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Buddhism: Zen Buddhism
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Based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, called the Buddha, Buddhism takes as its goal the escape from suffering and from the cycle of rebirth: the attainment of nirvana. It emphasizes meditation and the observance of certain moral precepts. The Buddha's teachings were transmitted orally by his disciples; during his lifetime he established the Buddhist monastic order (sangha). He adopted some ideas from the Hinduism of his time, notably the doctrine of karma, but ... rejected many of its doctrines and all of its gods. In India, the emperor Ashoka promoted Buddhism during the 3rd century BC, but it declined in succeeding centuries and was nearly extinct there by the 13th century. It spread south and flourished in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, and it moved through Central Asia and China (including Tibet; see Tibetan Buddhism), Korea, and Japan (see Pure Land Buddhism; Zen).
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A branch of Mahayana Buddhism which was brought to China (where it was called Chan) in 520 CE by Bodhidarma and arrived in Japan in the twelfth century. It is probably the most common form of Buddhism in the West. Practitioners of Zen must usually devote themselves to a life as a monk, for it requires extensive periods of meditation. It concentrates on making clear that reality is beyond words and language and beyond logic. To accomplish this, it makes use of the koan, zazen, and sanzen. The word "zen" derives from the Sanskrit term for the concept of jhana.
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Zen, Chinese CH'AN (from Sanskrit dhyana, "meditation"), important school of Buddhism in Japan that claims to transmit the spirit or essence of Buddhism, which consists in experiencing the enlightenment (bodhi) achieved by Gautama the Buddha. The school arose in the 6th century in China as Ch'an, a form of Mahayana Buddhism; though introduced centuries earlier, Zen did not fully develop in Japan until the 12th century. In its secondary developments of mental tranquillity, fearlessness, and spontaneity--all faculties of the enlightened mind--the school of Zen has had lasting influence on the cultural life of Japan.
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From China and Korea, Buddhism came to Japan. Schools of philosophy and monastic discipline were transmitted first (6th cent.–8th cent.), but during the Heian period (794–1185) a conservative form of Tantric Buddhism became widely popular among the nobility. Zen and Pure Land grew to become popular movements after the 13th cent. After World War II new sects arose in Japan, such as the Soka Gakkai, an outgrowth of the nationalistic sect founded by Nichiren (1222–82), and the Risshokoseikai, attracting many followers.
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Here is what the late Dr. Suzuki, one of the greatest teachers of Zen Buddhism, says about his concept of God: "If God after making the world puts Himself outside it, He is no longer God. If He separates Himself from the world or wants to separate Himself, He is not God. The world is not the world when it is separated from God. God must be in the world and the world in God."(8)
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The various schools of Buddhism have developed the different processes of attaining nibbana. Some teach a simple but rigorous following the Way; others teach enlightenment comes through regular and constant meditation (the various Ch'an and Zen methods are examples); or through an instantaneous awakening as the result of solving an apparently insoluble mental or verbal problem; and the koan, a Zen verbal puzzle. It has been found stressing the endurance of pain and suffering has produced the often-repeated change of pessimism and cheating within members. However, as the Buddha pointed out, after self-discovery, that the essential truth for virtually all of mankind suffering is the all-to-common fate... emphasized that the followers of the Dhamma must still try to follow the Way with zest, or piti, and be cheerful and open, and also aid others. Instead of rationalizing suffering as a test of God, or the gods, Buddhism takes it for granted that suffering exists in the world and tries to eradicate it. It is taught that suffering will exist as long as there is craving, and can only be annihilated by following the Eightfold Path.
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Zen Buddhism