Zen

For other uses, see Zen (disambiguation).

"Zenshu" redirects here. For the comedy TV series, see Zenshu (TV series). For city in South Korea formerly known as "Zenshu", see Jeonju.

Zen (Japanese; from Chinese "Chán"; in Korean: Sŏn, and Vietnamese: Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty as the Chan School (禪宗, chánzōng, "meditation school") or the Buddha-mind school (佛心宗, fóxīnzōng), and later developed into various sub-schools and branches. From China, Chán spread south to Vietnam and became Vietnamese Thiền, northeast to Korea to become Seon Buddhism, and east to Japan, becoming Japanese Zen.

Zen
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	禪
Simplified Chinese	禅
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Chán Wade–Giles Ch'an2 IPA [ʈʂʰǎn] Hakka Pha̍k-fa-sṳ Sàm Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Sim4 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Siân Middle Chinese Middle Chinese dʑjen
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	Thiền
Chữ Hán	禪
Korean name
Hangul	선
Hanja	禪
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Seon
Japanese name
Kanji	禅
Kana	ぜん
Transcriptions Romanization Zen

Zen emphasizes meditation practice, direct insight into one's own true nature (見性, Ch. jiànxìng, Jp. kenshō), and the personal expression of this insight in daily life for the benefit of others. Some Zen sources also de-emphasize ritual and doctrinal study, favoring direct understanding through zazen and interaction with an accomplished teacher (Jp: rōshi, Ch: shīfu).

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 (like the Laṅkāvatāra), 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.

Furthermore, the Chan School was also influenced by Daoist philosophy, especially Neo-Daoist thought.

Etymology

The word Zen is derived from the Japanese pronunciation (kana: ぜん) of the Middle Chinese word 禪 (Middle Chinese: [dʑian]; pinyin: Chán), which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna (ध्यान), which can be approximately translated as "contemplation", "absorption", or "meditative state".

The actual Chinese term for the "Zen school" is 禪宗 (pinyin: Chánzōng), while "Chan" just refers to the practice of meditation itself (Chinese: 習禪; pinyin: xíchán) or the study of meditation (Chinese: 禪學; pinyin: chánxué) though it is often used as an abbreviated form of Chánzong.

Zen is also called 佛心宗, fóxīnzōng (Chinese) or busshin-shū (Japanese), the "Buddha-mind school," from fó-xīn, "Buddha-mind"; "this term can refer either to the (or a) 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

Dhyāna

See also: Dhyāna in Buddhism

The practice of dhyana or meditation, especially sitting meditation (坐禪，Chinese: zuòchán, Japanese: zazen / ざぜん) is a central part of Zen Buddhism.

Chinese Buddhism

The practice of Buddhist meditation originated in India and first entered China through the translations of An Shigao (fl. c. 148–180 CE), and Kumārajīva (334–413 CE), who both translated Dhyāna sutras, which were influential early meditation texts mostly based on the Yogacara (yoga praxis) teachings of the Kashmiri Sarvāstivāda circa 1st–4th centuries CE. Among the most influential early Chinese meditation texts are the Anban Shouyi Jing (安般守意經, Sutra on ānāpānasmṛti), the Zuochan Sanmei Jing (坐禪三昧經，Sutra of sitting dhyāna samādhi) and the Damoduoluo Chan Jing (達摩多羅禪經, Dharmatrata dhyāna sutra). 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 source in the writing of this commentary. Tōrei believed that the Damoduoluo Chan Jing had been authored by Bodhidharma.

While dhyāna in a strict sense refers to the four dhyānas, in Chinese Buddhism, dhyāna 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 (mindfulness of breathing); paṭikūlamanasikāra meditation (mindfulness of the impurities of the body); maitrī meditation (loving-kindness); 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 also shares the practice of the four foundations of mindfulness and the Three Gates of Liberation (emptyness or śūnyatā, signlessness or animitta, and wishlessness or apraṇihita) with early Buddhism and classic Mahayana.

Pointing to the nature of the mind

According to Charles Luk, in the earliest traditions of Chán, there was no fixed method or formula for teaching meditation, and all instructions were simply heuristic methods, to point to the true nature of the mind, also known as Buddha-nature. According to Luk, this method is referred to as the "Mind Dharma", and exemplified in the story (in the Flower Sermon) of Śākyamuni Buddha holding up a flower silently, and Mahākāśyapa smiling as he understood. A traditional formula of this is, "Chán points directly to the human mind, to enable people to see their true nature and become buddhas."

Observing the mind

According to John McRae, "one of the most important issues in the development of early Ch'an doctrine is the rejection of traditional meditation techniques," that is, gradual self-perfection and the practices of contemplation on the body impurities and the four foundations of mindfulness. According to John R. 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" (shou-i pu i, 守一不移), the one being the nature of mind, which is equated with Buddha-nature. According to Sharf, in this practice, one turns the attention from the objects of experience, to the nature of mind, the perceiving subject itself, which is equated with Buddha-nature. According to McRae, this type of meditation resembles the methods of "virtually all schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism," but differs 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." Sharf notes that the notion of "Mind" was tempered and balanced by later Zen figures with terms like "No-Mind," to avoid any metaphysical reification and clinging to language.

Meditation manuals

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 school teaches a visualization of a sun disk, similar to that taught in the Sutra of the Contemplation of the Buddha Amitáyus.

Later Chinese Buddhists developed their own meditation manuals and texts, one of the most influential being the works of the Tiantai patriarch, Zhiyi. His works seemed to have exerted some influence on the earliest meditation manuals of the Chán school proper, an early work being the widely imitated and influential Tso-chan-i (Principles of sitting meditation, c. 11th century), which does not outline an analytical insight practice, but instead recommends a calming practice which is said to lead to the discovery of inherent wisdom already present in the mind.

Common contemporary meditation forms

The meditation hall (Jp. zendō, Ch. chántáng) of Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-Ji

Mindfulness of breathing

During sitting meditation (坐禅, Ch. zuòchán, Jp. zazen, Ko. jwaseon), practitioners usually assume a position such as the lotus position, half-lotus, Burmese, or seiza, often using the dhyāna mudrā. Often, a square or round cushion placed on a padded mat is used to sit on; in some other cases, a chair may be used.

To regulate the mind, Zen students are often directed towards counting breaths. Either both exhalations and inhalations are counted, or one of them only. The count can be up to ten, and then this process is repeated until the mind is calmed. Zen teachers like Omori Sogen teach a series of long and deep exhalations and inhalations as a way to prepare for regular breath meditation. Attention is usually placed on the energy center (dantian) below the navel. Zen teachers often promote diaphragmatic breathing, stating that the breath must come from the lower abdomen (known as hara or tanden in Japanese), and that this part of the body should expand forward slightly as one breathes. Over time the breathing should become smoother, deeper and slower. When the counting becomes an encumbrance, the practice of simply following the natural rhythm of breathing with concentrated attention is recommended.

Silent Illumination and shikantaza

Venerable Hsuan Hua meditating in the lotus position, Hong Kong, 1953

A common form of sitting meditation is called "Silent illumination" (Ch. mòzhào, Jp. mokushō). This practice was traditionally promoted by the Caodong school of Chinese Chan and is associated with Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091—1157) who wrote various works on the practice. This method derives from the Indian Buddhist practice of the union (Skt. yuganaddha) of śamatha and vipaśyanā.

In Hongzhi's practice of "nondual objectless meditation" the mediator strives to be aware of the totality of phenomena instead of focusing on a single object, without any interference, conceptualizing, grasping, goal seeking, or subject-object duality.

This practice is also popular in the major schools of Japanese Zen, but especially Sōtō, where it is more widely known as Shikantaza (Ch. zhǐguǎn dǎzuò, "Just sitting"). Considerable textual, philosophical, and phenomenological justification of the practice can be found throughout the works of the Japanese Sōtō Zen thinker Dōgen, especially in his Shōbōgenzō and his Fukan zazengi. While the Japanese and the Chinese forms are similar, they are distinct approaches.

Hua Tou and Kōan contemplation

Main article: Kōan

Calligraphy of "Mu" (Hanyu Pinyin: wú) by Torei Enji. It figures in the famous Zhaozhou's dog kōan

During the Tang dynasty, gōng'àn (Jp. kōan) literature became popular. Literally meaning "public case", they were stories or dialogues, describing teachings and interactions between Zen masters and their students. Kōans are meant to illustrate the non-conceptual insight (prajña) that the Buddhist teachings point to. During the Sòng dynasty, a new meditation method was popularized by figures such as Dahui, which was called kanhua chan ("observing the phrase" meditation), which referred to contemplation on a single word or phrase (called the huatou, "critical phrase") of a gōng'àn. In Chinese Chan and Korean Seon, this practice of "observing the huatou" (hwadu in Korean) is a widely practiced method. It was taught by the influential Seon master Chinul (1158–1210), and modern Chinese masters like Sheng Yen and Xuyun. Yet, while Dahui famously criticised "silent illumination," he nevertheless "did not completely condemn quiet-sitting; in fact, he seems to have recommended it, at least to his monastic disciples."

