Zen (Chinese: 禪; pinyin: Chán; Japanese: 禅, romanized: zen; Korea

n: 선, romanized: Seon; Vietnamese: Thiền) is a school of Mahayana

Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, there known as
the Chan School (Chánzong 禪宗), and later developed into various
schools. The Chan School was strongly influenced by Taoist philosophy,
especially Neo-Daoist thought, and developed as a distinct school
of Chinese Buddhism.[1] From China, Chán spread south to Vietnam and
became Vietnamese Thiền, northeast to Korea to become Seon Buddhism,
and east to Japan, becoming Japanese Zen.[2]
The term Zen is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of
the Middle Chinese word 禪 (chán), an abbreviation of 禪那 (chánnà),
which is a Chinese transliteration of the Sanskrit word
of dhyāna ("meditation").[note 1] Zen emphasizes rigorous self-
restraint, meditation-practice, insight into the nature of mind (見性,
Ch. jiànxìng, Jp. kensho, "perceiving the true nature") and nature of things,
and the personal expression of this insight in daily life, especially for the
benefit of others.[4][5] As such, it de-emphasizes mere knowledge
of sutras and doctrine[6][7] and favors direct understanding through spiritual
practice and interaction with an accomplished teacher[8] or Master.
The teachings of Zen include various sources of Mahāyāna thought,
especially Yogachara, the Tathāgatagarbha sūtras, the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra,
and the Huayan school, with their emphasis on Buddha-nature, totality, and
the Bodhisattva-ideal.[9][10] The Prajñāpāramitā literature as well
as Madhyamaka thought have also been influential in the shaping of
the apophatic and sometimes iconoclastic nature of Zen rhetoric.