Zen Mind for You #1
Are you in need of calm and concentration? If you want to learn about mindfulness, you should study Zen.
Zen ideas are connected to daily life, and are dynamic rather than static.These are lesser known, but important for beginners.
Is Zen Different from Yoga?
Yes. Yoga originated in India, but the prevailing theory is that Zen originated in China. Zen, to be precise, is a branch of Buddhism. Zen Buddhism was founded by Bodhidharma, a monk from South India who moved to China.
Zen meditation is based on Buddhist teachings, but you don’t need any religious preparation to do it. Many Japanese thought Zen had a mental training aspect.
For example, the Japanese ruler Oda Nobunaga put pressure on powerful temples, but Zen temples were not among them. This was because he believed that Zen was essential to people’s spirit.
Thus, to study the history of Zen is also to know its spirit. Let’s learn about its great history first!
Zen History
Birth and Decline in China
As I mentioned earlier, Bodhidharma, who lived in the late 5th century to early 6th century, is considered the founder of Zen. He is said to have meditated for nine years and became the model for the toy “Daruma”.
Chinese Zen developed from the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, and remained strong even in the conquering Yuan Dynasty, but declined in the Ming Dynasty.
The teachings of Lao Tzu and Chinese Zen have much in common, as there seems to have been a great deal of interaction with Taoism, of which Lao Tzu was the founder.
Go to Japan
Officially, Zen was introduced to Japan in the 13th century (Kamakura period). From the Kamakura period onward, Zen Buddhism spread as a form of Japanese Buddhism.
Throughout the Edo period, Zen spread from being limited to the samurai and other families to the general populace, and combined with the policy of national seclusion, its uniqueness as a culture and its degree of establishment increased.
The acceptance of Zen was accompanied by the development of samurai culture, indicating that Zen was one of the foundations of the samurai lifestyle and spirituality.
Zen in Japanese Culture
Zen temples served as salons where Zen monks, court nobles, and samurai could interact with each other, and this led to the development of the shoinin and garden art attached to temples.
Zen in Japanese culture is characterized by a style based on minimalism that does not like flamboyance and eliminates decoration and waste as much as possible.
Have you ever tried drinking Japanese green tea? The systematic way of serving this tea to guests is called「茶道」, “Sadou”.
This includes not only how to brew the tea, but also the movements and interior design.This is also quite influenced by Zen.
“禅” to “Zen”
Zen is written in Chinese characters, kanji as “禅”. In fact, the word “zen” is a Japanese word, while in Chinese it is “shàn” or “chán”.
The Zen scholar D.T. Suzuki introduced Zen to the United States and Europe from Japan in the 20th century. In the 20th century, D.T. Suzuki, a Buddhist scholar who was also a Zen master, introduced Zen to the United States and Europe.
Toshitaka Suzuki, the founder of the San Francisco Zen Center, introduced Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, and Taisen Deshimaru, a Zen missionary in Europe, introduced Zen with a Japanese pronunciation to the world.
Recommended Study Tools
If you’re an avid student, you’ll find these fascinating!
books
D.T. Suzuki’s books are still very important in Japan. He has written several books in English.
App
I am developing an app for Zen. It is free and will be further updated. Please download it!
This app contains a timer and stopwatch for meditation. It is also designed using traditional Japanese colors.
About Future Articles
The content from #2 will be as follows.
・How to meditate
・The life of a Zen monk
・The Art of Zen
etc…
Don’t miss the updates!
