History of Zen Buddhism

History of Zen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Distinguishing Zen Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Satori (Enlightenment) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Zen Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Zen and Taoism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 9

The purpose of this paper is to discuss Zen Buddhism and to analyze its origins and nature with special focus on the techniques involved in reaching "enlightenment."

What is known of the Buddha's life is based mainly on the evidence of the canonical texts, the most extensive and comprehensive of which are those written in Pali, a language of ancient India. These form the canon of scripture for the Theravada Buddhists of Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Kampuchea (Cambodia,) and Laos, although they are regarded with respect by the Mahayana Buddhists of China, Korea and Japan also. The Pali texts provide evidence also for the general conditions of social, political and religious life in North India in the early period of Buddhist history, evidence which has been corroborated at some points by archaeological discoveries in the area (LaFleur, 1988, p. 244).

According to the tradition, Gotama the Buddha was the son of one of the leaders of the Sakya clan, whose home was the Himalayan hill-town of Kapilavastu in what is Nepalese territory. Here i

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). "Satori" is the Japanese Zen term for awakening, and its achievement is the major goal of this philosophy. It comes quickly, and is followed by an immediate understanding of the world and the meaning of life and death. It also, more importantly, defines the meaning of existence. The important thing here is to be freed from one's earlier misconceptions about any unique importance of being human and any importance regarding out thoughts. An example of the way in which this happens seems relevant here. The monk Bodhidharma retired to a monastery in Wei, China, and stayed there for nine years. The monk Hui-k'o, who Bodhidharma later made the Second Patriarch, asked the master for instruction time and time again, but was refused. But the monk Hui-k'o continued to sit outside the monastery for several months, waiting patiently in the snow in the hope that the master would finally relent. In desperation he cut off his left arm and presented it to Bodhindharma as a token of his agonized sincerity. At this Bodhidharma at last asked Hui-klo what he wanted. "I have no peace of mind," said Hui-k'o. "Please pacify my mind." "Bring out your mind here before me," replied the master, "and I will pacify it." "But when I seek my ow
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Zen Buddhism, Japan Zen, Lao-Tze Taoism, Himalayas Siddhattha, Hui-k'o Please, , , Vedanta Sufiism, Japanese Zen, Awakened Buddha, Zen Buddha, Bodhidharma Patriarch, zen buddhism, original realization, practice zen, idea ourselves, meaning life death, pp 44-48, practice view, meaning life, 1986 pp 44-48, structure structure, suzuki 1987 pp, furlong 1986 pp, 1986 pp,
Approximate Word count = 2846
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)

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