In the Japanese Rinzai school, kōan introspection developed its own formalized style, with a standardized curriculum of kōans, which must be studied and "passed" in sequence. This process includes standardized answers and "checking questions" (sassho) and common sets of "capping phrases" (jakugo), poetry citations that are memorized by students as answers. The Zen student's mastery of a given kōan is presented to the teacher in a private interview (referred to in Japanese as dokusan, daisan, or sanzen). While there are standardized answers to a kōan, practitioners are expected to demonstrate their spiritual understanding through their responses. The teacher may approve or disapprove of the answer and guide the student in the right direction. The interaction with a teacher is central in Zen, but makes Zen practice also vulnerable to misunderstanding and exploitation. Kōan-inquiry may be practiced during zazen (sitting meditation), kinhin (walking meditation), and throughout all the activities of daily life. The goal of the practice is often termed kensho (seeing one's true nature), and is to be followed by further practice to attain a natural, effortless, down-to-earth state of being, the "ultimate liberation", "knowing without any kind of defilement".

Kōan practice is particularly emphasized in Rinzai, but it also occurs in other schools or branches of Zen depending on the teaching line.

Nianfo chan

Nianfo (Jp. nembutsu, from Skt. buddhānusmṛti "recollection of the Buddha") refers to the recitation of the Buddha's name, in most cases the Buddha Amitabha. In Chinese Chan, the Pure Land practice of nianfo based on the phrase Nāmó Āmítuófó (Homage to Amitabha) is a widely practiced form of Zen meditation which came to be known as "Nianfo Chan" (念佛禪). Nianfo was practiced and taught by early Chan masters, like Daoxin (580-651), who taught that one should "bind the mind to one buddha and exclusively invoke his name". The practice is also taught in Shenxiu's Kuan-hsin lun (觀心論).

The Ch’uan fa-pao chi (傳法寶紀, Taisho # 2838, ca. 713), one of the earliest Chan histories, also shows this practice was widespread in early Chan:

Coming to the generation of [Hung-]jen, [Fa-]ju and Ta-tung, the dharma-door was wide open to followers, regardless of their capacities. All immediately invoked the name of the Buddha so as to purify the mind.

Evidence for the practice of nianfo chan can also be found in Changlu Zongze's (died c. 1107) Chanyuan qinggui (The Rules of Purity in the Chan Monastery), perhaps the most influential Ch’an monastic code in East Asia.

Nianfo continued to be taught as a form of Chan meditation by later Chinese figures such as Yongming Yanshou, Zhongfen Mingben, and Tianru Weize. During the late Ming, the tradition of Nianfo Chan meditation was continued by figures such as Yunqi Zhuhong and Hanshan Deqing. Chan figures like Yongming Yanshou generally advocated a view called "mind-only Pure Land" (wei-hsin ching-t’u), which held that the Buddha and the Pure Land are just mind.

The practice of nianfo, as well as its adaptation into the "nembutsu kōan" is a major practice in the Japanese Ōbaku school of Zen. The recitation of a Buddha's name was also practiced in the Soto school at different times throughout its history. During the Meiji period for example, both Shaka nembutsu (reciting the name of Shakyamuni Buddha: namu Shakamuni Butsu) and Amida nembutsu were promoted by Soto school priests as easy practices for laypersons.

Nianfo chan is also widely practiced in Vietnamese Thien.

Bodhisattva virtues and vows

Victoria Zen Centre Jukai ceremony, January 2009

Since Zen is a form of Mahayana Buddhism, it is grounded on the schema of the bodhisattva path, which is based on the practice of the "transcendent virtues" or "perfections" (Skt. pāramitā, Ch. bōluómì, Jp. baramitsu) as well as the taking of the bodhisattva vows. The most widely used list of six virtues is: generosity, moral training (incl. five precepts), patient endurance, energy or effort, meditation (dhyana), wisdom. An important source for these teachings is the Avatamsaka sutra, which also outlines the grounds (bhumis) or levels of the bodhisattva path. The pāramitās are mentioned in early Chan works such as Bodhidharma's Two entrances and four practices and are seen as an important part of gradual cultivation (jianxiu) by later Chan figures like Zongmi.

An important element of this practice is the formal and ceremonial taking of refuge in the three jewels, bodhisattva vows and precepts. Various sets of precepts are taken in Zen including the five precepts, "ten essential precepts", and the sixteen bodhisattva precepts. This is commonly done in an initiation ritual (Ch. shòu jiè, Jp. Jukai, Ko. sugye, "receiving the precepts"), which is also undertaken by lay followers and marks a layperson as a formal Buddhist.

The Chinese Buddhist practice of fasting (zhai), especially during the uposatha days (Ch. zhairi, "days of fasting") can also be an element of Chan training. Chan masters may go on extended absolute fasts, as exemplified by master Hsuan Hua's 35 day fast, which he undertook during the Cuban missile crisis for the generation of merit.

Physical cultivation

Two grandmasters of the Shaolin Temple of Chinese Chan, Shi DeRu and Shi DeYang

Traditional martial arts, like Japanese archery, other forms of Japanese budō and Chinese martial arts have also been seen as forms of zen praxis. This tradition goes back to the influential Shaolin Monastery in Henan, which developed the first institutionalized form of gōngfu. By the late Ming, Shaolin gōngfu was very popular and widespread, as evidenced by mentions in various forms of Ming literature (featuring staff wielding fighting monks like Sun Wukong) and historical sources, which also speak of Shaolin's impressive monastic army that rendered military service to the state in return for patronage. These Shaolin practices, which began to develop around the 12th century, were also traditionally seen as a form of Chan Buddhist inner cultivation (today called wuchan, "martial chan"). The Shaolin arts also made use of Taoist physical exercises (daoyin) breathing and qi cultivation (qigong) practices. They were seen as therapeutic practices, which improved "internal strength" (neili), health and longevity (lit. "nourishing life" yangsheng), as well as means to spiritual liberation.

The influence of these Taoist practices can be seen in the work of Wang Zuyuan (ca. 1820–after 1882), a scholar and minor bureaucrat who studied at Shaolin. Wang's Illustrated Exposition of Internal Techniques (Neigong tushuo) shows how Shaolin exercises were drawn from Taoist methods like those of the Yijin Jing and Eight pieces of brocade, possibly influenced by the Ming dynasty's spirit of religious syncretism. According to the modern Chan master Sheng Yen, Chinese Buddhism has adopted internal cultivation exercises from the Shaolin tradition as ways to "harmonize the body and develop concentration in the midst of activity." This is because, "techniques for harmonizing the vital energy are powerful assistants to the cultivation of samadhi and spiritual insight." Korean Seon also has developed a similar form of active physical training, termed Sunmudo.

Bows and quivers at Engaku-ji temple, the temple also has a Dōjō for the practice of Kyūdō and the Zen priests practice this art here.

In Japan, the classic combat arts (budō) and zen practice have been in contact since the embrace of Rinzai Zen by the Hōjō clan in the 13th century, who applied zen discipline to their martial practice. One influential figure in this relationship was the Rinzai priest Takuan Sōhō who was well known for his writings on zen and budō addressed to the samurai class (especially his The Unfettered Mind) .

The Rinzai school also adopted certain Chinese practices which work with qi (which are also common in Taoism). They were introduced by Hakuin (1686–1769) who learned various techniques from a hermit named Hakuyu who helped Hakuin cure his "Zen sickness" (a condition of physical and mental exhaustion). These energetic practices, known as naikan, are based on focusing the mind and one's vital energy (ki) on the tanden (a spot slightly below the navel).

The arts

Hakuin Ekaku, Hotei in a Boat, Yale University Art Gallery

The kare-sansui (dry landscape) zen garden at Ryōan-ji

Certain arts such as painting, calligraphy, poetry, gardening, flower arrangement, tea ceremony and others have also been used as part of zen training and practice. Classical Chinese arts like brush painting and calligraphy were used by Chan monk painters such as Guanxiu and Muqi Fachang to communicate their spiritual understanding in unique ways to their students.

Zen paintings are sometimes termed zenga in Japanese. Hakuin is one Japanese Zen master who was known to create a large corpus of unique sumi-e (ink and wash paintings) and Japanese calligraphy to communicate zen in a visual way. His work and that of his disciples were widely influential in Japanese Zen. Another example of Zen arts can be seen in the short lived Fuke sect of Japanese Zen, which practiced a unique form of "blowing zen" (suizen) by playing the shakuhachi bamboo flute.

