Zen
Zen is the Japanese name of a well known branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism, practiced especially in China, Japan, and Korea. It stresses the role of meditation in pursuing enlightenment. Because Zen is the common name for this branch in Japanese as well as in English, this article will concern itself both with Zen as practiced in Japan and with Zen as an international phenomenon. For information specific to Asian countries other than Japan, please follow the appropriate links above.
Spread of Zen
Traditionally, Zen traces its roots back to Indian Buddhism, where it was known by "dhyāna" (ध्यान), a Sanskrit term for meditation. This name was transliterated into Chinese as Chán (禪); "Chán" was later transliterated into Korean as Seon, and then into Japanese as "Zen."
According to these traditional accounts, an Indian monk named Bodhidharma brought Zen Buddhism to China in the fifth century. Later, Korean monks studying in China learned of Zen and spread it as far as to Japan around the seventh century.
Zen in Japan
The following Zen traditions still exist in Japan: Rinzai, Soto, and Obaku. Originally formulated by the eponymous Chinese master Linji (Rinzai in Japanese), the Rinzai school was introduced to Japan in 1191 by Eisai. Dogen, who studied under Eisai, would later carry the Caodong, or "Soto" Zen school to Japan from China. Obaku was introduced in the 17th century by Ingen, a Chinese monk.
Zen teachings and practices
Zen teachings often criticize textual study and worldly action, concentrating primarily on meditation in pursuit of an unmediated awareness of the processes of the world and the mind. However, these teachings are themselves also deeply rooted in the Buddhist textual tradition, drawing primarily on Mahāyāna sutras composed in India and China, and on the recorded teachings of masters in the various Zen traditions themselves.
Zazen
Zen meditation is called zazen. Zazen translates approximately to "sitting meditation", although it can be applied to practice in any posture. During zazen, practitioners usually assume a lotus, half-lotus, burmese, or seiza position. Rinzai practitioners typically sit facing the center of the room, while Soto practitioners sit facing a wall. Awareness is directed towards complete cognizance of one's posture and breathing. In this way, practitioners seek to transcend thought and be directly aware of the universe.
In Soto, shikantaza meditation, sometimes translated as "just-sitting," i.e., a meditation with no objects, anchors, "seeds," or content, is the primary form of practice. Considerable textual, philosophical, and phenomenological justification of this practice can be found in Dogen's Shobogenzo.
Koan practice
The Zen schools (especially but not exclusively Rinzai) are associated with koans (Japanese; Chinese: gongan; Korean: gong'an). The term originally referred to legal cases in Tang-dynasty China. In some sense, a koan embodies a realized principle, or law of reality. Koans often appear paradoxical but are not meant to be apprehended rationally. Rather, Zen practitioners are said to recognize and actualize a koan in experience. An example of a Zen koan: "Two hands clap and there is a sound. What is the sound of one hand?".
"Zen" in Western pop-culture
Many modern students have made the mistake of thinking that since much of Zen sounds like nonsense, especially in translation and out of context, any clever nonsense is also Zen. This is not the case, but see Discordianism and the Church of the SubGenius for modern semiserious religions influenced by this idea.
See also
