Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Chán. Chán is itself derived from the Sanskrit Dhyāna, which means "meditation" (see etymology below).
What is Zen?
The term Zen carried a number of different shades of meaning, but first and foremost it is a branch of Buddhism.
Buddhism can be divided up into branches in much the same way that Christianity can be thoguht of in terms of demoninations. In Buddhism, the two main branches of the religion are Theravada and Mayayana Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism is the most traditional and oldest form; it takes its teachings only from the original Pali Texts of Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism sees Buddhist scripture as open ended and growing. As a result, the many different sub-branches of Mahayana Buddism have added to the original Pali Texts other sutras and writings that they thought useful. While Theravada Buddhism is fairly homogeneous, Mahayana Buddhism is diverse.
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Zen is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism. It was started in China (where it is called Chán). Zen emphasizes spiritual awakening and meditation. It reduces the dependence on religious texts and discussions of metaphysical issues. Instead, it promotes introspection as the path to enlightenment and awakening.
Zen is more popular in Japan, but it is common in East Asia. Aspects of Zen Buddhism have become popular in Western countries, as well, where they are blended with pop psychology.
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Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Chán. Chán is itself derived from the Sanskrit Dhyāna, which means "meditation" (see etymology below).
Zen emphasizes experiential Prajñā—particularly as realized in the form of meditation known as zazen—in the attainment of awakening, often simply called the path of enlightenment. As such, it de-emphasizes both theoretical knowledge and the study of religious texts in favor of direct, experiential realization through meditation and dharma practice.
The establishment of Zen is traditionally credited to the South Indian Pallava prince-turned-monk Bodhidharma, who is recorded as having come to China to teach a "special transmission outside scriptures" which "did not stand upon words". The emergence of Zen as a distinct school of Buddhism was first documented in China in the 7th century CE. It is thought to have developed as an amalgam of various currents in Mahāyāna Buddhist thought—among them the Yogācāra and Madhyamaka philosophies and the Prajñāpāramitā literature—and of local traditions in China, particularly Taoism and Huáyán Buddhism. From China, Zen subsequently spread southwards to Vietnam and eastwards to Korea and Japan.
Mythology
Within Zen, there are various legends and mythologies, largely a part of Chinese and Japanese folklore, which must be carefully distinguished from Zen history.
The Flower Sermon
File:Nelumno nucifera open flower - botanic garden adelaide2.jpg|thumb|right|The lotus flower, the species of flower said to have been used during the Flower Sermon. The origins of Zen Buddhism are ascribed to the Flower Sermon, the earliest source for which comes from the 14th century. It is said that Gautama Buddha gathered his disciples one day for a dharma talk. When they gathered together, the Buddha was completely silent and some speculated that perhaps the Buddha was tired or ill. The Buddha silently held up a flower and several of his disciples tried to interpret what this meant, though none of them were correct. One of the Buddha's disciples, Mahākāśyapa, silently gazed at the flower and is said to have gained a special insight directly from the Buddha's mind, beyond words. Mahākāśyapa somehow understood the true inexpressible meaning of the flower, smiled and the Buddha then acknowledged Mahākāśyapa's insight by saying the following:
I possess the true Dharma eye, the marvelous mind of Nirvana, the true form of the formless, the subtle dharma gate that does not rest on words or letters but is a special transmission outside of the scriptures. This I entrust to Mahākāśyapa. .
Thus, through Zen there developed a way which concentrated on direct experience rather than on rational creeds or revealed scriptures. Wisdom was passed, not through words, but through a lineage of one-to-one direct transmission of thought from teacher to student. It is commonly taught that such lineage continued all the way from the Buddha's time to the present. Historically, this claim is disputed, due to lack of evidence to support it. According to D.T. Suzuki, the idea that there exists in the history of Zen a line of descent from Gautama Buddha that resulted in the distinctive institution of Zen was invented by hagiographers to grant Zen legitimacy and prestige.
