The world's top zen websites

<h1>Zen</h1><ol><li>redirect

<p>
</li></ol><strong>Zen</strong> (<A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/japanese_language" title="Japanese language">Japanese</A>: Zen, &#31109;; <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/chinese_language" title="Chinese language">Chinese</A>: Ch&aacute;n;, &#31146;; <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/korean_language" title="Korean language">Korean</A>: Seon, &#49440;; <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/sanskrit" title="Sanskrit">Sanskrit</A>: <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/dhyana" title="Dhyana">dhy&#257;
na</A>, &#2343;&#2381;&#2351;&#2366;&#2344;) is a branch of <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/mahayana" title="Mahayana">Mah&#257;y&#257;na</A> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/buddhism_1" title="Buddhism">Buddhism</A>, practiced especially in <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/buddhism_in_china" title="Buddhism in China">China</A>, <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/japanese_buddhism" title="Japanese Buddhism">Japan</A>, and <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/korean_buddhism" title="Korean Buddhism">Korea</A>, that incorporates <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/taoism" title="Taoism">Taoist</A> thought. It stresses the role of <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/meditation" title="Meditation">meditation</A> in pursuing <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/enlightenment__buddhism_" title="Enlightenment (Buddhism)">enlightenment</A>.  Because Zen is the name for this branch in <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/japanese_language" title="Japanese language">Japanese</A> as well as in <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/english_language" title="English language">English</A>, this article will concern itself with both traditional Zen in Japan and with Zen as an international phenomenon.  For information specific to <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/asian" title="Asian">Asian</A> countries other than Japan, please follow the appropriate links below.<p>
		
<p><table border="0" id="toc"><tr><td align="center">
<b>Table of contents</b> </td></tr><tr id='tocinside'><td align="left">
<div style="margin-left:2em;">