Intensive group practice

Intensive group meditation may be practiced by serious Zen practitioners. In the Japanese language, this practice is called sesshin. While the daily routine may require monks to meditate for several hours each day, during the intensive period they devote themselves almost exclusively to zen practice. The numerous 30–50 minute long sitting meditation (zazen) periods are interwoven with rest breaks, ritualized formal meals (Jp. oryoki), and short periods of work (Jp. samu) that are to be performed with the same state of mindfulness. In modern Buddhist practice in Japan, Taiwan, and the West, lay students often attend these intensive practice sessions or retreats. These are held at many Zen centers or temples.

Chanting and rituals

See also: Buddhist chant

Gifu Daibutsu and altar at Shōhō-ji

Chanting the Buddhist Scriptures, by Taiwanese painter Li Mei-shu

Monks chanting the "Heart Sutra" in Sōji-ji Temple in Yokohama, Japan

Most Zen monasteries, temples and centers perform various rituals, services and ceremonies (such as initiation ceremonies and funerals), which are always accompanied by the chanting of verses, poems or sutras. There are also ceremonies that are specifically for the purpose of sutra recitation (Ch. niansong, Jp. nenju) itself.

Zen schools may have an official sutra book that collects these writings (in Japanese, these are called kyohon). Practitioners may chant major Mahayana sutras such as the Heart Sutra and chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra (often called the "Avalokiteśvara Sutra"). Dhāraṇīs and Zen poems may also be part of a Zen temple liturgy, including texts like the Song of the Precious Mirror Samadhi, the Sandokai, the Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī, and the Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtra.

The butsudan is the altar in a monastery, temple or a lay person's home, where offerings are made to the images of the Buddha, bodhisattvas and deceased family members and ancestors. Rituals usually center on major Buddhas or bodhisattvas like Avalokiteśvara (see Guanyin), Kṣitigarbha and Manjushri.

An important element in Zen ritual practice is the performance of ritual prostrations (Jp. raihai) or bows.

One popular form of ritual in Japanese Zen is Mizuko kuyō (Water child) ceremonies, which are performed for those who have had a miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. These ceremonies are also performed in American Zen Buddhism.

A widely practiced ritual in Chinese Chan is variously called the "Rite for releasing the hungry ghosts" or the "Releasing flaming mouth". The ritual might date back to the Tang dynasty, and was very popular during the Ming and Qing dynasties, when Chinese Esoteric Buddhist practices became diffused throughout Chinese Buddhism. The Chinese holiday of the Ghost Festival might also be celebrated with similar rituals for the dead. These ghost rituals are a source of contention in modern Chinese Chan, and masters such as Sheng Yen criticize the practice for not having "any basis in Buddhist teachings".

Another important type of ritual practiced in Zen are various repentance or confession rituals (Jp. zange) that were widely practiced in all forms of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism. One popular Chan text on this is known as the Emperor Liang Repentance Ritual, composed by Chan master Baozhi. Dogen also wrote a treatise on repentance, the Shushogi. Other rituals could include rites dealing with local deities (kami in Japan), and ceremonies on Buddhist holidays such as Buddha's Birthday.

Funerals are also an important ritual and are a common point of contact between Zen monastics and the laity. Statistics published by the Sōtō school state that 80 percent of Sōtō laymen visit their temple only for reasons having to do with funerals and death. Seventeen percent visit for spiritual reasons and 3 percent visit a Zen priest at a time of personal trouble or crisis.

Esoteric practices

Depending on the tradition, esoteric methods such as mantra and dhāraṇī are also used for different purposes including meditation practice, protection from evil, invoking great compassion, invoking the power of certain bodhisattvas, and are chanted during ceremonies and rituals. In the Kwan Um school of Zen for example, a mantra of Guanyin ("Kwanseum Bosal") is used during sitting meditation. The Heart Sutra Mantra is also another mantra that is used in Zen during various rituals. Another example is the Mantra of Light (kōmyō shingon), which is common in Japanese Soto Zen and was derived from the Shingon sect.

In Chinese Chan, the usage of esoteric mantras in Zen goes back to the Tang dynasty. There is evidence that Chan Buddhists adopted practices from Chinese Esoteric Buddhism in findings from Dunhuang. According to Henrik Sørensen, several successors of Shenxiu (such as Jingxian and Yixing) were also students of the Zhenyan (Mantra) school. Influential esoteric dhāraṇī, such as the Uṣṇīṣa Vijaya Dhāraṇī Sūtra and the Nīlakaṇṭha Dhāraṇī, also begin to be cited in the literature of the Baotang school during the Tang dynasty. Many mantras have been preserved since the Tang period and continue to be practiced in modern Chan monasteries. One common example is the Śūraṅgama Mantra, which has been heavily propagated by various prominent Chan monks, such as Venerable Hsuan Hua who founded the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. Another example of esoteric rituals practiced by the Chan school is the Mengshan Rite for Feeding Hungry Ghosts, which is practiced by both monks and laypeople during the Hungry Ghost Festival. Chan repentance rituals, such as the Liberation Rite of Water and Land, also involve various esoteric aspects, including the invocation of esoteric deities such as the Five Wisdom Buddhas and the Ten Wisdom Kings.

There is documentation that monks living at Shaolin temple during the eighth century performed esoteric practices there such as mantra and dharani, and that these also influenced Korean Seon Buddhism. During the Joseon dynasty, the Seon school was not only the dominant tradition in Korea, but it was also highly inclusive and ecumenical in its doctrine and practices, and this included Esoteric Buddhist lore and rituals (that appear in Seon literature from the 15th century onwards). According to Sørensen, the writings of several Seon masters (such as Hyujeong) reveal they were esoteric adepts.

In Japanese Zen, the use of esoteric practices within Zen is sometimes termed "mixed Zen" (kenshū zen 兼修禪), and the influential Soto monk Keizan Jōkin (1264–1325) is seen as a key promoter of esoteric methods. Keizan was heavily influenced by Shingon and Shugendo and is known for introducing numerous esoteric ritual forms into the Soto school. Another influential Soto figure, Menzan Zuihō (1683-1769), was also a practitioner of Shingon, having received esoteric initiation under a Shingon figure named Kisan Biku 義燦比丘.

Regarding Rinzai Zen, numerous key Rinzai figures were also esoteric practitioners, such as the Rinzai founder Myōan Eisai (1141–1215) who wrote various works on esoteric Buddhism. Enni Ben'en (1202–1280) was another influential Rinzai figure who practiced esoteric Buddhism. Under his abbotship, Fumon-in (the future Tōfuku-ji) held Shingon and Tendai rituals. He also lectured on the esoteric Mahavairocana sutra.

According to William Bodiford, a very common dhāraṇī in contemporary Japanese Zen is the Śūraṅgama spell (Ryōgon shu 楞嚴呪; T. 944A), which is repeatedly chanted during summer training retreats as well as at "every important monastic ceremony throughout the year" in Zen monasteries. Some Zen temples also continue to perform esoteric rituals, such as the homa ritual, which is performed at the Soto temple of Eigen-ji (in Saitama prefecture). As Bodiford writes, "perhaps the most notable examples of this phenomenon is the ambrosia gate (kanro mon 甘露門) ritual performed at every Sōtō Zen temple", which is associated feeding hungry ghosts, ancestor memorial rites and the ghost festival. Bodiford also notes that formal Zen rituals of Dharma transmission often involve esoteric initiations.

Doctrine

A Dharma talk by Seon nun Daehaeng Kun Sunim, Hanmaum Seon Center, South Korea

Main article: Doctrinal background of Zen

Zen is grounded in the rich doctrinal background of East Asian Mahayana Buddhism. Zen doctrinal teaching is thoroughly influenced by the Mahayana Buddhist teachings on the bodhisattva path, Chinese Madhyamaka (Sānlùn), Yogacara (Wéishí), the Prajñaparamita literature, and Buddha nature texts like the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra and the Nirvana sutra.

Some Zen traditions (especially Linji / Rinzai focused traditions) stress a narrative which sees Zen as a "special transmission outside scriptures", which does not "stand upon words". Nevertheless, Mahayana Buddhist doctrine and East Asian Buddhist teachings remain an essential part of Zen Buddhism. Various Zen masters throughout the history of Zen, like Guifeng Zongmi, Jinul, and Yongming Yanshou, have instead promoted the "correspondence of the teachings and Zen", which argues for the unity of Zen and the Buddhist teachings.

In Zen, doctrinal teaching is often compared to "the finger pointing at the moon". While Zen doctrines point to the moon (awakening, the Dharma-realm, the originally enlightened mind), one should not mistake fixating on the finger (the teachings) to be Zen, instead one must look at the moon (reality). As such, doctrinal teachings are just another skillful means (upaya) which can help one attain awakening. They are not the goal of Zen, nor are they held as fixed dogmas to be attached to (since ultimate reality transcends all concepts), but are nevertheless seen as useful (as long as one does not reify them or cling to them).

