Introduction to Zen Buddhism

Professor Aaron Proffitt explains the history of Zen Buddhism and how it propagated in China and spread to other Asian countries to become a worldwide Buddhist practice.

Introduction to Buddhism Series by Professor Aaron Proffitt.

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[AlanPhan]

TLDR: Zen Buddhism emphasizes direct insight into the Buddha's mind through meditation, rejecting the idea that good karma and merit matter, and focusing on sudden Awakening and interconnectedness.

1. 00:00 🧘 Zen Buddhism is a major lineage within East Asian Mahayana Buddhism, emphasizing direct insight into the Buddha's mind through meditation and is interconnected with various Buddhist and East Asian traditions.
1.1 Zen Buddhism has become pervasive in American culture, and this video will provide a brief overview of its history and modern practices.
1.2 Zen is a major lineage within East Asian Mahayana Buddhism, interconnected with various Buddhist traditions and requiring fluency in Mahayana philosophy to understand deeply.
1.3 The term "Zen" is a Chinese translation of the Sanskrit word "Dhyana" and is pronounced differently in different countries, but for most English speakers, "Zen" is the term commonly used.
1.4 Zen Buddhism is a product of the confluence of Indian Buddhist culture and Indigenous Chinese culture, and is embedded and connected with other East Asian traditions.
1.5 Zen Buddhism looks to Bodhi Dharma as an archetype of an Indian meditation master who taught people in China, and Zen is referred to as the teaching outside the scripture, emphasizing direct insight into the Buddha's mind through meditation.
1.6 Zen monks in East Asian culture are not isolated from society, but are embedded in complex social, political, and cultural flows, serving as cultural diplomats and spreading Confucian philosophy.

2. 08:12 🧘 Zen Buddhism emphasizes understanding without words, is passed down through a lineage of masters, and rejects the idea that good karma and merit matter.
2.1 Bodhi Dharma is a historical figure in Zen Buddhism, and the story of the flower sermon illustrates the concept of understanding without words.
2.2 Zen Buddhism is passed down through a lineage of masters, similar to Apostolic succession in Christianity, and emphasizes the transmission of teachings from teacher to disciple.
2.3 Bodhidharma, a meditation master from India, went to China and emphasized the idea that nothing matters, rejecting the Emperor's belief in good karma and merit.

3. 11:19 🧘 Zen Buddhism emphasizes intense dedication, direct pointing to the human mind, and the importance of studying scriptures and teachings before being able to let go and be free.
3.1 Bodhidharma goes off to meditate in a cave for a long time and cuts off his eyelids to stay awake.
3.2 Buddhist meditation Masters seek solitude but become popular, with students showing dedication to be their disciples.
3.3 Bodhi Darman accepts a student who demonstrates dedication by offering his own arm, showing the intense dedication in Zen Buddhism.
3.4 The verse often associated with Zen emphasizes the direct pointing to the human mind, but it is important to understand that Zen does not dismiss the study of scriptures and teachings, similar to how jazz musicians learn the forms and scales before being able to forget them.
3.5 Learn the scriptures, philosophy, and practice of Zen before being able to let go and be free, drawing upon John McRae's book "Seeing through Zen" for historical context.

4. 15:41 🧘 Early Zen Buddhism focused on meditation to uncover one's Buddha nature, with different approaches to practice and the story of Huineng's succession as a key example.
4.1 Early Zen Buddhism focused on meditation to uncover one's Buddha nature, with no clear lineage but important meditation practices.
4.2 There is independent attestation of meditation masters taking different approaches, with some Buddhist masters skeptical of those focusing too much on meditation and others believing in the balance of study and practice.
4.3 The Platform Sutra is a classic Buddhist text that tells the story of a great Chan Master, Huineng, who was an illiterate cook at the Huang May Community.
4.4 A man hears someone chanting the diamond sutra, becomes interested, works at a temple, and competes in a poetry competition to become the successor of the fifth patriarch.
4.5 Shenzhou is the obvious successor in the temple, but when a poetry competition arises, he asks someone to write a verse for him, leading to a distinction between the northern and southern schools.
4.6 Constant practice is required for Buddhist practice, but there is also a view that spontaneous awakening can allow one to realize their Buddha nature.

