Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
See also Zen for an overview of Zen, Chan Buddhism for the Chinese origins, and Sōtō, Rinzai and Ōbaku for the three main schools of Zen in Japan. Japanese Zen refers to the Japanese forms of Zen Buddhism, an originally Chinese Mahāyāna school of Buddhism that strongly emphasizes dhyāna, the meditative training of awareness and equanimity. [1]
Chan is the originating tradition of Zen Buddhism (the Japanese pronunciation of the same character, which is the most commonly used English name for the school). Chan Buddhism spread from China south to Vietnam as Thiền and north to Korea as Seon , and, in the 13th century, east to Japan as Japanese Zen .
"Silent illumination" or "silent reflection" was the hallmark of the Chinese Caodong school of Chan. [web 2] The first Chan teacher to articulate silent illumination was the Caodong master Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091—1157), who wrote an inscription entitled "silent illumination meditation" (Mokushō zen 默照禅 or Mòzhào chán 默照禪). [9]
A similar practice is taught in the major schools of Japanese Zen, but is especially emphasized by Sōtō, where it is more widely known as Shikantaza (Ch. zhǐguǎn dǎzuò, "Just sitting"). This method is discussed in the works of the Japanese Sōtō Zen thinker Dōgen, especially in his Shōbōgenzō and his Fukanzazengi.
In the Rinzai-school, a difference is made between acknowledgement of insight and succession in the organisation: From the Rinzai perspective, true realization (jisshō) and succession to a master (shijō) are two different stages in the course of practice，the latter implying a comprehensive integration of awakening in the activities of ...
Kenshō also plays a central in the Sanbō Kyōdan, a Japanese Zen organisation which played a decisive role in the transmission of Zen to the United States. [44] Yasutani, the founder of the Sanbo Kyodan, was disappointed about the lack of interest in kensho in the Soto school.
A full-sized Zen Buddhist temple will typically have at least one zen-dō as well as a hon-dō ("main hall", but sometimes translated as "Buddha hall"), which is used for ceremonial purposes, plus a variety of other buildings with different functions. However, any place where people go to practice Zen can be referred to as a zen-dō.
The Zen tradition advocates the simultaneous practice of śamatha and vipaśyanā, and this is called the practice of silent illumination. [67] The classic Chan text known as the Platform Sutra states: Calming is the essence of wisdom. And wisdom is the natural function of calming [i.e., prajñā and samādhi].