It's Zen-ny. Haha, just kidding. I don't know, but I'm also interested, so if someone would please answer this question ... =)
I'm kind of embarrased because I wrote a term paper on Zen for my world religions class but I can't remember too many of the details. Oh well, at least I bumped the thread.
sky is sky dirt is dirt zen is zen it is, it was, it will be....yadda yadda yadda zen buddhism is meditative buddhism depending upon concerted effort rather than faith and belief
So more like a ... philosophical-ish Buddhism, combined with rigourous discipline towards single-point concentration?
cab: There are two real "parts" to Buddhism. One is the religion, the other is the philosophy. Each is different, though the religion is derived from the philosophy. Some Buddhist sects deviate from the original philosophical teachings and move more towards the religious end.
My take on it, what little I remember, is that we can't figure out the universe with our mind (hence the purpose of Zen khones) so if we realise how limited our minds are we can demote them to second in command and live life through our hearts.
www.bicycle.com zen buddhism is found mostly in japan and korea... the word "zen" is a transliteration of the chinese word "ch'an", which is itself a transliteration of the sanskrit word "dhyana", which means roughly "meditation"... zen is a school (actually several schools, incl. rinzai & soto) of buddhism, considered to be part of the mahayana (or "great vehicle") division... they claim "a special transmission, outside the scriptures" going clear back to shakyamuni buddha's "flower sermon" (in which lord buddha spoke not a word, but held up a flower; all were puzzled, excepting the disciple mahakapsya, who smiled... & when buddha smiled back, THAT was the transmission "ouside the scriptures"...) all clear now?
Zen was indtroduced by Bodhidharma when he came from India to China circa the 6th century. If I remember correctly there are two schools the Ts'ao-tung (Soto I think in Japan) and the Lin-chi (Rinzai in Japan). Lin-chi stresses the Koan or Kung-an, which is a question asked by a master and answered by the student. The student must meditate on the answer through za-zen, and present it the the master (sanzen is the presentation). Such as "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" The purpose is to defeat all forms of conceptualization. The other considers the Koan as a secondary means and advocates "Sitting meditation" (za-zen). But, anyway Zen believes in "sudden" enlightenment as opposed to gradual enlightenment by studing sutras, etc. It claims that enlightenment can be accomplished without recourse to scriptures or "traditional" Buddhist techniques. Enlightenment may be transmitted from person to person without regard to words. There are many stories of enlightenment occuring when a student is struck, yelled at, ignored, etc. Some claim it is a fussion of Taoism and Buddhism. Do a Goggle search for "TheTen Ox Herding Pictures." and ask again if you have specific questions..
For ages I was wondering what the hell Zen was - I had this Zen calender, you know a page a day calender with a quote from whoever on every page. I asked my aunt (a Bhikkhu) and she replied "it's very simple really, it's just about experience. All Zen wisdom is gained through experience." After thinking and indeed experiencing my own personal brand of Zen, I looked back over the Zen calender quotes and getting my hands on a little book called "1000 paths to Zen" by Whatshisface (basically 1000 assorted saying that could be associated to Zen, most writen by the author some quotes. Still a favourite of mine) - the emerging themes seem to be about discovering your fundamental nature. Great Zen has a big focus on meditation but for what end, and saying enlightenment doesn't count, that would be cheating. After reading up on Zen meditation, that's what seems to be what it's about, discovering your true nature (something my aunt certainly doesn't disagree with). Anyway, that's just my two pence. What with how ambigous Zen seems to be, I suggest you forget everything I or anyone has said and take my aunts advice and figure it out for yourself (I know I'm contradicting myself but try to say what you know I mean without doing so). Blessings Sebbi
Right... Well, seeing as Yoga is about unifying your Atman with Brahman (unless you're thinking of this strechy stuff) and seeing as Buddhism doesn't recognise either I think that point is a bit of a non-starter. If you're talking about techniques used for meditation, then, yeah they share mindfullness of breathing but I would say that's as far as it goes. Blessings Sebbi
i think that's over-simplifying things too much. and i'm pretty sure that zen DOES recognize the Buddha as the founder of buddhism, which would later lead to Zen. anyways, i've been reading this book, "The Training of the Buddhist Zen Monk" by D.T. Suzuki. i just randomly picked a book off the shelf at the library and this is what i found. It's pretty interesting. he wrote it in such a way that it sounds as if he's actually speaking to you, relating how one becomes a zen monk, the life of a zen monk, and pretty much everything else in between and "out between." but it covers a lot of ground about Zen in general, giving lots of examples of zen teachers and students of the past. It's also illustrated really well so you get a visual side to everything, too.
People can get confused when using words... first you'd have to define meditation. Sit with the spine straight, pucker the anus, watch the mind think, do not identify with the mind, with what it is thinking, just watch it thinking, look at your breathing at the same time, sounds come and go and our minds follow, just watch the mind but don't become involved. Then make it so that whatever you are doing you are being aware. Time may stop. When time stops it is because the mind has stopped thinking. Then the mind will start thinking and time will start. http://www.mro.org/zmm/meditation/ The problem with Buddhism may be the scriptures. Buddhism doesn't really believe in no God. (The whole ideology is one of negation - neither this nor that. Whatever you think you are you are not because thought is a barrier.) It just refuses to say anything about it. Zen is basically Buddhism without the scriptures. Koans are just a tool which appeals to the mind to force it to recognise that there are things which cannot be thought; it's goal is to short circuit the mind. When you feel that short circuiting you have your answer.