5. 21:26 🧘 Zen Buddhism emphasizes the idea of Awakening as something already present, not to be achieved through meditation, with different factions and influential narratives shaping its history.
5.1 The two verses often presented as representing two distinct forms of Buddhism actually go together, but are perceived as two distinct schools due to the character Shun Hue presenting themselves as the successor of Huenang.
5.2 Chan Zen evangelist presented a narrative in the Platform Sutra, which has been influential in how people have thought about Zen, but scholars now have a more skeptical view of it.
5.3 Early Chong period is when different factions with different approaches to contemplation of the mind start to come together, associated with bodhidharma, shangren, and shunsho, and the development of lineage.
5.4 Mummification practices are associated with Zen, and the middle charm period is less historically testable but associated with great Masters.
5.5 The stories associated with lean G include him smacking his students to awaken them, and the encounter dialogues reveal the teacher-student Awakening experiences.
5.6 Awakening in Zen Buddhism is not something to be achieved through meditation, but rather something that is already present and requires getting out of one's own way.

6. 27:05 🧘 Zen Buddhism, originating in East Asia, emphasizes humility, no self, and interdependence through practices like seated meditation, bowing, and koan practice.
6.1 Chan Buddhism during the Song Dynasty was largely shaped by literary creation and rhetoric, with a tension between the idealized portrayal and the actual lived practice.
6.2 Temple life in the Song Dynasty was the golden age of Chon, with the study of dialogues and debates becoming key to the monastic curriculum and the development of Chon identity.
6.3 Zen Buddhism, also known as "son" in Japan, was introduced to Korea in the 6th century and grew in popularity during the 9th century, with basic practices being applicable across different regions.
6.4 Zen Buddhism encompasses a variety of practices, including seated meditation, bowing, prostrations, and koan practice, all emphasizing humility and the concept of no self and interdependence.
6.5 Chanting mantras, such as a data knee, is a popular practice in Zen Buddhism.
6.6 East Asian Buddhism encompasses practices such as chanting, sutra study, and the intimate relationship between Zen and the avatamska Sutra in Korean Buddhism.

7. 34:33 🧘 Zen Buddhism emphasizes sudden Awakening and interconnectedness, with a balance between meditation and study, and a transmission to Japan during the dominance of esoteric Buddhism, leading to overlap with tantric lineages in China and Tibet.
7.1 General promoted the idea of sudden Awakening and interconnectedness, emphasizing the balance between meditation and study in Korean Buddhism.
7.2 The practice of observing key phrases, such as "what is the sound of one hand clapping" and "contemplation of the character moo, " is attributed to General, who is seen as the founder of contemporary Korean Buddhism.
7.3 Zen Buddhism was transmitted to Japan at a time when esoteric Buddhism was dominant, and many early Zen monks were influenced by esoteric traditions.
7.4 Relationship is key in the esoteric transmission of secret teachings of Zen, with overlap between Zen and tantric lineages in China and Tibet.

8. 38:30 🧘 Zen Buddhism focuses on koan practices, public case dialogues, and meditation to awaken to the reality of enlightenment and express innate Buddha nature.
8.1 Asai was a Japanese Zen founder who trained on Mount Hi, studied in China, and introduced green tea to Japan.
8.2 Renzai tradition is associated with koan practices, such as "What is the sound of one hand clapping, " which is a popular and subtle practice.
8.3 Zen Buddhism uses public case dialogues to demonstrate the truth of Buddhism and challenges students to think about it in a different way, as seen in the classic example of the koan "does a dog have Buddha nature."
8.4 Enlightenment is not something to obtain, but a reality to awaken to, and the point of koan practice is to think differently and respond beyond the text.
8.5 Rinzai and Soto are two Zen Buddhist lineages with different practices and philosophies, with Dogen being a key figure in the development of Soto Zen in Japan.
8.6 Meditation in Zen Buddhism is about expressing your innate Buddha nature and being the Buddha that you already are, with Soto Zen monks taking over older temples and overlapping with esoteric rituals.

[Lexthebarbarian]

I don't need to study the religion of history at university. I just need to listen focused to such fine lectures as this one.

[MindfulExplorations-opbg]

This is fantastic. Loved the accompanying music also. Not too loud not too soft and not too busy. Much appreciated.

[danielpederson]

Thank you Professor Aaron, I enjoyed your lecture on Zen and also Esoteric Buddhism. I live in Minnesota and the seed of Zen was planted here by Dainin Katagiri, who was an assistant to Shunryu Suzuki. I had the opportunity to receive Zen instruction from a Katagiri Roshi protege, Steve Hagen. He wrote a good book titled Buddhism Plain and Simple. All this was in the Soto tradition. Most of the folks in this sanga were typical Minnesota types, reserved, stoic, introverted. By coincidence (?), I also had the good fortune to study Aikido under the guidance of Zenko Okimura. We refer to him as Shihan, besides reaching the rank of 7th degree black belt in Aikido he also completed the Shingon Priest training at Koya-San. He was the third generation in his family to do so, along with his younger brother. The focus of their Buddhist mission was in Hawaii. When a number us Aikido students went with him to Honolulu we visited the the family Shingon Temple. The difference compared to the Zen center in Minneapolis was striking. While the Zen center (Dharma Field) was simple and austere, only decorated by a large stone, the Shingon Temple was richly decorated with all sorts of items, too numerous to describe. The sanga people were all warm and welcoming. A priest in training there and I had a conversation in regard to 'American Buddhism' compared to the training he was receiving: "The American Zen Buddhists, he said were mostly interested in meditation and not in performing funerals, while funerals were very important in the training he was receiving.

