Zen
Koans guide practitioners
Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing meditation and direct insight over scriptural study.
Originating in China as Chan and flourishing in Japan, Zen stresses sudden enlightenment through practices like seated meditation and contemplation of paradoxical riddles called koans.
Zen Buddhism, a Zen master, a Zen monastery.
The tradition has profoundly influenced East Asian art, poetry, and martial arts. (Lowercase zen describes a calm, meditative quality.)
Zen seated meditation
- meditationFocused attention practice
- koanBuddhist mind-puzzle
- zendoZen meditation hall
- monasteryReligious seclusion dwelling
sangha · sensei · chanting · bowing · oryoki · precepts · retreat · sitting
Sudden spiritual awakening
- awakeningReturn to consciousness
- realizationGrasping what's true
- nirvanaRelease from cyclical existence
- bodhiBuddhist spiritual awakening
insight · illumination · liberation · epiphany · transcendence · Buddha-nature · non-duality · emptiness
Enlightenment-seeking Eastern religion
- MahayanaBuddhism stressing universal liberation
- DharmaBuddha's collected teachings
- impermanenceQuality of not lasting
- interdependenceReciprocal reliance between entities
Aesthetic valuing transience, incompleteness
- gardenCultivated plant area
- ikebanaJapanese arrangement of blooms
- calligraphyOrnamental handwriting art
- brushworkPainter's stroke method
imperfection · bamboo · tatami · shoji · haiku
zazen
Zen seated meditation
- meditationFocused attention practice
- koanBuddhist mind-puzzle
- zendoZen meditation hall
monastery · sangha · sensei · chanting · bowing · oryoki · precepts · retreat · sitting
satori
Sudden spiritual awakening
- awakeningReturn to consciousness
- realizationGrasping what's true
- nirvanaRelease from cyclical existence
bodhi · insight · illumination · liberation · epiphany · transcendence · Buddha-nature · non-duality · emptiness
Buddhism
Enlightenment-seeking Eastern religion
- MahayanaBuddhism stressing universal liberation
- DharmaBuddha's collected teachings
- impermanenceQuality of not lasting
wabi-sabi
Aesthetic valuing transience, incompleteness
- gardenCultivated plant area
- ikebanaJapanese arrangement of blooms
- calligraphyOrnamental handwriting art
- Buddhist traditionsTheravada, Mahayana, Tibetan Buddhism
- Eastern ReligionBuddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Daoism, Shinto
- minimalismminimalism, declutter, decluttering, simplicity, less is more
- BuddhismBuddha, dharma wheel, Four Noble Truths, nirvana, dharma
- Eastern PhilosophyTaoism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism
- mindful livingcontemplation, mindfulness, inner peace, serenity, tranquility
Rigorous dialectical learning method
dogmatism · intellectualism · rationalism · fundamentalism · analytical thinking
Zenmaterialism
Prioritizing goods over spirit
consumerism · excess · maximalism · hedonism · acquisitiveness
- Zen BuddhismMeditation-focused Eastern spiritual path
- zen gardenMeditative landscape of stone
- zen masterEpitome of tranquil expertise
- zen modeDistraction-free mental clarity
- Zen monkBuddhist practitioner of meditation
- zen meditationBuddhist practice of awareness