ZEN

BUDDHIS
M
HISTORY
 Nearly 1500 years ago, in 6th century China, the Ch’an
school of Buddhism was first founded.

 In the 12th century C.E., the concept was exported to

Japan where it was quickly accepted and became a highly
influential path of study.

 1,300 years ago, the concept of Zen reached Vietnam and

it appeared in Korea even before that.

 Late 19th century, the ideas of Zen didn’t reach the western
world, namely Europe and North America which is why the
idea often seems so ancient to modern minds.

 Today, Zen is a popular catch-all term in certain areas of

the western world.
ORIGIN
• Buddhism is one of the world's oldest religions, which
originally from the Hindu culture in India.

• According to tradition, Buddha was born at Lumbini, near

the present day border of India and Nepal in 563 BC.

• He was born as Prince Siddhartha Gautama. And At the

age of twenty-nine Siddhartha left his royal family in
search of spiritual truth and the cause of human
suffering.

• 6 years after, he resolved to sit in silent meditation under

a Pippala tree until he achieved enlightenment at Bodh
Gaya south east of the ancient Indian city of Varanasi.

• After forty-nine days of meditation he attained

enlightenment.
• The name Buddha means awakened or enlightened
one. When the Buddha died he attained nirvana or a
final release from human suffering.

• Zen is a school of Buddhism which emphasizes the

practice of meditation as the key ingredient to
awakening ones inner nature, compassion and wisdom.

• The practice of meditation (Zen in Japanese) as a means

of attaining enlightenment was introduced.

• Zen approached Buddhism in the most direct, simple

and practical way. It grasped that enlightenment was the
most fundamental aspect of Buddhism.
MEANING
• Zen is a type of Buddhism that began in China
and flourished in Japan.

• Practicing Zen Buddhism includes meditating.

• Zen is the Japanese pronunciation of a Chinese

word, ch'an, which comes from a Sanskrit root
meaning "thought," "absorption," or "meditation.“

• And meditation is at the heart of Zen, along with

an emphasis on self-control and insight.
• Zen Buddhism is a mixture of
Indian Mahayana Buddhism and
Taoism.

• The essence of Zen is attempting

to understand the meaning of
life directly, without being misled
by logical thought or language.
CONCEPTS
• Zen is not taken directly from the written word, nor
religious transcriptions.

• It centers on a personal relationship with your own

mind, and a higher, undefined entity outside of yourself.

• “Being Zen” is essentially a state of being at peace with

your own thoughts, and being self-aware of your place
within the universe, inconsequential (and
simultaneously essential).

• Zen is based in the concept of paradox. It is both the

acceptance of everything and nothing.

• It is both intensely personal, while also accessible to

anyone willing to embrace the wisdom of oneness with
the world around them..
PRINCIPLES
• There is no such thing as “self”.

• Everything constantly changes, nothing is finished.

• Things we value are “empty”.

• Attachment is the source of suffering.

• Everything in the universe is connected. You are the

universe.

• Our Logic is misleading. Appearances are faulty.

• Accept that painful things may happen.

• Be present, be mindful, fully experience each

moment.
• Meditation is the way to awakening.

• Be free from greed and desire.

• Do not be judgmental.

• Compassion is necessary to have peace of mind.

• Life should be simple.

• Build a community and contribute to it.

• Display gratitude and respect for everything.

• Do not fear anything, even death.

• Act with equanimity.

TEACHING OR
PRACTICES
• The most common way of teaching is for enlightenment
to be communicated direct from master to pupil.

• Zen practices are aimed at taking the rational and

intellectual mind out of the mental loop.

• Sometimes even (mild) physical violence is used to stop

the student intellectualizing or getting stuck in some
other way.

• Students of Zen aim to achieve enlightenment by the

way they live, and by mental actions that approach the
truth without philosophical thought or intellectual
endeavor.

• The master's task is to pass on an experiential

understanding of the tradition, not an intellectual one.
• Meditation is central to Zen practice, and the form
peculiar to that tradition is called zazen.
PURPOSE OR
GOAL
• Students of Zen aim to achieve
enlightenment by the way they
live, and by mental actions that
approach the truth without
philosophical thought or
intellectual endeavor.

• Some schools of Zen work to

achieve sudden moments of
enlightenment, while others
prefer a gradual process.
 ZEN
BUDDHISM
EDUCATION
• Zen education is about a person's
transformation which takes a life time.

• a well-educated person demonstrates

compassion far beyond ordinary measure.

• Receiving more information or merely

conventional learning is not regarded as a good
form of education.

• Bad education results in producing a self

righteous person who imposes rigid views to
others.

• Good education creates an even-minded and

compassionate human being.
• Reading, writing, and conventional knowledge
are necessary, but so are "Drawing water and
carrying firewood," as Pang yun claimed.

• In the mind of Zen Buddhist informal

education, or "practice," is not inferior to formal
education.

• A person who is blindly drawn into only formal

or book learning is missing the other half.

• This implication should not be taken as a

criticism; rather it should be understood as an
encouragement to practice.
BELIEFS
• The core beliefs of Buddhism are contained in the
Four Noble Truths.

• They state that the world is suffering, that suffering

has a cause.

• The way to end suffering is to follow the Eightfold

Path, which is a set of guidelines for proper behavior.

• Zen does not contradict any of these truths, but it

places more emphasis on the third truth than other
branches of Buddhism.

• For the Zen practitioner, ending suffering by waking

up into this moment is not only possible, it is the only
religious practice that matters.
 ZEN
PHILOSOPHY
• Zen aims at the perfection of personhood.

• Sitting meditation called “za-zen” is employed

as a foundational method of prāxis across the
different schools of this Buddha-Way – not an
Ideology but a way of living.

• Through za-zen the Zen practitioner attempts

to embody non-discriminatory wisdom vis-à-
vis the meditational experience known as
“satori” (enlightenment).

• A process of discovering wisdom culminates,

among other things, in the experiential
apprehension of the equality of all thing-
events.
ZEN WAY
• “Zendo", is a mediation hall

• It is also a title used by some martial arts

studios and karate dojos.

• Oddly, many translate this as "zen fist. "

• In Chinese, this would be "chan dao" with

the same literal meaning as the Japanese
title.
ZEN SYMBOL
Zen, ensō
( 円相 , "circular form")
 ZEN
UNDERSTANDING
• reaching an understanding (of
Zen or the world). It also means
"to practice meditation".

• This can also be defined in a

more complex way as
"thoroughly penetrating with
meditative insight".
Resources
• https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/artofzen/ed_zen_history.html
• https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Zen
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/subdivisions/zen_1.shtml
• https://www.scienceabc.com/humans/what-is-the-concept-of-zen.html
• https://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Asia/AsiaMits.htm
• https://classroom.synonym.com/the-belief-system-of-zen-buddhism-12084888.html
• https://mai-ko.com/travel/culture-research/zen-principles/
THE END.
THANK YOU.

PRESENTED BY:
DE PERALTA, NATHALIE FAYE
GALLARDO, JOANE