</div>
</div>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Spread of Zen">1 Spread of Zen</A><BR>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Zen in Japan">2 Zen in Japan</A><BR>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Zen teachings and practices">3 Zen teachings and practices</A><BR>
<div style="margin-left:2em;">
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Zazen">3.1 Zazen</A><BR>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Koan practice">3.2 Koan practice</A><BR>
</div>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#"Zen" in Western pop-culture">4 "Zen" in Western pop-culture</A><BR>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#See also">5 See also</A><BR>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#External links">6 External links</A><BR>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Further reading">7 Further reading</A><BR>
</td></tr></table><P>
<A NAME=""><H2>Spread of Zen</H2><p>
Traditionally, Zen traces its roots back to <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/indian_buddhism" title="Indian Buddhism">Indian Buddhism</A>, where it was known by "<A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/dhyana" title="Dhyana">dhy&#257;
na</A>" (&#2343;&#2381;&#2351;&#2366;&#2344;), a <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/sanskrit" title="Sanskrit">Sanskrit</A> term for meditation. This name was <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/transliteration" title="Transliteration">transliterated</A> into <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/chinese" title="Chinese">Chinese</A> as <em><A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/chan" title="Chan">Ch&aacute;n;</A></em> (&#31146;); "Ch&aacute;n" was later transliterated into <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/korean" title="Korean">Korean</A> as <em><A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/seon" title="Seon">Seon</A></em>, and then into Japanese as "Zen."<p>
According to these traditional accounts, an Indian monk named <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/bodhidharma" title="Bodhidharma">Bodhidharma</A> brought Zen Buddhism to <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/china" title="China">China</A> in the <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/5th_century" title="5th century">fifth century</A>. Later, <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/korea" title="Korea">Korean</A> monks studying in <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/china" title="China">China</A> learned of Zen and spread it as far as to Japan around the seventh century.<p>
<A NAME=""><H2>Zen in Japan</H2><p>
The following Zen traditions still exist in Japan: <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/rinzai" title="Rinzai">Rinzai</A>, <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/soto" title="Soto">Soto</A>, and <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/obaku__school_of_buddhism_" title="Obaku (school of Buddhism)">Obaku</A>.  Originally formulated by the <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/eponym" title="Eponym">eponymous</A> Chinese master <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/rinzai" title="Rinzai">Linji</A> (Rinzai in Japanese), the Rinzai school was introduced to <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/japan_1" title="Japan">Japan</A> in <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/1191" title="1191">1191</A> by <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/eisai" title="Eisai">Eisai</A>. <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/dogen_zenji" title="Dogen Zenji">Dogen</A>, who studied under Eisai, would later carry the <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/caodong" title="Caodong">Caodong</A>, or "Soto" Zen school to Japan from China.  Obaku was introduced in the 17th century by a <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/ingen" title="Ingen">Ingen</A>, a Chinese monk.<p>
<p>
<A NAME=""><H2>Zen teachings and practices</H2><p>
Zen teachings often criticize textual <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/hermeneutics" title="Hermeneutics">study</A> and <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/praxeology" title="Praxeology">worldly</A> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/action__philosophy_" title="Action (philosophy)">action</A>, concentrating primarily on meditation in pursuit of an unmediated awareness of the processes of the world and the mind. However, these teachings are themselves also deeply rooted in the Buddhist textual tradition, drawing primarily on <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/mahayana" title="Mahayana">Mah&#257;y&#257;na</A> sutras composed in India and China, and on the recorded teachings of masters in the various Zen traditions themselves.<p>
<A NAME=""><H3>Zazen</H3><p>
Zen meditation is called <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/zazen" title="Zazen">zazen</A>. Zazen translates approximately to "sitting meditation", although it can be applied to practice in any posture. During zazen, practitioners usually assume a <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/lotus_position" title="Lotus Position">lotus</A>, half-lotus, burmese, or seiza position. Rinzai practitioners typically sit facing the center of the room, while Soto practitioners sit facing a wall. Awareness is directed towards complete cognizance of one's posture and breathing. In this way, practitioners seek to transcend thought and be directly aware of the universe.<p>
In Soto, <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/shikantaza" title="Shikantaza">shikantaza</A> meditation, sometimes translated as "just-sitting," i.e., a meditation with no objects, anchors, "seeds," or content, is the primary form of practice. Considerable textual, philosophical, and phenomenological justification of this practice can be found in Dogen's Shobogenzo.<p>
<A NAME=""><H3>Koan practice</H3>
The Zen schools (especially but not exclusively Rinzai) also employ <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/koan" title="Koan">koans</A> (Japanese; Chinese: gongan; Korean: gong'an). The term is borrowed from that for a signpost used in ancient China, on which new laws were announced to the public. In much the same sense, a koan embodies a realized principle, or law of reality. Koans, which are often paradoxical are not meant to be apprehended rationally but rather to be realized in experience.<p>
<A NAME=""><H2>"Zen" in Western pop-culture</H2><p>
Many modern students have made the mistake of thinking that since much of Zen sounds like nonsense, especially in translation and out of context, any clever nonsense is also Zen. This is not the case, but see <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/discordianism" title="Discordianism">Discordianism</A> and the <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/church_of_the_subgenius_1" title="Church of the SubGenius">Church of the SubGenius</A> for modern semiserious religions influenced by this idea.<p>
<A NAME=""><H2>See also</H2>
<ul><li><A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/chan" title="Chan">Chan</A>
</li><li><A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/koan" title="Koan">koan</A>
</li><li><A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/seon" title="Seon">Seon</A>
</li><li>Buddha-nature;<p>
</li></ul><A NAME=""><H2>External links</H2>
<ul><li><A HREF="http://meditation.org.au/zen.asp" class="external">Zen meditation - what is it?</A>
</li><li><A HREF="http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Buddhism/Lineages/Zen/Centers/" class="external">Google Directory - Zen Centers</A>
</li><li><A HREF="http://search.looksmart.com/p/browse/us1/us317837/us317918/us969562/us1142622/us59257/us548359/us10012359" class="external">Zen Buddhism</A> from <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/looksmart" title="LookSmart">LookSmart</A>
</li><li><A HREF="http://dmoz.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Buddhism/Lineages/Zen/" class="external">Zen Buddhism</A> from the <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/open_directory_project" title="Open Directory Project">Open Directory Project</A>
</li><li><A HREF="http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Religion_and_Spirituality/Faiths_and_Practices/Buddhism/Schools__Lineages__and_Sects/Zen/" class="external">Zen Buddhism</A> from <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/yahoo" title="Yahoo">Yahoo</A>
</li><li><A HREF="http://www.acmuller.net/ddb" class="external">Digital Dictionary of Buddhism</A>
</li><li><A HREF="http://www.dailyzen.com/" class="external">Daily Zen</A>
</li><li><A HREF="http://www.e-sangha.com/" class="external">E-Sangha Buddhism Portal</A><p>
</li></ul><A NAME=""><H2>Further reading</H2>
<ul><li><em>The Compass of Zen</em> (ISBN 1570623295), Zen Master Seung Sahn
</li><li><em>Three Zen Masters: Ikkyu, Hakuin, Ryokan (Kodansha Biographies)</em> (ISBN 4770016514; <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/1993" title="1993">1993</A>, John Stevens
</li><li><em>Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind</em> (ISBN 0834800799), <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/shunryu_suzuki" title="Shunryu Suzuki">Shunryu Suzuki</A>. A good introduction to the practice of Zen.
</li><li><em>Zen Keys</em> (ISBN 0385475616) and <em>Heart of Buddha's Teaching</em> (ISBN 0767903692), by <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/nhat_hanh" title="Nhat Hanh">Thich Nhat Hanh</A>
</li><li><em>The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment</em>, Philip Kapleau (ISBN 0385260938). A comprehensive guide to the practice of Zen
</li><li><em>Empty Mirror: Experiences in a Japanese Zen Monastery</em> (ISBN 0312207743), <em>Glimpse of Nothingness: Experiences in an American Zen Community</em> (ISBN 0312209452) and <em>After Zen: Experiences of a Zen Student Out On His Ear</em> (ISBN 0312272618), the Zen trilogy by <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/janwillem_van_de_wetering" title="Janwillem van de Wetering">Janwillem van de Wetering</A><p>
</li></ul><p>
<p>
<p>
<p>
<p>
.