Zen: Literally translated, zen means meditation. Zen is one of four major schools of Buddhism. The other schools are: Mahayana, Theravada, Zen (or Ch'an or Son), and Vajrayana.

 (See also: Zen, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Zen Buddhism: Zen Buddhist Dictionary

A dictionary of Zen Buddhism terms. Please note that all words in grey like " Buddhism " are links to an archive with related articles.

Zen Buddhism: A Japanese branch of Mahayana Buddhism believed to have originated in India from the teachings of a Buddhist master, Bodhidharma, about 600 BC, but traced back by advocates to the Buddha himself. Practitioners seek satori (sudden illumination enabling bliss and harmony), which cannot be explained but only experienced.

Techniques include zazen (sitting meditation techniques) and koans, which are short riddles or sayings. The koans (which number about 1700) are not designed to have cognitive answers but to promote the experience of Zen.

(See also: Zen Buddhism, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Zen.

A major school of Mahayana Buddhism, with several branches.

One of its most popular techniques is meditation on koans, which leads to the generation of the Great Doubt. According to this method: The master gives the student a koan to think about, resolve, and then report back on to the master. Concentration intensifies as the student first tries to solve the koan intellectually. This initial effort proves impossible, however, for a koan cannot be solved rationally. Indeed, it is a kind of spoof on the human intellect.

Concentration and irrationality -- these two elements constitute the characteristic psychic situation that engulfs the student wrestling with a koan. As this persistent effort to concentrate intellectually becomes unbearable, anxiety sets in. The entirety of one's consciousness and psychic life is now filled with one thought. The exertion of the search is like wrestling with a deadly enemy or trying to make one's way through a ring of flames. Such assaults on the fortress of human reason inevitably give rise to a distrust of all rational perception.

This gnawing doubt (Great Doubt), combined with a futile search for a way out, creates a state of extreme and intense yearning for deliverance. The state may persist for days, weeks or even years; eventually the tension has to break. (Dumoulin, Zen Buddhism, Vol. I, p.253.)

An interesting koan is the koan of Buddha Recitation. Unlike other koans, it works in two ways. First of all, if a cultivator succeeds in his meditation through this koan, he can achieve awakening as with other koans. However, if he does not succeed, and experience shows that many cultivators do not, then the meditation on the Buddha's narne helps him to achieve rebirth in the Pure Land.

This is so provided he believes (as most practitioners in Asia do) in Amitabha and the expedient Pure Land. Thus, the Buddha Recitation koan provides a safety net, and demonstrates the underlying unity of Zen and Pure Land.

 (See also: Zen, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Yogi: A practitioner of Yoga.

 (See also: Yogi, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Eightfold Path: The way Buddha Gautama prescribed to reduce universal suffering.

The eight elements are right:

·      understanding,

·      thought,

·      speech,

·      action,

·      livelihood,

·      effort,

·      mindfulness, and

·      concentration.

The divisions of the Eightfold Path, with the religious divisions in parentheses, are: knowledge (faith), conduct (morality), and meditation.

 (See also: Eightfold Path, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Five Sins:

·      Killing one's father

·      or mother,

·      or an arhat;

·      shedding the blood of Buddha; and

·      destroying the harmony of the sangha.

 (See also: Five Sins, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Four Signs: The signs that would make Gautama seek enlightenment.

These are:

·      old age,

·      sickness,

·      death, and

·      a holy man (an ascetic).

 (See also: Four Signs, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Makyo: Japanese word meaning fantasies and hallucinations.

 (See also: Makyo, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Manjusri: The bodhisattva of meditation and supreme wisdom. He is usually depicted riding a lion, carrying the sword of wisdom, which is supposed to cut through illusion. He is frequently the principal figure on the altar of a zendo.

 (See also: Manjusri, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Manas: The level of consciousness where illusion is generated, it is the subconscious.

 (See also: Manas, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Master: The guide of the traveler (student). Roshi is a better term, if it is used without trying to imply a status.

 (See also: Master, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Maya: Name attributed to Gautama Siddharta's mother. More importantly, maya is translated as illusion, and is used to describe reality.

 (See also: Maya, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Mindfulness: A state of awareness, of oneself and others, as well as nature.

 (See also: Mindfulness, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Mo Tse: A philosopher who rebelled against Confucianism, and taught universal love and utilitarianism.

 (See also: Mo Tse, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Moksha: In Hindu tradition, the escape from samsara, which can only be attained by a member of the brahmin caste, with a balanced karma.

 (See also: Moksha, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Mokugyo: An instrument, made of hollowed wood in the shape of a fish. Like the keiso, this is struck with a padded club during sutra chanting in Chinese Buddhist temples. The fish is an important symbol in Zen, since fish never sleep and are forever aware and watchful.

 (See also: Mokugyo, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Mondo: Related to the Japanese word mondai, meaning to question, mondo may mean the way of the gate (mon), or to the crest (mon). Each of these connotations fits the purpose of mondo. During mondo the master asks questions quickly, and the student must respond quickly. This is done to prevent the student from thinking, to allow intuition to control. Used notably in the Rinzai school.

 (See also: Mondo, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Paranayama: The fourth element in the path of classical Yoga, meaning breathing control.

 (See also: Paranayama, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Para-nirvana (Pari-nibbana): The ultimate state of harmony within the ultimate state of awareness. Para means death, so this is death while in a state of nirvana, returning the physical being to the cosmos, and escaping samsara.

 (See also: Para-nirvana, Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)