the New Age phenomena, numerous groups have embraced modern variants of traditional Western esoteric philosophies and practices.

Why Zen and the Art of Shaving? The keynotes are attention and simplicity. The setting is simple, the morning bath, the atmosphere, harmonious, scented with the fragrance of lather and aftershave that could challenge any incense, and the shaving brush, the razor, the water all echo the need for pristine cleanliness. The flow of the water from the tap, the scent of hot steam rising from the basin, the repetition of each gesture each generate unique sounds and profound silences that allow for moments of stillness in which the practitioner can become fully aware of each moments that opens into opportunities of insight or that coalesce into a single meditative experience. How many shavers can report that “Ah Ha!” moment while they were in the bath, from Euripides to Benjamin Franklin the stories and tales abound.

Attended to in the right frame of mind, shaving can be a profound meditative experience, a ritual passed down from father to son that demonstrates how even the most apparently mundane actions can become sacred. Though I suppose realistically it is fantasy to assume we could approach shaving in this manner every time, none the less the act of shaving does offer an opportunity to reflect on the opportunities of unhurried grace and attention that can be adopted in our daily tasks and lives

As a purist I might also add that straight razors are best, horse hair brushes for the application of foam a must, and never, never under any circumstances should use of the electric razor be employed.