Buddha-nature and Innate enlightenment

Korean woodblock print of "The Sixth Patriarch's Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra" (c. 1310), a key Zen text which contains the basic doctrines of Zen. Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

The complex Mahayana Buddhist notion of Buddha-nature (Sanskrit: buddhadhātu, Chinese: 佛性 fóxìng) was a key idea in the doctrinal development of Zen and remains central to Zen Buddhism. In China, this doctrine developed to encompass the related teaching of original enlightenment (本覺, běnjué), which held that the awakened mind of a Buddha is already present in each sentient being and that enlightenment is "inherent from the outset" and "accessible in the present."

Drawing on sources like the Lankavatara sutra, the buddha-nature sutras, the Awakening of Faith, and the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment, Chan masters championed the view that the innately awakened buddha-mind was immanently present within all beings.

Thus, the Zen path is one of recognizing the inherent enlightenment that is already here. Indeed, the Zen insight and the Zen path are based on that very innate awakening. By the time of the codification of the Platform Sutra (c. 8th to 13th century), the Zen scripture par excellence, original enlightenment had become a central teaching of the Zen tradition.

Historically influential Chan schools like East Mountain and Hongzhou drew on the Awakening of Faith in its teachings on the buddha-mind, "the true mind as Suchness", which Hongzhou compared to a clear mirror. Similarly, the Tang master Guifeng Zongmi draws on the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment when he writes that "all sentient beings without exception have the intrinsically enlightened true mind", which is a "clear and bright ever-present awareness" that gets covered over by deluded thoughts. The importance of the concept of the innately awakened mind for Zen is such that it even became an alternative name for Zen, the "Buddha-mind school".

Emptiness, and negative dialectic

Calligraphy of no-mind 無心

The influence of Madhyamaka and Prajñaparamita on Zen can be discerned in the Zen stress on emptiness (空 kōng), non-conceptual wisdom (Skt: nirvikalpa-jñana), the teaching of no-mind, and the apophatic and sometimes paradoxical language of Zen literature.

Zen masters and texts took great pains to avoid the reification of doctrinal concepts and terms, including important terms like buddha-nature and enlightenment. This is because Zen affirms the Mahayana view of emptiness, which states that all phenomena lack a fixed and independent essence (svabhava). To avoid the reification which grasps at essences, Zen sources often make use of a negative dialectic influenced by Madhyamaka philosophy. As such, Zen teachings often include a seemingly paradoxical use of both negation and affirmation. For example, the teachings of the influential Tang dynasty master Mazu Daoyi, founder of the Hongzhou school, could include affirmative phrases like "Mind is Buddha" as well as negative ones like "it is neither mind nor Buddha".

The importance of negation is also seen in the key Zen teaching of no-mind (無心, wuxin), which is considered to be a state of meditative clarity, free of concepts, defilements, and clinging, which is also associated with wisdom and a direct experience of the ultimate truth.

Non-duality

Ensō calligraphy by Thích Nhất Hạnh. Hạnh's teaching of interbeing is one modern attempt to describe Zen non-duality.

Zen texts also stress the concept of non-duality (Skt: advaya, Ch: 不二), which is an important theme in Zen literature and is explained in various different ways. One set of themes is the non-dual unity of the absolute and the relative truths (which derives from the classic Buddhist theme of the the two truths). This can be found in Zen sources like the Five Ranks of Tozan, Faith in Mind, and the Harmony of Difference and Sameness. It is also an important theme in Mahayana sutras which are important to Zen, like the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa and the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra.

A related explanation of non-duality which is influential in Zen makes use of the Chinese Buddhist discourse of essence-function (Ch: tiyong), which is most famously taught in the influential Awakening of Faith. In this type of discourse, the essence refers to the inner nature of things, the absolute reality, while the functions refer to the more external, relative and secondary characteristics of things. The Platform Sutra compares the essence to a lamp, while the function is its light.

Another application of non-duality in Zen discourse is the idea that mundane reality (which includes the natural world) i.e. samsara (the world of suffering) and nirvana (the ultimate, enlightened reality) are not separate. This is a view found in Indian Mahayana sources like Nagarjuna's Root Verses on Madhyamaka. As such, Buddhas and sentient beings as well as Buddhahood and the natural world, are also considered to be non-dual in Zen. This idea influenced Zen attitudes on social harmony and harmony (he, 和) with the natural world.

A further meaning of non-duality in Zen is as the absence of a duality between the perceiving subject and the perceived object. This understanding of non-duality is derived from the Indian Yogachara school. The philosophy of the Huayan school also had an influence on Chinese Chan's conception of the non-dual ultimate truth and its understanding of essence-function. One example is the Huayan doctrine of the interpenetration of phenomena or "perfect interfusion" (yuanrong, 圓融), which also makes use of native Chinese philosophical concepts such as principle (li) and phenomena (shi). The influence of the related Huayan theory of the Fourfold Dharmadhatu can be seen in the Five Ranks of Dongshan Liangjie (806–869), the founder of the Caodong lineage of Chan.

Sudden enlightenment and seeing the nature

Seeing the ox, a metaphor for an initial stage in the practice of Zen. Ox-herding picture on an outdoor wall in Bongeunsa, South Korea.

The idea of the immanent character of Buddha-nature influenced Zen's characteristic emphasis on a direct insight. As such, a central topic of discussion in Zen is "seeing the nature" (見性, pinyin: jiànxìng, Jp: kenshō). Zen teachings use this term to refer to an insight which can occur to a Zen practitioner suddenly, and often equate it with a kind of enlightenment. The "nature" here is the buddha-nature, the originally enlightened mind. As such, this experience provides one with a glimpse of the ultimate truth. The term jiànxìng occurs in the classic Zen phrase "seeing one's nature, becoming Buddha", which is held to encapsulate the meaning of Zen. Zen schools have disagreed with each other on how to achieve "seeing nature" (the Linji school's huatou practice vs Caodong's silent illumination) as well as how to relate to, cultivate, express, and deepen one's relationship with the experience. This remains a major topic of debate and discussion among contemporary Zen traditions.

Oxherding picture depicting the insight into the ultimate truth, Bongeunsa.

Traditionally, Zen considers that its practices aim at a sudden insight into the true nature of things. This idea of sudden enlightenment or instant awakening (頓悟; dùnwù), which is closely related to "seeing the nature", is another important theme in Zen. Zen sources often argue that its "sudden" method is more direct and superior to the "gradual" paths, which take place in a step by step fashion. Such methods can be found in some of the earliest Zen traditions, like the East Mountain school's teaching of "maintaining the one," a direct contemplation on buddha-nature that was not dependent on preliminary practices or step by step instructions.

The sudden teaching was further emphasized by patriarch Shenhui and it became canonized as a key Zen teaching in the Platform Sutra. In spite of the rhetorical emphasis on sudden awakening and the critique of "gradual" methods found in various Zen sources, Zen traditions do not reject gradual practices (such as taking precepts, scriptural study, ritual practice and the six paramitas). Instead, Zen schools generally incorporate these practices within a schema grounded in sudden enlightenment thought. As such, many Zen sources which emphasize sudden awakening, like the Platform Sutra, also refer to traditional Mahayana practices.

This means that the Zen path does not end at "seeing the nature", since further practice and cultivation is considered necessary to deepen one's insight, remove the traces of the defilements (attachments, aversions, etc), and to learn to express buddha-nature in daily life. Zen masters like Zongmi described this method as "sudden enlightenment followed by gradual cultivation", holding that the sudden and gradual teachings point to the same truth. Zongmi argued that even though sudden awakening reveals the truth directly and instantly, the Zen practitioner still has deeply rooted defilements (Skt: kleśa, Ch: fánnǎo) which cloud the mind and can only be removed through further training.

This sudden-gradual schema became a standard view of Zen practice in China after the time of Zongmi. It is found in Zen sources like Dongshan's Five Ranks, the works of Jinul, the Four Ways of Knowing of Hakuin, Torei's Undying Lamp of Zen, and the Ten Ox-Herding Pictures, which depoict a gradual set of steps on the Zen path while also including the idea of a sudden awakening to an immanent innate pure nature.

Traditions

Today, there are two major traditions or groupings of Zen schools, along with numerous other smaller lineages, orders and schools. The main Zen traditions are the Linji lineages and the Caodong lineages. Some traditions include both lineages, so these categories should not be seen as mutually exclusive.

Caodong and Sōtō

Main articles: Caodong and Sōtō

Japanese Sōtō monk on an alms round (takuhatsu) sitting zazen.

