Zen
Zen is a Chinese school of Mahayana Buddhism. Buddhism was first brought to China from India, by Bodhidharma. It developed in China, into Zen, in the 6th century. From China it spread to Vietnam, Korea and Japan.
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Zen is a Japanese word translated from the Chinese word Chán, which means "meditation".[1]
Zen uses meditation to help practitioners go beyond simply thinking about Zen. The goal in Zen is to attain satori. This Japanese word translates as "enlightenment". The practice also includes using riddles, called Koans. Koans are also designed to help the practitioner not just engage in rational thought. The traditional Japanese place to learn Zen is a Zen monastery.
Japanese Zen scholars such as D.T. Suzuki became well known in the West. Suzuki spent over fifty years teaching Zen to the world with a series of books in English.[2] In the 1960s in California, Aldous Huxley, Alan Watts, and others promoted the philosophy.[1] From there it spread to many parts of the western world. Zen is now well established outside of Japan and China. Many Zen centers exist in the US and Europe.
Zen is now associated with some design styles, like Minimalism. The Japanese gardens found at Zen monasteries in Japan are an example of this style. They are called Zen rock gardens. They are not directly part of the teachings of Zen.
Zen Media
Kodo Sawaki practicing zazen, his hands make the "cosmic mudra" (Jp: hokkaijoin), which is common in Japanese Soto Zen
Venerable Hsuan Hua meditating in the lotus position, Hong Kong, 1953
Calligraphy of "Mu" (Template:CJKV) by Torei Enji. It figures in the famous Zhaozhou's dog kōan
Victoria Zen Centre Jukai ceremony, January 2009
Traditional map of Soto head temple Eihei-ji
Buddha hall at Trúc Lâm Monastery of Da Lat
Chanting the Buddhist Scriptures, by Taiwanese painter Li Mei-shu
Two grandmasters of the Shaolin Temple of Chinese Chan, Shi DeRu and Shi DeYang
Bows and quivers at Engaku-ji temple, the temple also has a Dōjō for the practice of Kyūdō and the Zen priests practice this art here.
Related pages
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 D.L. Edwards in Bullock, Alan; Stallybrass, Oliver & Trombley, Stephen 1988. The Fontana dictionary of modern thought. 2nd ed, London: Fontana. p916. ISBN 0-00-686129-6
- ↑ Suzuki D.T. 1969. An introduction to Zen Buddhism. 2nd ed, London: Rider. ISBN 0-09-151121-6
