Zen

Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism notable for its emphasis on practice and experiential wisdom—particularly as realized in the form of meditation known as zazen—in the attainment of awakening. As such, it de-emphasizes both theoretical knowledge and the study of religious texts in favor of direct individual experience of one’s own true nature.

The emergence of Zen as a distinct school of Buddhism was first documented in China in the 7th century CE. It is thought to have developed as an amalgam of various currents in Mahāyāna Buddhist thought—among them the Yogācāra and Madhyamaka philosophies and the Prajñāpāramitā literature—and of local traditions in China, particularly Daoism and Huáyán Buddhism. From China, Zen subsequently spread southwards to Vietnam and eastwards to Korea and Japan. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Zen also began to establish a notable presence in North America and Europe.

Etymology

“Zen”, pronounced [zeɴ] in Japanese, is the Sino-Japanese reading of the Chinese character 禅, which is pronounced [tʂʰán] (Pinyin: chán) in modern Standard Mandarin Chinese, but was likely pronounced [d​͡zʲen] in Middle Chinese.^[1] The term “zen” is in fact a contraction of the seldom-used long form zenna (禅那; Mandarin: chánnà), a derivation from the Sanskrit term dhyāna (Pāli: jhāna), which refers to a specific type or aspect of meditation. While “Zen” is the name most commonly known worldwide, it is also known as Chán in China, Seon in Korea, and Thiền in Vietnam.

Zen teachings and practices

In Zen, philosophical teachings and textual study are given less emphasis than in other forms of Buddhism. Nonetheless, Zen is deeply rooted in both the teachings of the Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama and Mahāyāna Buddhist thought.

he fundamental Zen practice of zazen, or seated meditation, recalls both the posture in which the Buddha is said to have achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya, and the elements of mindfulness and concentration which are part of the Eightfold Path as taught by the Buddha. All of the Buddha’s fundamental teachings—among them the Eightfold Path, the Four Noble Truths, the idea of dependent origination, the five precepts, the five aggregates, and the three marks of existence—also make up important elements of Zen. Certain other elements emerging from Theravāda Buddhist thought, such as the perfections, also have a place in Zen.

Additionally, as a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, Zen draws many of its basic driving concepts, particularly the bodhisattva ideal, from that branch. Uniquely Mahāyāna figures such as Guānyīn, Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra, and Amitābha are venerated alongside the historical Buddha. Despite Zen’s lack of emphasis on textual study, it has drawn heavily on the Mahāyāna sūtras, particularly the Heart of Perfect Wisdom Sūtra, the Sūtra of the Perfection of Wisdom of the Diamond that Cuts through Illusion, the Lankavatara Sūtra, and the “Samantamukha Parivarta” section of the Lotus Sūtra.

Zen has also itself produced a rich corpus of written literature which has become a part of its practice and teaching. Among the earliest and most widely studied of the specifically Zen texts, dating back to at least the 9th century CE, is the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, sometimes attributed to Huìnéng. Others include the various collections of kōans and the Shōbōgenzō of Dōgen Zenji.

Zen training emphasizes daily life practice, along with intensive periods of meditation. Practicing with others is an integral part of Zen practice. In explaining Zen Buddhism, Japanese Zen teachers have made the point that Zen is a “way of life”^{[citation needed]}. D.T. Suzuki wrote that aspects of this life are: a life of humility; a life of labor; a life of service; a life of prayer and gratitude; and a life of meditation^{[citation needed]}. The Chinese Chan master Baizhang (720–814 CE) left behind a famous saying which had been the guiding principle of his life, “A day without work is a day without food.”^[2]

D.T. Suzuki asserted that satori (awakening) has always been the goal of every school of Buddhism, but that which distinguished the Zen 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 (bhikkhu) 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.

Mythology

Within Zen, and thus from an emic perspective, the origins of Zen Buddhism are ascribed to what is called the Flower Sermon, in which Śākyamuni Buddha is supposed to have passed on special insight to the disciple Mahākāśyapa. The sermon itself was a wordless one in which Śākyamuni merely held up a flower before the assembled disciples, among whom there was no reaction apart from Mahākāśyapa, who smiled. The smile is said to have signified Mahākāśyapa’s understanding, and Śākyamuni acknowledged this by saying:

I possess the true Dharma eye, the marvelous mind of Nirvana, the true form of the formless, the subtle dharma gate that does not rest on words or letters but is a special transmission outside of the scriptures. This I entrust to Mahākāśyapa.[11]

Thus, a way within Buddhism developed which concentrated on direct experience rather than on rational creeds or revealed scriptures. Zen is a method of meditative religion which seeks to enlighten people in the manner that the Mahākāśyapa experienced.

In the Song of Enlightenment (證道歌 Zhèngdào gē) of Yǒngjiā Xuánjué (665-713)—one of the chief disciples of Huìnéng, the 6th patriarch of Chan Buddhism—it is written that Bodhidharma was the 28th patriarch in a line of descent from Mahākāśyapa, a disciple of Śākyamuni Buddha, and the first patriarch of Chan Buddhism:

Mahākāśyapa was the first, leading the line of transmission;Twenty-eight Fathers followed him in the West;The Lamp was then brought over the sea to this country;And Bodhidharma became the First Father here:His mantle, as we all know, passed over six Fathers,And by them many minds came to see the Light.

The idea of a line of descent from Śākyamuni Buddha is a distinctive institution of Zen which Suzuki (1949:16 contends was invented by hagiographers to grant Zen legitimacy and prestige. The earliest source for the legend of the “Flower sermon” is from 11th century China.

Early history see Chan