Introduction to Religions: Zen Buddhism

1. The University of Cambodia
RLG101: Introduction to Religions
Zen Buddhism: Beliefs & Practices
Lectured By: Mut Somoeun (M.Ed)

2. ZEN BUDDHISM

3. Zen Buddhism
To study Buddhism is to study the self, to study
the self is to forget the self.
- Dogen Zenji
All beings by nature are Buddhas,
as ice by nature is water.
Apart from water there is no ice;
apart from beings, no Buddhas.
- Hakuin Ekaku

4. What is Zen Buddhism?
• Zen (Chinese & Korean: Chán) is a school of
Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China
during the Tang dynasty as Chan Buddhism.
• Zen school was strongly influenced by Taoism
and developed as a distinct school of Chinese
Buddhism.
• From China, Chan Buddhism spread south to
Vietnam, northeast to Korea and east to Japan,
where it became known as Japanese Zen and
known as Seon Buddhism in Korea.

5. • The term Zen is derived from the Japanese
pronunciation of the Middle Chinese word
(Chan) which traces its roots to the Indian
practice of Dhyana ("meditation").
• Zen emphasizes rigorous self-control,
meditation-practice, insight into Buddha-
nature, and the personal expression of this
insight in daily life, especially for the benefit
of others.
What is Zen Buddhism?

6. • At the heart of the Japanese culture lies Zen, a
school of Mahayana Buddhism.
• Zen is, first and foremost, a practice that was
uninterruptedly transmitted from master to
disciple, and that goes back to the Awakening
of a man named Siddhārtha Gautama.
What is Zen Buddhism?

7. Where Zen From?
• Zen Buddhism is a mixture of Indian
Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism. It began in
China, spread to Korea and Japan.
• Zen began to emerge as a distinctive school of
Mahayana Buddhism when the Indian sage
Bodhidharma (ca. 470-543) taught at the
Shaolin Monastery of China.
• It's a real place, and yes, there is a historic
connection between kung fu and Zen.

9. How the Zen Practices
• The practice of Zen meditation or Zazen - za
meaning sitting, and Zen meaning meditation in
Japanese, is the core of Zen Buddhism.
• Zen meditation, is a way of vigilance and self-
discovery which is practiced while sitting on a
meditation cushion.
• It is the experience of living from moment to
moment, in the here and now.
• It is through the practice of Zazen that Gautama
got enlightened and became the Buddha.

10. • Zazen is an attitude of spiritual awakening,
which when practiced, can become the source
from which all the actions of daily life flow -
eating, sleeping, breathing, walking, working,
talking, thinking, and so on.
How the Zen Practices

11. • Zen Buddhism is not a theory, an idea, or a piece
of knowledge.
• It is not a belief, dogma, or religion; but rather, it
is a practical experience.
• We cannot intellectually grasp Zen because
human intelligence and wisdom are too limited.
• Zen is not a moral teaching, and as it is without
dogma, it does not require one to believe in
anything.
Teaching: Theory/ Dogma?

12. • A true spiritual path does not tell people what to
believe in; rather it shows them how to think; or,
in the case of Zen - what not to think.
• The essence of Zen Buddhism is achieving
enlightenment by seeing one's original mind (or
original nature) directly; without the intervention
of the intellect.
Teaching: Theory/ Dogma?

13. • Zen is very pragmatic and down to earth. It is
essentially a practice, an experience, not a theory
or dogma.
• Zen adheres to no specific philosophy or faith,
and has no dogma that its followers must accept
or believe in, but it traditionally accept the
concepts of karma and samsara.
Teaching: Theory/ Dogma?

14. • Zen does not seek to answer subjective
questions related to God, the afterlife,
reincarnation, and spiritualism.
• What really matters is the here and now: not
God, not the afterlife, but the present moment
here and now.
Teaching: Theory/ Dogma?

15. MEDITATION
• Observing the breath
(the flow of in and put breath)
• Observing the mind
(monitor the process of mind/ thinking)

16. 16
MIND CULTIVATION?
Peaceful Mind
Compassion
Loving-kindness
Honesty
Generosity
Forgiveness
Humility
Acceptance See the truth

17. Advantages of
Meditation:
-Lengthens life
-Gives one strength
-Drives out discontent
-Softens the mind
chakrameditationtoday.com

18. Progressive Steps of
Meditation:
-Restraint of senses
-Understanding of how the
senses cause bondage
-Solitary Meditation
-Concentration and the
forsaking of idle thoughts
www.rogerlewin.com

19. Two Aspects of
Meditation:
Calm Meditation
and
Insight Meditation

20. Calm Meditation:
-return to clarity
-suppression of defilements
-understanding of mind’s nature
-stilling the mind
-overcoming the mind’s tendencies
-object of contemplation
-access concentration
www.jjgallaher.blogspot.com

21. Insight Meditation:
-after calm meditation
-achieves understanding that all things are:
-impermanent and unstable
-unsatisfactory and imperfect
-not self
www.sodahead.com

22. 22
Thank You!
Q & A