The Chinese Caodong school was founded during the Tang Dynasty by Dongshan Liangjie (807–869). This tradition focuses on quiet sitting meditation, especially a method called "silent illumination" (Chinese: mozhao) and it understood the practice through the "five ranks" of Dongshan. Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091—1157) was the first figure who used the term silent illumination and who taught this method in writing.

Sōtō is the Japanese transmission of Caodong and it was founded by Dōgen Zenji (1200–1253), who also emphasized the practice of quiet sitting which he called shikantaza (nothing but just sitting). The Sōtō-school has de-emphasized kōans since Gentō Sokuchū (circa 1800), and instead emphasized shikantaza. Dōgen, the founder of Soto in Japan, emphasized that practice and awakening cannot be separated. By practicing shikantaza, attainment and Buddhahood are already being expressed. For Dogen, zazen, or shikantaza, is the essence of Buddhist practice.

A Caodong lineage also exists in Vietnam, founded by 17th-century Chan master Thông Giác Đạo Nam. In Vietnamese, the name of the school is spelled "Tào Động." Recently, the silent illumination method was revived in the Sinosphere by Sheng Yen and his Dharma Drum Mountain association.

Linji and Rinzai

Main articles: Linji school and Rinzai school

Jogyesa Temple Seon temple in Seoul

Tenryū-ji, the head temple of the Tenryū-ji branch of Rinzai.

Chinese Linji school was founded during the Tang dynasty by Linji Yixuan. It became the most influential school of Chan during the Song dynasty. It was known for its numerous collections of gongans (Jp: koans), literary stories of past enlightened masters. Since the Song, the hallmark of the school became the contemplation of koans in meditation. This was introcuded by Dahui Zonggao (1089–1163) as "kanhua chan" ("observing the huatou" chan), in which one contemplates a specific phrase or word called the huatou (critical phrase).

The Rinzai school is the Japanese lineage of Linji. The Rinzai school emphasizes koan practice through sanzen (one on one meeting with a teacher), through which one may attain kensho, insight into one's true nature. This is followed by so-called post-satori practice, further practice to attain Buddhahood. To attain this primary insight and to deepen it, zazen and kōan-study is deemed essential. The contemporary Sanbo Kyodan sect also teaches in a similar fashion, making use of koans in order to attain kensho and then following it up with post-kensho practice.

Most traditions in Korean Seon are also generally in the Linji lineage, and focus on huatou practice, though the exact methods and teachings on this differ. There are also Vietnamese lineages of Linji, such as the Lâm Tế and the Liễu Quán schools. These lineages also mix Zen practice with Pure Land elements.

Other schools

Monks of the Trúc Lâm school, Tây Thiên Monastery

Besides the two major families or traditions of Zen, there are several smaller schools. These include:

• Ōbaku-shū (黄檗宗), a school established in the 17th century. It includes classic Chan teachings and also Pure Land methods.
• Fuke-shū (普化宗), a small Japanese sect. A unique feature of this sect is the use of flute music as a meditation.
• Trúc Lâm, a unique native sect of Vietnamese Zen which is known for attempting to harmonize the "Three teachings" of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism.
• The Plum Village Tradition, a new modern tradition founded by the influential Vietnamese teacher and activist Thích Nhất Hạnh (1926–2022)
• The Kwan Um School of Zen, a new modern tradition founded by Zen Master Seung Sahn.

Organization and institutions

Soto Zen priest Myozan Kodo, right, receives Dharma Transmission from his teacher Taigu Turlur, Paris, 2014.

Main articles: Zen organisation and institutions, Zen ranks and hierarchy, Dharma transmission, and Zen lineage charts

Zen practice, like that of all religions, is supported by collective endeavors. Though some Zen sources sometimes emphasize individual experience and antinomianism, , Zen traditions are maintained and transferred by mostly hierarchical temple based institutions focused around a core of ordained clergy. These Zen masters or teachers (Ch: shīfu 師父; Jp: rōshi or oshō) may or may not be celibate monastics (bhiksus who follow the Vinaya, the traditional Buddhist monastic code) depending on the tradition. In Japanese Zen, it is common for Zen clergy to be ordained not on the traditional Vinaya, but on the bodhisattva precepts, which means they may get married. An important feature of traditional Zen institutions is the use of dharma transmission from master to disciple to pass on Zen lineages to the next generation.

Some important Zen organizations include the Japanese Sōtō school, the Soto Zen Buddhist Association of America, the various independent branches of Japanese Rinzai, the Korean Jogye and Taego orders, and the Chinese Dharma Drum Mountain and Fo Guang Shan organizations.

In Japan, modernity led to criticism of traditional Zen institutions and new lay-oriented Zen-schools such as the Sanbo Kyodan and the Ningen Zen Kyodan emerged in response. Some modern challenges for contemporary Zen include how to organize the continuity of the Zen-tradition, constraining charismatic authority (with the risk of abuse of power it brings) on the one hand, and maintaining the legitimacy of traditional authorities by limiting the number of authorized teachers on the other hand.

Scripture

Main article: Zen and Sutras

Archaeologist Aurel Stein's 1907 view of Mogao Cave 16, with altar and sutra scrolls

Tablets of the Tripiṭaka Koreana, an early edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon, in Haeinsa Temple, South Korea

The role of scripture in Zen

Zen is deeply rooted in the teachings and doctrines of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Classic Zen texts, such as the Platform sutra, contain numerous references to Mahāyāna sutras. According to Sharf, Zen monastics "are expected to become familiar with the classics of the Zen canon". A review of the early historical literature of early Zenclearly reveals that their authors were well versed in numerous Mahāyāna sūtras, as well as Mahayana Buddhist philosophy such as Madhyamaka.

Nevertheless, Zen is sometimes pictured as anti-intellectual or as dismissive of scriptural study. This picture of Zen emerged during the Song Dynasty (960–1297), when Chán became the dominant form of Buddhism in China, and gained great popularity among the literary classes of Chinese society. Several famous phrases from this period defined Zen as "not established on words and letters" and as "a special transmission outside the scriptures" (which were anachronistically attributed to Bodhidharma).

According to Welter, these rhetorical statements were not a complete denial of the importance of the sutras, but a warning to those who mistook the teachings for the truth itself. Furthermore, not all Zen teachers made use of this kind of "rhetorical" Chan, which was popular in the Linji school and emphasized a direct "mind to mind" transmission of the truth from master to disciple. Another contrasting style of Chan was a more moderate "sutra based Chan" (wenzi chan) associated with Zongmi and Yongming Yanshou. This type of Chan continued to actively promote doctrinal study and learning with the slogan of "the correspondence of the teachings and Chan" (chiao-ch'an i-chih).

As such, while the various Zen traditions today emphasize is that enlightenment arises from a direct non-conceptual insight, they also generally accept that study and understanding of the Buddhist teachings support and guide one's practice. Zongmi for example, writes that "the scriptures are like a marking line to be used as a standard to determine true and false....those who transmit Ch'an must use the scriptures and treatises as a standard." Likewise, the Japanese Rinzai master Hakuin writes that the Zen path begins with studying all the classic Buddhist sutras and commentaries, citing one of the four vows which states: "the Dharma teachings are infinite, I vow to study them all."

Since the emphasis is generally on a balanced approach to study and practice, the extremes which reject either pole are seen as problematic. As Hori writes (referring to the attitude of the modern Rinzai school): "the intellectual understanding of Zen and the experience itself are presented as standing in a complementary, both/and relationship." As such, it is said that the master of Zen uses two swords, the study of the teaching (kyoso) and the experience of the way (doriki).

Important scriptures

Reading a Sutra by Moonlight, by Ōbaku Zen monk Sokuhi Nyoitsu (1616–1671).

The early Buddhist schools in China were each based on a specific sutra. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, by the time of the Fifth Patriarch Hongren (601–674), the Zen school became established as a separate school of Buddhism and began to develop its doctrinal position based on the scriptures. Various sutras were used by the early Zen tradition, even before the time of Hongren. They include the Śrīmālādevī Sūtra (Huike), Awakening of Faith (Daoxin), the Lankavatara Sutra (East Mountain School), the Diamond Sutra (Shenhui), and the Platform Sutra (a Chinese composition).

The Chan tradition drew inspiration from a variety of scriptural sources and did not follow any single scripture over the others. Subsequently, the Zen tradition produced a rich corpus of written literature, which has become a part of its practice and teaching. Other influential sutras in Zen are the Vimalakirti Sutra, Avatamsaka Sutra, the Shurangama Sutra, and the Mahaparinirvana Sutra. Important apocryphal sutras composed in China include the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment and the Vajrasamadhi sutra.

