Zen monks
Meditation-focused religious practitioners
Zen monks are Buddhist monastics who follow the Zen tradition, emphasizing meditation and direct insight over scriptural study.
They typically live in monasteries, follow strict routines of sitting meditation (zazen), and engage in physical work as spiritual practice.
The image of Zen monks—shaved heads, simple robes, contemplative stillness—has become shorthand in Western culture for disciplined calm: He sat motionless as a Zen monk.
- abbotMonastery's chief cleric
- meditationFocused attention practice
- enlightenmentProfound spiritual awakening
- impermanenceQuality of not lasting
- chantingRhythmic repetitive vocalization
satori · tea ceremony · mindfulness · beginner's mind · mountain temple · non-duality · silent retreats · sangha · communal meals · rice bowls · robes · alms bowl · emptiness · raked gravel · bamboo grove · precepts · ordination ceremony · calligraphy
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