ZEN

•(CH’AN) BUDDHISM

1
• Both the words "Zen" (Japanese) and "Ch'an" (Chinese)
derive from the Sanskrit word Dhyana, meaning
"meditation." Zen Buddhism focuses on attaining
enlightenment (bodhi) through meditation as Siddharta
Gautama did. It teaches that
all human beings have the Buddha nature, or the potential
to attain enlightenment, within them, but the Buddha
nature has been clouded by ignorance.
2
• To overcome this ignorance, Zen rejects the
study of scriptures, religious rites, devotional
practices, and good works in favor of meditation
leading to a sudden breakthrough of insight and
awareness of ultimate reality. Training in the Zen
path is usually undertaken by a disciple under the
guidance of a master.
3
 BUDDHISM COMES TO EAST
ASIA

• “Silk Road” merchants and missionaries

transmit Buddhism to China by 65 CE
• As Han 漢 dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE)
declines,
Chinese elites turn away from
Confucianism to Daoism and Buddhism, often
combining elements of each in syncretistic
mix
• By Tang 唐 dynasty (618-907 CE), Buddhism
reaches zenith of its popularity in China
• From China, Buddhism spreads to Vietnam,
Korea, and Japan
4
5
DEVELOPMENT OF THE
CHAN/ZEN TRADITION
Degeneration of dharma justifies
rejection of devotion and scriptures in
favor of meditation as sole or primary
method of attaining enlightenment
Reality must be seen as it is
(nondualistic, spontaneous, “empty”)
Two major sects:
1. Chinese Linji, Japanese Rinzai 臨濟 –
uses riddles (Chinese gong’an,
Japanese koan 公案 ), verbal abuse
and meditation
2. Chinese Caotong, Japanese Soto

曹狪 -- uses meditation only 10

 • Cements syncretism of indigenous
and imported elements
(Buddhism/Daoism,
LEGACIES OF THE Buddhism/Shintô) in East Asian
CHAN/ZEN TRADITION Buddhism Hugely influential on
East
Asian cultures:
1. Calligraphy
2. Cuisine (e.g., tea)
3. Drama (especially in Japan)
4. Martial arts (e.g., fencing)
5. Painting
6. Philosophy
7. Poetry
11
8. Ritual (e.g., tea ceremony)
 In other words….
• Zen tries to free the mind from the slavery of
words and the constriction of logic.

•Zen in its essence is the art of seeing into the

nature of one's own being, and it points the way
from bondage to freedom.

•Zen is meditation.
• Zen is concerned with what actually is rather than what we
think or feel about what is.

• Zen is concerned with things as they are, without trying to

interpret them.

• Zen points to something before thinking, before all your

ideas.

• The key to Buddhahood in Zen is simply self-knowledge.