In his analysis of the works of the influential Tang dynasty Hongzhou school, Mario Poceski notes that they cite the following Mahayana sutras often: the Lotus Sutra, the Huayan, the Nirvana, the Laṅkāvatāra, the Prajñāpāramitā sutras, the Mahāratnakūta, the Mahāsamnipāta, and the Vimalakīrti.

Literature

Reproduction of the Tenpuku version of Dogen's Fukanzazengi, originally produced in 1233

See also: Zen literature

Zen developed a rich textual tradition, based on original Zen writings, such as poems, dialogues, histories, and the recorded sayings of Zen masters. Important Zen texts and genres include:

• Zen "sutras" or "scriptures" (Ch: jīng) such as the Platform Sutra, a key work in the development and history of Zen. The Korean Vajrasamadhi sutra is another apocryphal Zen work which calls itself a "sutra".
• Poems or songs, like Faith in Mind, Song of the Precious Mirror Samadhi and Song of Awakening
• Records of Zen transmission and teachings (tenglu), and "encounter dialogues" (ch: jiyuan wenda, jp: kien mondō) such as Masters of the Lankavatara (c. 683-750), Transmission of the Lamp (c. 1004), and Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall (952).
• Recorded sayings of the masters (yulu) like the Record of Mazu, Huangbo's Essential of Mind Transmission, the Linji Yulu and the Yunmen yulu.
• Collections of Zen koans (Ch: gongan), such as the Gateless Barrier, the Book of Equanimity and the Blue Cliff Record.
• Meditation manuals like the Zuochan Yi and the Fukanzazengi .

History

Chinese Chán

Main article: Chinese Chán

See also: Silk Road transmission of Buddhism

Huike Offering His Arm to Bodhidharma, Sesshū Tōyō (1496).

The history of Chán in China is divided into various periods by different scholars, who generally distinguish a classical phase and a post-classical period. Each period had different schools of Zen, some of which remained influential while others vanished.

Ferguson distinguishes three periods from the 5th century into the 13th century: the Legendary period of the six patriarchs (5th century to the 760s BCE); the Classical period of the Hongzhou masters (760s to 950); and the Literary period (950-1250) of Song dynasty Chan which saw the compilation of the gongan-collections and the rise of Linji and Caodong.

McRae distinguishes four rough phases in the history of Chán (though he notes this is only an expedient device and the reality was much more complicated):

1. Proto-Chán (c. 500–600) (Southern and Northern Dynasties (420 to 589) and Sui Dynasty (589–618 CE)). In this phase, Chán developed in multiple locations in northern China. It was based on the practice of meditation as taught by figures likeBodhidharma and Huike. A key source from this period is the Two Entrances and Four Practices, attributed to Bodhidharma.
2. Early Chán (c. 600–900, Tang Dynasty c. 618–907 CE). In this phase Chán took its first clear contours. Prime figures are the fifth patriarch Daman Hongren (601–674), his dharma-heir Yuquan Shenxiu (606?–706), the sixth patriarch Huineng (638–713), protagonist of the quintessential Platform Sutra, and Shenhui (670–762), whose propaganda elevated Huineng to the status of sixth patriarch. Major schools are the Northern School, Southern School and Oxhead school.
3. Middle Chán (c. 750–1000, from An Lushan Rebellion c. 755–763 to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960/979)). Major schools include the Hongzhou school, the Heze school, and the Hubei faction Some key figures include Mazu, Shitou, Huangbo, Linji, Xuefeng Yicun, Zongmi and Yongming Yanshou. A key text from this period is the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall (952), which includes many "encounter stories", as well as the traditional genealogy of the Chán-school.
4. Song Dynasty Chán (c. 950–1300). This period saw the development of the traditional Zen narrative as well as the rise of the Linji school and the Caodong school. The key figures are Dahui Zonggao (1089–1163), who introduced the Hua Tou practice, and Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091–1157) who emphasized Shikantaza. This era saw the composition of the classic koan-collections (e.g. Blue Cliff Record) which reflect the influence of the literati class on the development of Chán. In this phase Chán is transported to Japan, and exerts a great influence on Korean Seon via Jinul (1158–1210).

Neither Ferguson nor McRae give a periodisation for Chinese Chán following the Song-dynasty, though McRae mentions "at least a post-classical phase or perhaps multiple phases". David McMahan discusses the later Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) era of Chan, which saw increasing syncretism with other traditions, and a later modern phase (19th century onwards) during which Chan adapted western ideas and attempted to modernize in response to the pressure of foreign imperialism.

Origins

See also: Han dynasty and Six Dynasties

Before the arrival of the "founder" of Chan, Bodhidharma, various Buddhist masters of meditation or dhyana (Ch: channa) had taught in China. These figures also brought with them various meditation texts, called the Dhyāna sutras (Chinese: 禪經 chan jing). These early meditation works mainly drew from the teachings of the Sarvāstivāda school of Kashmir. These texts include the translations of the Parthian An Shigao (147–168 CE) like the Anban shouyi jing (Sanskrit: Ānāpānasmṛti-sūtra), the numerous translations of Kumārajīva (334–413 CE, such as the Sutra of Sitting Dhyāna samādhi) and those of Buddhabhadra (like the Dharmatrāta Dhyāna sūtra). These early meditation texts laid the groundwork for the practices of Chan Buddhism and the works of the Tiantai meditation master Zhiyi.

The translation work of Kumārajīva (especially his Prajñāpāramitā translations and his Vimalakirti Sutra), Buddhabhadra (Avatamsaka Sutra) and Gunabhadra (Lankāvatāra sūtra) were also key formative influences on Chan and remained key sources for later Chan masters. Indeed, in some early Chan texts (like the Masters of the Lankāvatāra), it is Gunabhadra, not Bodhidharma, which is seen as the first patriarch who transmits the Chan lineage (here seen as synonymous with the Lankāvatāra tradition) from India. The meditation works of the fourth Tiantai patriarch Zhiyi, such as his monumental Mohezhiguan, were also influential on later Chan meditation manuals, like the Tso-chan-i.

A further possible influence on the origin of Chan Buddhism is Taoism. Some of the earliest Chinese Buddhists were influenced by Daoist thought and terminology and this has led some scholars to see a Taoist influence on Chan. In his history of Zen, Heinrich Dumoulin argued that Chan Buddhist developed out of the confluence of Indian Mahayana and Chinese Taoism. Two Chinese disciples of Kumārajīva, Sengzhao and Tao Sheng were influenced by Taoist works like the Laozi and Zhuangzi. These Sanlun figures in turn had an influence on some early Chan masters.

Proto-Chán

Bodhidharma, stone carving in Shaolin Temple.

Proto-Chán (c. 500–600) encompasses the Southern and Northern Dynasties period (420 to 589) and Sui Dynasty (589–618 CE). This is the time of the first "patriarchs" of Chan, like Bodhidharma, Seng-fu and Huike. There is little actual historical information about these early figures and most legendary stories about their life come from later, mostly Tang sources. What is known is that they were considered Mahayana meditation masters (chanshi).

An important text from this period is the Two Entrances and Four Practices, found in Dunhuang, and attributed to Bodhidharma. Later sources mention that these figures taught using the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra though there is no direct evidence of this from the earliest sources. According to John McRae, the earliest Chan sources on these masters show considerable influence from Madhyamaka thought, while the influence from the Laṅkāvatāra is actually much less pronounced. As such, it is questionable if it was there at all with regards to the earliest figures like Bodhidharma and Huike.

Early Chán

Hóngrěn, the fifth patriarch of Zen

Early Chán refers to early Tang Dynasty (618–750) Chán. The fifth patriarch Daman Hongren (601–674), and his dharma-heir Yuquan Shenxiu (606?–706) were influential in founding the first Chan institution in Chinese history, known as the "East Mountain school". Hongren emphasized the meditation practice of shou-hsin, "maintaining (guarding) the mind," in which "an awareness of True Mind or Buddha-nature within" is maintained.

Shenxiu was the most influential and charismatic student of Hongren and considered to be the sixth patriarch by his followers. He was even invited to the Imperial Court by Empress Wu. Shenxiu also became the target of much criticism by Shenhui (670–762), for his supposedly "gradualist" teachings. Shenhui instead promoted the "sudden" teachings attributed to his teacher Huineng (638–713). Shenhui's propaganda campaign eventually succeeded when he became a key figure in the royal court, elevating Huineng to the status of sixth patriarch of Chinese Chán.

This sudden vs. gradual debate came to define later forms of Chan discourse. This early period also saw the composition of the Platform Sutra, which would become one of the most influential Chan texts of all time. The sutra purports to contain the teachings of the sixth Patriarch Huineng, but modern scholars like Yanagida Seizan now believe that it was redacted over a period of time within the Oxhead school. According to McRae, the text attempts to reconcile the so called "sudden" teachings with the "gradual" teachings of the Northern school.

