Zen
The title of this article is ambiguous. For other meanings, see Zen (disambiguation).
Zen Buddhism, or Zen ([zɛn, also t͜sɛn]; Chinese Chan, Korean Seon, Vietnamese Thiền; originally from Sanskrit Dhyana), is a current of Buddhism. It belongs to its main branch Mahayana.
The highest thing in Zen Buddhism is the experience of the present moment. The central practice is therefore meditation. Zen teaching sees itself merely as the "finger pointing to the moon", with the moon symbolizing "awakening". In doing so, it warns against mistaking its teaching for this awakening itself.
Zen Buddhism originated in China from around the 5th century as Chan Buddhism. In its early days, it was significantly influenced by Daoism. Through monks it spread to the neighboring countries of China. Among others, a Korean (Seon, Korean 선) and a Vietnamese tradition (Thiền, Vietnamese 禪) developed. From the 12th century Chan reached Japan, where it received a new expression as Zen (see also Zen Buddhism in Japan). This reached the West from the 20th century, again in a new interpretation. The terminology used in Europe and the USA therefore originates to a large extent from Japanese. But also Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese schools gained influence in Western culture in more recent times.
Etymology
The word Zen is derived from the Japanese pronunciation (Kana: ぜん) of the Middle Chinese word 禪 (Middle Chinese: [dʑjen]; Pinyin: Chán). Chan, in turn, is derived from the Sanskrit word "dhyāna" (ध्यान) and was first rendered into Chinese as Chan'na. Dhyana can be roughly translated as "immersion" or "meditative state", Dhyana in Hinduism and Buddhism is therefore a term for the state of meditative immersion.
The actual Chinese term for the "Zen school" is 禪宗 (pinyin: Chánzōng), while "Chan" refers only to the practice of meditation itself (Chinese: 習禪; pinyin: xíchán) or the study of meditation (Chinese: 禪學; pinyin: chánxué), although it is often used as an abbreviated form of Chánzong.
Self-image
"1. a special tradition outside the scriptures,
2. independent of words and characters:
3. directly showing man's heart,-4
. beholding (one's) nature and becoming Buddha."
- attributed to Bodhidharma
Historical background
Since the Song period, Zen Buddhism can be succinctly characterized by these four lines. The four verses were first attributed together as a stanza in 1108 in the work Zǔtíng Shìyuàn (祖庭事苑) by Mùān Shànqīng (睦庵善卿) Bodhidharma. Individually or in various combinations, the lines appeared earlier in Chinese Mahayana Buddhism. Today, the attribution to the legendary founding figure is seen as a determination of the self-image after a phase of disputes over direction.
The fourth verse reads in Japanese as "kenshō jōbutsu" (見性成佛). The programmatic statement is considered characteristic of Chan/Zen, but first appears earlier (around 500) in a commentary (大般涅槃經集解) on the Nirvana Sutra.
