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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]
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]
Seon or Sŏn Buddhism (Korean: 선; Hanja: 禪; Korean pronunciation:) is the Korean name for Chan Buddhism, a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism commonly known in English as Zen Buddhism. Seon is the Sino-Korean pronunciation of Chan ( Chinese : 禪 ; pinyin : chán ) an abbreviation of 禪那 ( chánnà ), which is a Chinese transliteration of the ...
This tradition focuses on the teachings found in Mahāyāna sutras (which are not considered canonical or authoritative in Theravāda school), preserved in the Chinese Buddhist Canon, in the classical Chinese language. There are many schools and traditions, with different texts and focuses, such as Zen Buddhism (Chan) and Pure Land (see below).
The Five Houses of Chán (also called the Five Houses of Zen) were the five major schools of Chan Buddhism that originated during Tang China. Although at the time they were not considered formal schools or sects of Buddhism, they are now regarded as important schools in the history of Chán Buddhism.
The principle teachers of the Chan, Zen and Seon traditions are commonly known in English translations as "Patriarchs". However, the more precise terminology would be "Ancestors" or "Founders" ( Chinese : 祖 ; pinyin : zǔ ) and "Ancestral Masters" or "Founding Masters" ( Chinese : 祖師 ), as the commonly used Chinese terms are gender neutral.
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].