Middle Chán

Mazu

The Middle Chán (c. 750–1000) phase runs from the An Lushan Rebellion (755–763) to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960/979). This period saw the rise of Chan schools in rural southern China. The most prominent among them was the Hongzhou school of Mazu Daoyi (709–788), which arose in Hunan and Jiangxi.

Other important Hongzhou masters include Shitou, Baizhang, and Huangbo. This school is sometimes seen as the archetypal expression of Chán, with its emphasis on the personal expression of the buddha-mind in everyday life activities, its use of slang and Chinese vernacular as opposed to classical Chinese, as well as the importance it placed on spontaneous and unconventional "questions and answers during an encounter" (linji wenda) between master and disciple. This period also sees the first Chan monastic code, the Pure Rules of Baizhang.

Some sources depict these masters as highly antinomian and iconoclastic people, who make paradoxical or nonsensical statements, shout at and beat their students to shock them into realization. However, modern scholars have seen much of the literature that presents these "iconoclastic" encounters as being later revisions during the Song era. The Hongzhou masters may not have been as radical as the Song sources depict them to be and they seem to have promoted traditional Buddhist practices like keeping precepts, accumulating good karma and practicing meditation.

There were other important schools of Zen in this period as well, such as the Jìngzhòng school of Zhishen (609–702) and Kim Hwasang which was based in Sichuan, the Baotang school (also in Sichuan), and the more moderate and intellectual Heze lineage of Guifeng Zongmi (780–841). Zongmi, who was also a Huayan patriarch, is known for his critique of the Hongzhou tradition, his sutra commentaries, and for his extensive writings on Chan.

The Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution in 845 was devastating for all schools of metropolitan Chinese Buddhism, but the Chan tradition survived in the rural areas and in the outlying regions. Chan was thus in a position to take a leading role in the later eras of Chinese Buddhism.

During the subsequent Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms era, the Hongzhou school gradually split into several regional traditions led by various masters. These eventually became known as the Five Houses of Chán: Guīyǎng, Cáodòng, Línjì, Fǎyǎn and Yúnmén. Some schools of this period, particularly that of Linji Yixuan (d. 866), promoted an iconoclastic and often absurd style, with masters often hitting and shouting at students. This period also saw the development of encounter dialogue literature, some of which were retroactively attributed to past Chan masters. An important encounter dialogue text from this period is the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall (952), which also establishes a genealogy of the Chán school.

Song Dynasty Chán

Dahui introduced the method of kan huatou, or "inspecting the critical phrase", of a kōan story. This method was called the "Chan of kōan introspection" (Kanhua Chan).

During Song Dynasty Chán (c. 950–1300), Chán Buddhism became a dominant force. Chán became the largest sect of Chinese Buddhism and had strong ties to the imperial government, which led to the development of a highly organized system of temple rank and administration. The development of printing technology advanced during this era, and Chan works were widely printed and distributed. Furthermore, during this period, Chan literati developed their own idealized history, seeing the Tang era as a "golden age" of Chan. In spite of the popularity of Chan at this time, it was also under increased attack by Neo-Confucian scholars who wrote critiques of Buddhism, and dominated the imperial examination system.

The dominant form of Song Chán was the Linji school. This was due to extensive support from the scholar-officials and the imperial court. The Linji school developed the study of gong'an ("public case", Jp: kōan) literature, which depicted stories of master-student encounters that were seen as demonstrations of the awakened mind. Most kōan stories depicted the idealized encounters of past Chan masters, particularly from the Tang era, and show the influence of the Chinese literati class. Some influential kōan texts are the Blue Cliff Record, the Book of Equanimity and The Gateless Gate.

During the 12th century, a rivalry emerged between the Linji and the Caodong schools for the support of Chinese elites. Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091–1157) of the Caodong school emphasized silent illumination or serene reflection (mòzhào) as a means for solitary practice, which could be undertaken by lay-followers. The Linji school's Dahui Zonggao (1089–1163) meanwhile, introduced k'an-hua chan ("observing the word-head" chan), which involved meditation on the crucial phrase or "punch line" (hua-tou) of a gong'an.

The Song also saw the syncretism of Chán and Pure Land Buddhism by figures like Yongming Yanshou (904–975), a practice that would become very popular. Yongming also echoed Zongmi's work in indicating that the values of Taoism and Confucianism could also be embraced and integrated into Buddhism. Chán also influenced Neo-Confucianism as well as certain forms of Taoism, such as the Quanzhen school.

During the Song, Chán was also transmitted to Japan by figures Myōan Eisai and Nanpo Shōmyō who studied in China. It also exerted a great influence on Korean Seon via figures like Jinul.

Post-Classical Chán

During the Ming Dynasty, the Chán school was so dominant that all Chinese monks were affiliated with either the Linji school or the Caodong school.

Some scholars see the post-classical phase as an "age of syncretism." The post-classical period saw the increasing popularity of the dual practice of Chán and Pure Land Buddhism (known as nianfo Chan), as seen in the teachings of Zhongfeng Mingben (1263–1323) and the great reformer Hanshan Deqing (1546–1623). This became a widespread phenomenon and in time much of the distinction between them was lost, with many monasteries teaching both Chán meditation and the Pure Land practice of nianfo. The Ming dynasty also saw the efforts of figures such as Yunqi Zhuhong (1535–1615) and Daguan Zhenke (1543–1603) to revive and reconcile Chan Buddhism with the practice of Buddhist scriptural study and writing.

In the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the highly influential teacher Miyun Yuanwu (1566–1642) began a revival of Linji school. Miyun's students had a broad impact on Qing Chan, as well as on Japanese and Vietnamese Zen.

Modern era

Xuyun was one of the most influential Chán Buddhists of the 19th and 20th centuries.

After further centuries of decline during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), Chán activity was revived again in the 19th and 20th centuries by a flurry of modernist activity. This period saw the rise of worldly Chan activism, what is sometimes called Humanistic Buddhism (or more literally "Buddhism for human life", rensheng fojiao), promoted by figures like Jing'an (1851–1912), Yuanying (1878–1953), Taixu (1890–1947), Xuyun (1840–1959) and Yinshun (1906–2005). These figures promoted social activism to address issues such as poverty and social injustice, as well as participation in political movements. They also promoted modern science and scholarship, including the use of the methods of modern critical scholarship to study the history of Chan.

Many Chán teachers today trace their lineage back to Xuyun, including Sheng-yen and Hsuan Hua, who have propagated Chán in the West where it has grown steadily through the 20th and 21st centuries. Chán Buddhism was repressed in China during the 1960s in the Cultural Revolution, but in the subsequent reform and opening up period in the 1970s, a revival of Chinese Buddhism has been taking place on the mainland, while Buddhism has a significant following in Taiwan and Hong Kong as well as among Overseas Chinese.

Spread outside of China

Vietnamese Thiền

See also: Vietnamese Thiền and Buddhism in Vietnam

Thích Nhất Hạnh leading a namo avalokiteshvaraya chanting session with monastics from his Order of Interbeing, Germany 2010

Chan was introduced to Vietnam during the early Chinese occupation periods (111 BCE to 939 CE) as Thiền. During the Lý (1009–1225) and Trần (1225 to 1400) dynasties, Thiền rose to prominence among the elites and the royal court and a new native tradition was founded, the Trúc Lâm ("Bamboo Grove") school, which also contained Confucian and Taoist influences. In the 17th century, the Linji school was brought to Vietnam as the Lâm Tế, which also mixed Chan and Pure land. Lâm Tế remains the largest monastic order in the country today.

Modern Vietnamese Thiền is influenced by Buddhist modernism. Important figures include Thiền master Thích Thanh Từ (1924–), the activist and popularizer Thích Nhất Hạnh (1926–2022) and the philosopher Thích Thiên-Ân. Vietnamese Thiền is eclectic and inclusive, bringing in many practices such as breath meditation, nianfo, mantra, Theravada influences, chanting, sutra recitation and engaged Buddhism activism.

Korean Seon

Main article: Korean Seon

See also: Buddhism in Korea

Jogyesa is the headquarters of the Jogye Order. The temple was first established in 1395, at the dawn of the Joseon Dynasty.

Seon (선) was gradually transmitted into Korea during the late Silla period (7th through 9th centuries) as Korean monks began to travel to China to learn the newly developing Chan tradition of Mazu Daoyi and returned home to establish the Chan school. They established the initial Seon schools of Korea, which were known as the "nine mountain schools" (九山, gusan).

Seon received its most significant impetus and consolidation from the Goryeo monk Jinul (1158–1210), who is considered the most influential figure in the formation of the mature Seon school. He founded the Jogye Order, which remains the largest Seon tradition in Korea today. Jinul founded the Songgwangsa temple as a new center of Seon study and practice. Jinul also wrote extensive works on Seon, developing a comprehensive system of thought and practice. From Dahui Zonggao, Jinul adopted the hwadu method, which remains the main meditation form taught in Seon today.

