Zen in Ten: Who? What? Where? When?
Ten Essential Facts
In Japanese, the word “zen” means meditation. It is a translation (or some say a mispronunciation!) of the Chinese word “ch’an,” which is a translation (or a mispronunciation!) of the Indian word “jhana” (Sanskrit, “dhyana”) which means “concentration” or “trance.” These words reflect the dissemination of the Buddha’s teachings from his birthplace in Southern Nepal to India, China, and Japan.
Although Buddhism came to China as early as 65 C.E., Bodhidharma (Jap. Daruma) is the legendary monk from Southern India who is considered the founder of Ch’an in 6th century China. Some scholars say he is pure myth; others say he existed but never traveled to China.
During that T’ang Dynasty (618-907) Five Schools of Ch’an flourished: Linji Caodong, Guiyang, Fayan, and Yunmen. During the Song Dynasty (960–1279), these last three schools were absorbed into the Linji tradition.
The Linji (Jap. Rinzai) and Caodong (Jap. Sōtō) traditions stressed different methods of training: kōan introspection and silent illumination, respectively.
Buddhism arrived on the shores of feudal Japan in the 6th century from Korea where it flourished under the auspices of Prince Shotoku (573-621). During the Nara period (710-784), Buddhism became a state religion.
In China, Buddhism blended with Taoism and Confucianism. In Japan, it took on the flavor of the indigenous tradition of Shinto (“the Way of the Gods”).
Two prominent schools of Buddhism emerged during the Heian Period (794-1185): Shingon (“True Word”) and the Tendai (Chinese, T’ien-t’ai).
Sōtō Zen was founded in Japan by Eihei Dogen (1200-1253) who traveled by boat to China when he was 23. He received Dharma transmission from the Ch’an master Rujing. Upon his return to Japan, he taught shikantaza, or "just sitting,” method of meditation. His most famous writings on the philosophy and practice of Sōtō Zen is his Shōbōgenzō—The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye.
Keizan (1268-1325) was a notable disciple of Dōgen’s who founded Soji-ji temple and authored the Record of the Transmission of the Light. This is an account of the transmission of the Buddha mind seal from Siddhartha Gautama to Keizan.
In the 1950s and 1960s, many Japanese Zen teachers arrived in the United States, including Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, Taizan Maezumi, Kyozan Joshu Sasaki, Kōbun Chino Otogawa, Dainin Katagiri, and Shunryu Suzuki. Suzuki Roshi (1904-1971) left Japan in May 1959 to head up Soko-ji, the only Soto Zen temple in San Francisco. Later, he and his disciples founded the San Francisco Zen Center. His book Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, a collection of his talks, is one of the most widely read and influential books on Zen practice.
Sources:
Red Pine, trans. The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma. North Point Press, 1987.
Eckel, Malcom David. The Great Courses: Buddhism, 2001.