Religous Practices

Common Practices Zen Buddism

REL/133

November 17, 2015

Bruce Weightman

Common Practices in Religion

With so many schools of Buddhism, one can be challenged in trying to and determine and the belief system is for each of them. The essential belief system doesn’t deviate much across the board. There are still slight differences that can be problematic when trying to educate one’s self about all schools of Buddhism. To truly grasp the concept of the different styles one would typically approach one set of teachings at a time. The beliefs of the school of Zen Buddhism differ slightly from other schools, but do contain the same basic principles followed by all Buddhists. This paper will explain the specific traits of Zen Buddhism starting with a brief history, the teachings and the uniqueness of the religion.

Zen Buddhism is a sub-school of Mahayana or the Greater Vehicle of Buddhism. A Japanese term, Zen is a short term for Zen-na. It is a rendering of the Chinese term, Chan or Chan-na which in turn is a transliteration of Sanskrit, dhyana. The roots of Zen lie in India, the origin of Buddhism. From India, Buddhism spread to other parts of the world. Missionaries from India also visited China to spread the religion. Bodhidharma, a monk from south India visited China in the 6th century CE and is regarded as the founder of the Chan or the Zen Buddhism in the country (BBC, 2002). The primary focus of Zen Buddhism is on spiritual practice through daily activities. Philosophical explanations are given lesser importance.  The origin of Zen Buddhism lies in the Flower Sermon that was conveyed by the Buddha. During the Flower Sermon there was no verbal communication between the Buddha and His disciples. 

Zen Buddhism is an outgrowth of Mahayana Buddhism and like all the Buddhist schools, it lays stress on the very basic teachings of the Buddha – the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the Five Precepts, the Three Dharma Seals and the Five Skandhas. Zen...