Zen

Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism notable for its emphasis on the attainment of awakening. As such, it de-emphasizes both theoretical knowledge and the study of religious texts in favor of direct individual experience of one's own true nature.

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 Daoism and Huáyán Buddhism. From China, Zen subsequently spread southwards to Vietnam and eastwards to Korea and Japan. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Zen also began to establish a notable presence in North America and Europe.

As an Eastern philosophy, Zen is not a philosophy in the traditional Western sense where mere intellectual knowledge is the goal. Zen teachers frequently employ the koan, a kind of question which admits of no immediate rational answer -- as a teaching tool.

The koan is not something that is figured out. For example one koan states "The sound of one hand clapping." While this may sound paradoxical, it is very simple once the point is grasped.

Zen is not something to be studied. For example one koan goes like this - "Do not mistake the pointing finger for the moon." Thus Zen does not ask that pointing fingers be studied.

If the two koans are used together, then it comes out as do not mistake the pointing finger for the moon, instead study the sound of one hand clapping.

When one becomes proficient at that, then reality presents itself without the conceptual chatter of the mind. [1]

External links

• The International Research Insitute for Zen Buddhism's list of Zen Centers in North America.
• alt.zen's Frequently asked questions about Zen

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