Cultures and Religions of the Himalayan Region

Bodhidharma

Zen Buddhism was introduced to East Asia by the Indian scholar Bodhidharma. By the late seventh century, Zen (Chan) Buddhism was being practiced in various regions throughout China. The Japanese monks, Eisai(1141-1215) and Dogen (1200-1253), who both practiced under Chinese masters established the Rinzai and Soto schools of Zen in Japan.

Zen Buddhism places a strong emphasis on meditation. Seated meditation, known as zazen plays a central role in Zen practice. Zen monks meditate in a seated, crossed-legged position in which they keep their eyes half open.

Zen monks of the Rinzai tradition will practice zazen while facing each other. Seeing others engaged in similar meditation is believed to enhance one's own energy. Rinzai monks will pose koans, meditation puzzles, to their students to help trigger spiritual breakthroughs.

Monks of the Soto tradition will practice zazen while facing a wall, their backs turned to others. Koans are not typically used in Soto practice.

Zen practice led to the development of numerous artistic traditions such as the creation of meditative gardens.

One of the genres of Zen gardens is the dry garden. The carefully raked stones and different sized rocks give the impression of islands in a river, or random thoughts in the viewer's mind.

Suggested Student Activities:

Simple meditation practice.

Koan discussion.

Helpful Web Resources:

Meditation

Koans

More on Zen Buddhism

More on Japanese Gardens

Zen and Tea Ceremony

A useful World Religions Interdisciplinary text is available from Teacher Created Materials, Inc. It is available on loan from the Teacher's Center for Global Studies, Clark Univesity, Worcester, MA. Contact Mimi Stephens.