Zen
Zen is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka philosophies, with Chinese Taoist thought, especially Neo-Daoist. Zen originated as the Chan school or the Buddha-mind school, and later developed into various sub-schools and branches.
Chan is traditionally believed to have been brought to China by the semi-legendary figure Bodhidharma, an Indian monk who is said to have introduced dhyana teachings to China. From China, Chan spread south to Vietnam and became Vietnamese Thiền, northeast to Korea to become Seon Buddhism, and east to Japan, becoming Japanese Zen.
Zen emphasizes meditation practice, direct insight into one's own Buddha nature, and the personal expression of this insight in daily life for the benefit of others. Some Zen sources de-emphasize doctrinal study and traditional practices, favoring direct understanding through zazen and interaction with a master who may be depicted as an iconoclastic and unconventional figure. In spite of this, most Zen schools also promote traditional Buddhist practices like chanting, precepts, walking meditation, rituals, monasticism and scriptural study.
With an emphasis on Buddha-nature thought, intrinsic enlightenment and sudden awakening, Zen teaching draws from numerous Buddhist sources, including Sarvāstivāda meditation, the Mahayana teachings on the bodhisattva, Yogachara and Tathāgatagarbha texts, and the Huayan school. 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.
Etymology
The word Zen is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the Middle Chinese word 禪, which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as 'contemplation', 'absorption', or 'meditative state'.The actual Chinese term for the "Zen school" is 禪宗, while "chan" just refers to the practice of meditation itself or the study of meditation though it is often used as an abbreviated form of Chanzong.
Zen is also called 佛心宗, the "Buddha-mind school", from fó-xīn, 'Buddha-mind'; "this term can refer either to the Buddha's compassionate and enlightened mind, or to the originally clear and pure mind inherent in all beings to which they must awaken." Busshin may also refer to Buddhakaya, the Buddha-body, "an embodiment of awakened activity".
"Zen" is traditionally a proper noun as it usually describes a particular Buddhist sect. In more recent times, the lowercase "zen" is used when discussing a worldview or attitude that is "peaceful and calm". It was officially added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary in 2018.
Practice
Meditation
The practice of meditation, especially sitting meditation is a central part of Zen Buddhism.Meditation in Chinese Buddhism
The practice of Buddhist meditation originated in India and first entered China through the translations of An Shigao, and Kumārajīva. Both of these figures translated various Dhyāna sutras. These were influential meditation texts which were mostly based on the meditation teachings of the Kashmiri Sarvāstivāda school. Among the most influential early Chinese meditation texts are the Anban Shouyi Jing, the Zuochan Sanmei Jing and the Damoduoluo Chan Jing.These early Chinese meditation works continued to exert influence on Zen practice well into the modern era. For example, the 18th-century Rinzai Zen master Tōrei Enji wrote a commentary on the Damoduoluo Chan Jing and used the Zuochan Sanmei Jing as a source in the writing of this commentary. Tōrei Enji believed that the Damoduoluo Chan Jing had been authored by Bodhidharma.
While dhyāna in a strict sense refers to the classic four dhyānas, in Chinese Buddhism, Chan may refer to various kinds of meditation techniques and their preparatory practices, which are necessary to practice dhyāna. The five main types of meditation in the Dhyāna sutras are ānāpānasmṛti ; paṭikūlamanasikāra meditation ; maitrī meditation; the contemplation on the twelve links of pratītyasamutpāda; and contemplation on the Buddha. According to the modern Chan master Sheng-yen, these practices are termed the "five methods for stilling or pacifying the mind" and serve to focus and purify the mind, and support the development of the stages of dhyana. Chan Buddhists may also use other classic Buddhist practices like the four foundations of mindfulness and the Three Gates of Liberation.
Early Chan texts also teach forms of meditation that are unique to Mahāyāna Buddhism. For example, the Treatise on the Essentials of Cultivating the Mind, which depicts the teachings of the 7th-century East Mountain Teaching, teaches a visualization of a sun disk, similar to that taught in the Contemplation Sutra.
According to Charles Luk, there was no single fixed method in early Chan. All the various Buddhist meditation methods were simply skillful means that could lead a meditator to the Buddha-mind within.
Zen's sudden approach
Modern scholars like Robert Sharf argue that early Chan, while having unique teachings and myths, also drew on classic Buddhist meditation methods, which is why it is hard to find many uniquely "Chan" meditation instructions in some of the earliest sources. However, Sharf also notes there was a unique kind of Chan meditation taught in some early sources, which also tends to deprecate the traditional Buddhist meditations. This uniquely Zen approach goes by various names like "maintaining mind", "maintaining unity", "discerning the mind", "viewing the mind", and "pacifying the mind". A traditional phrase that describes this practice states that "Chan points directly to the human mind, to enable people to see their true nature and become Buddhas."According to McRae the "first explicit statement of the sudden and direct approach that was to become the hallmark of Ch'an religious practice" is associated with the East Mountain School. It is a method named "maintaining the one without wavering", the one being the true nature of mind or Suchness, which is equated with Buddha-nature. Sharf writes that in this practice, one turns the attention from the objects of experience to "the nature of conscious awareness itself", the innately pure Buddha-nature, which was compared to a clear mirror or to the sun. This type of meditation is based on classic Mahāyāna ideas, which are not uniquely "Chan", but according to McRae, it differs from traditional practice in that "no preparatory requirements, no moral prerequisites or preliminary exercises are given," and is "without steps or gradations. One concentrates, understands, and is enlightened, all in one undifferentiated practice."
