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Zen
is a Chinese school of
Mahayana
Buddhism
. Buddhism was first brought to China from India, by
Bodhidharma
. It developed in
China
, into Zen, in the 6th century. From China it spread to
Vietnam
,
Korea
and
Japan
.
Zen is a
Japanese
word translated from the Chinese word Chan, which means "meditation".
[1]
Zen uses
meditation
to help practitioners go beyond simply thinking about Zen. The goal in Zen is to attain
satori
. This Japanese word translates as "
enlightenment
". The practice also includes using riddles, called Koans. Koans are also designed to help the practitioner not just engage in
rational thought
. The traditional Japanese place to learn Zen is a Zen
monastery
.
Japanese Zen scholars such as
D.T. Suzuki
became well known in the West. Suzuki spent over fifty years teaching Zen to the world with a series of books in English.
[2]
In the 1960s in California,
Aldous Huxley
,
Alan Watts
, and others promoted the philosophy.
[1]
From there it spread to many parts of the
western world
. Zen is now well established outside of Japan and China. Many Zen centers exist in the US and Europe.
Zen is now associated with some design styles, like
Minimalism
. The
Japanese garden
s found at Zen monasteries in Japan are an example of this style. They are called Zen rock gardens. They are not directly part of the teachings of Zen.
- ↑
1.0
1.1
D.L. Edwards in Bullock, Alan; Stallybrass, Oliver & Trombley, Stephen 1988.
The Fontana dictionary of modern thought
. 2nd ed, London: Fontana. p916.
ISBN
0-00-686129-6
- ↑
Suzuki D.T. 1969.
An introduction to Zen Buddhism
. 2nd ed, London: Rider.
ISBN
0-09-151121-6