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.

Zen and Western culture

Since the 1930s in the United Kingdom, and at least since the Beatnik movement of the 1950s in the United States, the West has had a growing interest in Zen. Often, it has been diluted or used as a brand name, leading to criticism of Western appreciation for Buddhism. However, there is some genuine interest as well.

Related Topics:
1930s - United Kingdom - Beatnik - 1950s - United States - Brand name

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In Europe, the Expressionist and Dada movements in art tend to have much in common thematically with the study of koans and actual Zen. The early French surrealist René Daumal translated D.T. Suzuki as well as Buddhist sanskrit texts.

Related Topics:
Expressionist - Dada - Surrealist - René Daumal - D.T. Suzuki - Sanskrit

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Eugen Herrigel's book Zen and the Art of Archery (ISBN 0375705090), described his training in the Japanese Zen martial art of Kyudo http://www.tokokyudojo.org/info/, which inspired many early Zen practitioners.

Related Topics:
Eugen Herrigel - Martial art - Kyudo

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The British-American philosopher Alan Watts had a personal interest in the Zen school of Buddhism and wrote and lectured extensively on it. He was interested in it as a vehicle for a mystical transformation of consciousness, and also in the historical example of a non-Western, non-Christian way of life that had

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Philosopher - Alan Watts - Christian

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fostered both the practical and fine arts.

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The Dharma Bums, a novel written by Jack Kerouac and published in 1959, gave its readers a look at how a fascination with Buddhism and Zen was being absorbed into lifestyle experimentation by a small group of mainly west-coast American youths. Besides the narrator, the main character in this novel was Gary Snyder, thinly veiled as "Japhy Ryder" by his friend Kerouac. The story was based on actual events that occurred when Snyder pursued formal Zen studies in Japanese monasteries between 1956 and 1968.

Related Topics:
The Dharma Bums - Novel - Jack Kerouac - 1959 - Gary Snyder - 1956 - 1968

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Many youths in the Beat generation and among the hippies of the 1960s and 1970s misunderstood the goals and methods of Zen. While the scholar D.T. Suzuki may have brought attention to concepts in Zen such as humility, labor, service, prayer, gratitude, and meditation, the "hip" subculture often focused on states of consciousness in themselves. Japanese Zen master Zenkei Shibayama commented: "It may be true that the effect which such scientifically prepared drugs as LSD produce may have some superficial resemblance to some aspects of Zen experience.... When the effect of the drug is gone, the psychological experience one may have had is also weakened and dispersed, and does not endure as a living fact."

Related Topics:
Beat generation - Hippies - 1960s - 1970s - D.T. Suzuki - Consciousness - Zenkei Shibayama - Drug - LSD

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The book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by

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Robert M. Pirsig, was a 1974 bestseller, but is not specifically about Zen per se, but deals with the notion of the metaphysics of "quality" from the point of view of the main character. Pirsig was attending the Minnesota Zen Center at the time of writing the book.http://www.psybertron.org/timeline.html Pirsig explains in the book that, despite its title, the book "should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice."

Related Topics:
Robert M. Pirsig - Bestseller - Minnesota Zen Center

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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 — see koan — although the Church of the SubGenius and especially Discordianism have been influenced by this idea.

Related Topics:
Translation - Context - Koan - Church of the SubGenius - Discordianism

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More "mainstream" forms of Zen, led by teachers who trained in East Asia or were trained by such teachers have begun to take root in the west. In North America the largest family of "lineages" is derived from the Japanese Soto school. These include the "White Plum" founded by Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi Roshi and the "Ordinary Mind" school founded by Maezumi's Dharma heir Zen master Joko Beck; as well as the "San Francisco Zen Center" lineage established by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi; and the "Katagiri" lineage established by Suzuki's sometime associate, Dainin Katagiri Roshi which has a significant presence in the midwest.

Related Topics:
Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi - Shunryu Suzuki - Dainin Katagiri

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A Soto reform school which emphasizes lay practice as well as incorporating a full koan curriculum, the Sanbo Kyodan (or Order of the Three Treasures) is represented in North America by Ruben Habito Roshi, as well as Robert Aitken Roshi's Diamond Sangha network, the Pacific Zen Institute led by John Tarrant Roshi, and Boundless Way Zen led by James Ford, Roshi.

Related Topics:
Robert Aitken - John Tarrant

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The single largest Zen lineage is the Korean derived "Kwan Um School of Zen" established by Zen Master Seung Sahn. There are also a number of Japanese derived Rinzai centers, most notably the "Rinzaiji" lineage of Kyozan Joshu Sasaki Roshi. and the "Dai Bosatsu" lineage established by Eido Shimano Roshi. There are also a few centers based in Chinese Chan, most notable in that it has significant western leadership is the "Dharma Drum" lineage led by Zen Master Sheng Yen.

Related Topics:
Seung Sahn - Kyozan Joshu Sasaki

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The Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh has developed the Order of Interbeing as an independent school that combines some aspects of Zen together with other disciplines. While he appears never to have received Dharma transmission, Thich Nhat Hanh has become an important influence in the development of a western Zen.

Related Topics:
Thich Nhat Hanh - Order of Interbeing

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Zen in Films

German director Doris Dorrie's comedy "Enlightenment Guaranteed" is about two German brothers, who head to Japan in search of the Zen experience. It's a sequel to one of Dorrie's biggest hit films, "Man."

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The Dutch-made "My Life is My Message" looks at Vietnamese Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hahn as he discusses peace with Israelis and Palestinians staying at his retreat center in France. As well, it looks at his address to the U.S. Congress in 2003 on the second anniversary of 9/11.

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