Buddhism was mostly suppressed during the strictly Confucian Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910), and the number of monasteries and clergy sharply declined. The period of Japanese occupation also brought numerous modernist ideas and changes to Korean Seon. Some monks began to adopt the Japanese practice of marrying and having families, while others such as Yongseong, worked to resist the Japanese occupation. Today, the largest Seon school, the Jogye, enforces celibacy, while the second largest, the Taego Order, allows for married priests. Important modernist figures that influenced contemporary Seon include Seongcheol and Gyeongheo. Seon has also been transmitted to West, with new traditions such as the Kwan Um School of Zen.

Japanese Zen

Main article: Japanese Zen

See also: Buddhism in Japan

Sojiji Temple, of the Soto Zen school, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Japan

Zen was not introduced as a separate school until the 12th century, when Myōan Eisai traveled to China and returned to establish a Linji lineage, which eventually perished. Decades later, Nanpo Shōmyō (南浦紹明) (1235–1308) also studied Linji teachings in China before founding the Japanese Otokan lineage, the most influential and only surviving lineage of Rinzai in Japan. In 1215, Dōgen, a younger contemporary of Eisai's, journeyed to China himself, where he became a disciple of the Caodong master Tiantong Rujing. After his return, Dōgen established the Sōtō school, the Japanese branch of Caodong.

The three traditional schools of Zen in contemporary Japan are the Sōtō (曹洞), Rinzai (臨済), and Ōbaku (黃檗). Of these, Sōtō is the largest, and Ōbaku the smallest, with Rinzai in the middle. These schools are further divided into subschools by head temple, with two head temples for Sōtō (Sōji-ji and Eihei-ji, with Sōji-ji having a much larger network), fourteen head temples for Rinzai, and one head temple (Manpuku-ji) for Ōbaku, for a total of 17 head temples. The Rinzai head temples, which are most numerous, have substantial overlap with the traditional Five Mountain System, and include Myoshin-ji, Nanzen-ji, Tenryū-ji, Daitoku-ji, and Tofuku-ji, among others.

Besides these traditional organizations, there are modern Zen organizations that have especially attracted Western lay followers, namely the Sanbo Kyodan and the FAS Society.

Zen in the West

See also: Buddhism in the West and Zen in the United States

Although it is difficult to trace the precise moment when the West first became aware of Zen as a distinct form of Buddhism, the visit of Soyen Shaku, a Japanese Zen monk, to Chicago during the World Parliament of Religions in 1893 is often pointed to as an event that enhanced the profile of Zen in the Western world. It was during the late 1950s and the early 1960s that the number of Westerners other than the descendants of Asian immigrants who were pursuing a serious interest in Zen began to reach a significant level. Japanese Zen has gained the greatest popularity in the West. The various books on Zen by Reginald Horace Blyth, Alan Watts, Philip Kapleau and D. T. Suzuki published between 1950 and 1975, contributed to this growing interest in Zen in the West, as did the interest on the part of beat poets such as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder. In 1958, the literary magazine Chicago Review played a significant role in introducing Zen to the American literary community when it published a special issue on Zen featuring the aforementioned beat poets and works in translation. Erich Fromm quotes D. T. Suzuki in his 1960 book Psychoanalysis and Zen Buddhism.

The publication in 1974 of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by American writer Robert Pirsig brought the application of Zen thinking into a way of understanding non dualism in a practical sense. Drawing on a wide range of philosophical and logical sources, the book became the biggest selling work on philosophy ever published.

Narratives

Main article: Zen Narratives

The Chán of the Tang Dynasty, especially that of Mazu and Linji with its antinomian saying and emphasis on "shock techniques", was retrospectively seen as a "golden age" of Chán by later Chan authors. As Mario Poceski writes, Song dynasty texts like the Record of the Transmission of the Lamp (c. 1004) depict the past masters as iconoclastic sages who embraced radical and transgressive practices like shouting, beating their students and making paradoxical statements. However, these iconoclastic stories cannot be traced back to Tang era sources, and a such, they should be seen as apocryphal lore. This traditional Zen narrative became dominant during the Song, when Chán became dominant form of Buddhism in China, due to support from the Imperial Court and the scholar-official class.

Another important element of the traditional Zen narrative is that Zen is an unbroken lineage that has transmitted the enlightened Buddha-mind from the time of the Shakyamuni Buddha to the present. This narrative is traditionally supported through Zen histories and Zen lineage charts, which developed in China throughout several centuries until they became canonized in the Song.

The traditional picture of the ancient iconoclastic Zen masters has gained great popularity in the West in the 20th century, especially due to the influence of D.T. Suzuki, and Hakuun Yasutani. This traditional narrative has been challenged, and complemented, since the 1970s by modern academic research on Zen history and pre-Song sources.

Modern scientific research on the history of Zen discerns three main narratives concerning Zen, its history and its teachings: Traditional Zen Narrative (TZN), Buddhist Modernism (BM), Historical and Cultural Criticism (HCC). An external narrative is Nondualism, which claims Zen to be a token of a universal nondualist essence of religions.

See also

• List of Buddhists
• Outline of Buddhism
• Timeline of Buddhism
• Chinese Chán
• 101 Zen Stories
• Chinso
• Shussan Shaka
• Katsu

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Further reading

Modern popular works

• D.T. Suzuki, Essays in Zen Buddhism, First Series (1927), Second Series (1933), Third Series (1934)
• R. H. Blyth, Zen and Zen Classics, 5 volumes (1960–1970; reprints of works from 1942 into the 1960s)
• Alan Watts, The Way of Zen (1957)
• Lu K'uan Yu (Charles Luk), Ch'an and Zen Teachings, 3 vols (1960, 1971, 1974), The Transmission of the Mind: Outside the Teaching (1974)
• Paul Reps & Nyogen Senzaki, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones (1957)
• Philip Kapleau, The Three Pillars of Zen (1966)
• Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (1970)
• Katsuki Sekida, Zen Training: Methods & Philosophy (1975)

Classic historiography

• Dumoulin, Heinrich (2005), Zen Buddhism: A History. Volume 1: India and China. World Wisdom Books.ISBN 978-0-941532-89-1
• Dumoulin, Heinrich (2005), Zen Buddhism: A History. Volume 2: Japan. World Wisdom Books.ISBN 978-0-941532-90-7

Critical historiography

Overview

• Heine, Steven (2007), "A Critical Survey of Works on Zen since Yampolsky" (PDF), Philosophy East & West, 57 (4): 577–592, doi:10.1353/pew.2007.0047, S2CID 170450246, archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2013, retrieved 3 October 2012

Formation of Chán in Tang & Song China

• McRae, John (2004), The Sutra of Queen Śrīmālā of the Lion's Roar and the Vimalakīrti Sutra (PDF), Berkeley, CA: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, ISBN 1-886439-31-1, archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2014
• Welter, Albert (2000), "Mahakasyapa's smile. Silent Transmission and the Kung-an (Koan) Tradition", in Steven Heine; Dale S. Wright (eds.), The Koan: Texts and Contexts in Zen Buddhism, Oxford: Oxford University Press
• Schlütter, Morten (2008), How Zen became Zen. The Dispute over Enlightenment and the Formation of Chan Buddhism in Song-Dynasty China, Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, ISBN 978-0-8248-3508-8

Japan

• Bodiford, William M. (1993), Sōtō Zen in Medieval Japan, University of Hawaii Press, ISBN 0-8248-1482-7

Modern times

• Victoria, Brian Daizen (2006), Zen at war (Second ed.), Lanham e.a.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Orientalism and East-West interchange

• Borup, Jorn (n.d.), Zen and the Art of inverting Orientalism: religious studies and genealogical networks
• King, Richard (2002), Orientalism and Religion: Post-Colonial Theory, India and "The Mystic East", Routledge
• McMahan, David L. (2008), The Making of Buddhist Modernism. Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-518327-6

Contemporary practice

• Borup, Jørn (2008), Japanese Rinzai Zen Buddhism: Myōshinji, a Living Religion, Brill
• Hori, Victor Sogen (1994), "Teaching and Learning in the Zen Rinzai Monastery" (PDF), Journal of Japanese Studies (1): 5–35, doi:10.2307/132782, JSTOR 132782
• Buswell, Robert E. (1993a), The Zen Monastic Experience: Buddhist Practice in Contemporary Korea, Princeton University Press

External links

• thezensite
• Zen Buddhism WWW Virtual Library
• Chart of (Asian) Zen schools
• Glossary of Japanese Zen terms
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: entry on Japanese Zen Buddhism
• What is Zen Buddhism?