Zen is the Japanese rendering of the Chinese word
ch’
an, which itself is a rendering of the
Sanskrit word
dhyāna, meaning ‘
meditation,’ and is the name of a sectarian movement in Japanese Buddhism which emphasizes meditation. Zen was introduced into
Japan from
China in the 12th century and went on to have a profound influence on Japanese life, particularly the arts. The spontaneous, unconventional and sometimes clownish behaviour that became a hallmark of Zen practitioners was probably a healthy reaction against the stiff formality of Japanese monastic culture. The Rinzai sect of Zen uses riddles called
koans to cut through the conceptual thought that blocks enlightenment, while the Soto sect emphasizes the practice of
mindfulness meditation, or what it calls
shikantaza, ‘just sitting.’ Since the 1950’s, Zen has become very popular in the West, particularly in America.