Zen

Zen is the Japanese name of a well known branch of Mahāyāna Buddhist schools, practiced originally in China as Chan(?), and subsequently in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Zen emphasizes the role of sitting meditation (zazen) in pursuing enlightenment. Zen can be considered a religion, a philosophy, or simply a practice depending on one's perspective. It has also been described as a way of life, work, and an art form.

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 / simplified 禅); "Chán" was later borrowed into Korean as Seon, Vietnamese as Thiền and into Japanese as "Zen."

Related Topics:
Indian Buddhism - Dhyāna - Sanskrit - Transliterate - Chinese - Korean - Seon - Vietnamese - Thiền

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According to traditional accounts, Zen was founded in China by a Central Asian or Indian Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma (Daruma in Japanese). He was the 28th in the line of transmission from the Buddha's disciple Kasyapa. According to the Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, circa 520 CE he traveled by sea to the southern Chinese kingdom of Liang where, in a famous exchange with the Emperor Wu, he declared that good deeds done with selfish intention were useless (conferred no merit) for gaining enlightenment. He then went to a monastery near Luoyang in eastern China and, according to legend, spent nine years meditating before a cliff wall before accepting any disciples. He later passed away at Mountain Sung Shaolin Temple(?????), Deng Feng County, Honan Province, China (Mountain Sung, the highest and central peak of the Five Sacred Mountains, situated in Honan Province).

Related Topics:
Central Asian - Indian - Bodhidharma - Kasyapa - CE - Southern Chinese - Kingdom of Liang - Emperor Wu - Merit - Enlightenment - Luoyang

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As a legendary culture hero Bodhidharma has also been linked to the Shaolin Temple and the subsequent spread of East Asian martial arts in the oral traditions of schools like Kung Fu and T'ai Chi Ch'uan, as well as in much popular wuxia fiction.

Related Topics:
Culture hero - Shaolin Temple - East Asian - Martial arts - Kung Fu - T'ai Chi Ch'uan - Wuxia

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Later, Korean monks studying in China learned what was by then called Chan, and which had by then been profoundly influenced by Chinese Taoism and to a lesser degree Confucianism. After the tradition was expanded to Korea, it came to be called Seon there (sometimes misspelled as Soen in the West). Korean monks then brought it to Japan around the seventh century, where it came to be called Zen.

Related Topics:
Taoism - Seventh century

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It is important to note, however, that Chan, Seon and Zen continued to develop separately in their home countries, and all maintain separate identities to this day. Although lineage lines in China, Korea, Japan and elsewhere appear to show direct descent from Bodhidharma, changes in belief and practice have inevitably appeared with the profusion of Chan/Seon/Zen.

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The Japanese Rinzai Zen scholar D.T. Suzuki maintained that a Zen satori (awakening) was the goal of the training, but that which distinguished the tradition as it developed in China, Korea, and Japan was a way of life radically different from that of Indian Buddhists. In India, the tradition of the mendicant (holy beggar, or bhikku in Pali) prevailed, but in China social circumstances led to the development of a temple and training-center system in which the abbot and the monks all performed mundane tasks. These included food gardening or farming, carpentry, architecture, housekeeping, administration, and the practice of folk medicine. Consequently, the enlightenment sought in Zen had to stand up well to the demands and potential frustrations of everyday life.

Related Topics:
Rinzai - D.T. Suzuki - Satori - Mendicant - Bhikku - Pali

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List of the first Zen Patriarchs:

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• Bodhidharma (skt. ????????, chin. Damo ??, jap. Daruma ???) * about 440 - ? about 528
• Hui-ke (??, jap. Daiso Eka *487) - ?593
• Seng-can (??, jap. Konchi Sosan) * ? - ?606
• Dao-xin (??, jap. Dai'i Doshin) *580 - ?651
• Hung Ren (??, jap. Dai'man Konin) *601 - ?674
• Hui Neng (??, jap. Daikan Eno) *638 - ?713