Zen sources also use the term "tracing back the radiance" or "turning one's light around" to describe seeing the inherent radiant source of the mind itself, the "numinous awareness", luminosity, or Buddha-nature. The Platform Sutra mentions this term and connects it with seeing one's "original face". The Record of Linji states that all that is needed to obtain the Dharma is to "turn your own light in upon yourselves and never seek elsewhere". The Japanese Zen master Dōgen describes it as follows: "You should stop the intellectual practice of pursuing words and learn the 'stepping back' of 'turning the light around and shining back' ; mind and body will naturally 'drop off,' and the 'original face' will appear." Similarly, the Korean Seon master Yŏndam Yuil states: "to use one's own mind to trace the radiance back to the numinous awareness of one's own mind...It is like seeing the radiance of the sun's rays and following it back until you see the orb of the sun itself."
Sharf also notes that the early notion of contemplating a pure Buddha "Mind" was tempered and balanced by other Zen sources with terms like "no-mind", and "no-mindfulness", to avoid any metaphysical reification of mind, and any clinging to mind or language. This kind of negative Madhyamaka style dialectic is found in early Zen sources like the Treatise on No Mind of the Oxhead School and the Platform Sutra. These sources tend to emphasize emptiness, negation, and absence as the main theme of contemplation. These two contemplative themes continued to shape the development of Zen theory and practice throughout its history.
Later Chinese Chan Buddhists developed their own meditation manuals, which taught their unique method of direct and sudden contemplation. The earliest of these is the widely imitated and influential Zuochan Yí, which recommends a simple contemplative practice that is said to lead to the discovery of inherent wisdom already present in the mind. This work also shows the influence of the earlier meditation manuals composed by Tiantai patriarch Zhiyi.
However, other Zen sources de-emphasize traditional practices like sitting meditation, and instead focus on effortlessness and on ordinary daily activities. One example of this is found in the Record of Linji which states: "Followers of the Way, as to Buddhadharma, no effort is necessary. You have only to be ordinary, with nothing to do—defecating, urinating, wearing clothes, eating food, and lying down when tired." Similarly, some Zen sources also emphasize non-action or having no concerns. For example, Chan master Huangbo states that nothing compares with non-seeking, describing the Zen adept as follows: "the person of the Way is the one who has nothing to do , who has no mind at all and no doctrine to preach. Having nothing to do, such a person lives at ease."
Likewise, John McRae notes that a major development in early Ch'an was the rejection of traditional meditation techniques in favor of a uniquely Zen direct approach. Early Chan sources like the Long Scroll, the Platform Sutra and the works of Shenhui question such things as mindfulness and concentration, and instead state that insight can be attained directly and suddenly. For example, Record I of the Long Scroll states: "The man of sharp abilities hears of the path without producing a covetous mind. He does not even produce right mindfulness and right reflection," and the iconoclastic Master Yüan states in Record III of the same text, "If mind is not produced, what need is there for cross-legged sitting dhyana?" Similarly, the Platform Sutra criticizes the practice of sitting samādhi: "One is enlightened to the Way through the mind. How could it depend on sitting?", while Shenhui's four pronouncements criticize the "freezing", "stopping", "activating", and "concentrating" of the mind.
Zen sources that focus on the sudden teaching can sometimes be quite radical in their rejection of the importance of traditional Buddhist ideas and practices. The Record of the Dharma-Jewel Through the Ages, for example, states, "better that one should destroy śīla , and not destroy true seeing. Śīla rebirth in Heaven, adding more bonds, while true seeing attains nirvāṇa." Similarly the Bloodstream Sermon states that it doesn't matter whether one is a butcher or not, if one sees one's true nature, then one will not be affected by karma. The Bloodstream Sermon also rejects the worship of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, stating that "Those who hold onto appearances are devils. They fall from the Path. Why worship illusions born of the mind? Those who worship don't know, and those who know don't worship." Similarly, in the Lidai Fabao Ji, Wuzhu states that "No-thought is none other than seeing the Buddha" and rejects the practice of worship and recitation. Most famously, the Record of Linji has the master state that "if you meet a Buddha, kill the Buddha", further claiming that through this "you will gain emancipation, will not be entangled with things."