Definition
A Buddhist school family in East Asia focused on meditation, monastic discipline, transmission and direct realization of the awakened nature.
Zen includes monasteries, precepts, rituals, masters, texts, arts and lines. Sōtō, Rinzai and
To be retained
- Link meditation, ethics and community
- Distinguishing schools
- Do not reduce Zen to a decor
- Evaluate the structures of authority
Origin of the term and context
Zen comes from Japanese, from Chinese chán, himself transcription of Sanskrit dhyāna, "meditation". Tradition was formed in China before diversifying into East Asia.
Why does it matter?
Zen meditation can be studied as a careful practice, but Zen is not limited to a wellbeing intervention. Its claims on awakening belong to Buddhism.
- Link meditation, ethics and community
- Distinguishing schools
- Do not reduce Zen to a decor
- Evaluate the structures of authority
How can it be explored or practised?
- Visit a transparent center on its lineage
- Start with a short and adapted seat
- Study the precepts as well as posture
- Check the rules for alerting and protecting
Misconceptions and points of caution
- Pain is not a proof of good meditation.
- The master is not infallible.
- The aesthetic recount is not the whole tradition.
Perspectives from different traditions
- Sōtō: Shikantaza, "only sit down", and practice-realization.
- Rinzai: kōan, interviews and structured training.
- Chan: diversity of lines, liturgies and practices in China.
To go further
- Zen Spirit, New Mind — Shunryu Suzuki
- Seeing through Zen — John McRae