![]() ![]() It has also appealed, over many generations, to millions of Buddhist practitioners in the Far East, who, conditioned by the Taoism and Confucianism that had been imported everywhere from China, could relate to the Zen message and style. This shoot-from-the-hip Zen spirit appeals to the American mind, which is as iconoclastic and anti-authoritarian as it is religious. Seeing into one’s nature and attaining Buddhahood. Here are four Zen dicta, ascribed to Zen’s legendary founder Bodhidharma, which are always quoted to illustrate the essential Zen spirit:Ī special transmission outside the scriptures. Liberally flavored with doses of Taoism, Confucianism, and Chinese poetry, and written in informal language studded with Chinese folk sayings and street slang, much of classical Zen literature is built on legendary anecdotes of the great masters. Though Zen recognizes - at least loosely - the validity of normative Buddhist scriptures, it has created its own texts over the generations. ![]() Not relying on scripture, doctrine or ritual, Zen is verified by personal experience and is passed on from master to disciple, hand to hand, ineffably, through hard, intimate training. Zen Buddhism is a stripped-down, determined, uncompromising, cut-to-the-chase, meditation-based Buddhism that takes no interest in doctrinal refinements. What are the characteristics of Zen Buddhism? Today, the word “Zen” is in more general use in the West. The word “Zen” is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese “Ch’an,” which means “meditation.” Ch’an came to Japan and became “Zen” around the eighth century. ![]()
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