[AmericanBuddhistStudyCenter]

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Professor Aaron Proffitt is going to answer questions you may have.

[monkeyisland]

thank you for these worthwile introductions, very interesting and accessible!

[JN-xbpq]

It's interesting that Chan/Zen is so associated with Japan, when it is the only East Asian country where Chan isn't hegemonic.

[evelynlamoy]

Sun disk meditation makes sense.
The sun is endlessly giving with no self or ego.

[ShaolinChan]

🙏🙏🙏👑
The Shaolin Chan禅～the essence of the wisdom of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism

[athenassigil]

Zen cereal? Isn't that Cheeri-Om's?

[OSNLebuna]

Zen reminds me of Musashi’s Way of Ether

[pavelkrstev]

Dgana and Chanda arena different oposite terms.

[MandarJoshi]

I see so much confusion (e.g. back then mirrors were considered self illuminating) because they have not grokked what Buddhism really was. Need to study (questions raised by) Samkhya to really understand what problem Buddhism was trying to solve.

[jessepasley]

Protip: Record of Dengfeng County Record actually records Damo as being from Persia and being a Persian. It's only one of a few contemporary records of him.

[willieluncheonette]

"ZEN IS JUST ZEN. There is nothing comparable to it. It is unique -- unique in the sense
that it is the most ordinary and yet the most extraordinary phenomenon that has happened to
human consciousness. It is the most ordinary because it does not believe in knowledge, it
does not believe in mind. It is not a philosophy, not a religion either. It is the acceptance of
the ordinary existence with a total heart, with one's total being, not desiring some other
world, supra-mundane, supra-mental. It has no interest in any esoteric nonsense, no interest in
metaphysics at all. It does not hanker for the other shore; this shore is more than enough. Its
acceptance of this shore is so tremendous that through that very acceptance it transforms this
shore -- and this very shore becomes the other shore:
This very body the buddha;
This very earth the lotus paradise.
Hence it is ordinary. It does not want you to create a certain kind of spirituality, a certain
kind of holiness. All that it asks is that you live your life with immediacy, spontaneity. And
then the mundane becomes the sacred.
The great miracle of Zen is in the transformation of the mundane into the sacred. And it is
tremendously extraordinary because THIS way life has never been approached before, THIS
way life has never been respected before.
Zen goes beyond Buddha and beyond Lao Tzu. It is a culmination, a transcendence, both
of the Indian genius and of the Chinese genius. The Indian genius reached its highest peak in
Gautam the Buddha and the Chinese genius reached its highest peak in Lao Tzu. And the
meeting...the essence of Buddha's teaching and the essence of Lao Tzu's teaching merged into
one stream so deeply that no separation is possible now. Even to make a distinction between
what belongs to Buddha and what to Lao Tzu is impossible, the merger has been so total. It is
not only a synthesis, it is an integration. Out of this meeting Zen was born. Zen is neither
Buddhist nor Taoist and yet both.
To call Zen "Zen Buddhism" is not right because it is far more. Buddha is not so earthly
as Zen is. Lao Tzu is tremendously earthly, but Zen is not only earthly: its vision transforms
the earth into heaven. Lao Tzu is earthly, Buddha is unearthly, Zen is both -- and in being
both it has become the most extraordinary phenomenon.
The future of humanity will go closer and closer to the approach of Zen, because the
meeting of the East and West is possible only through something like Zen, which is earthly
and yet unearthly. The West is very earthly, the East is very unearthly. Who is going to
become the bridge? Buddha cannot be the bridge; he is so essentially Eastern, the very flavor
of the East, the very fragrance of the East, uncompromising. Lao Tzu cannot be the bridge; he
is too earthly. China has always been very earthly. China is more part of the Western psyche
than of the Eastern psyche.
It is not an accident that China is the first country in the East to turn communist, to
become materialist, to believe in a godless philosophy, to believe that man is only matter and
nothing else. This is not just accidental. China has been earthly for almost five thousand
years; it is very Western. Hence Lao Tzu cannot become the bridge; he is more like Zorba the
Greek. Buddha is so unearthly you cannot even catch hold of him -- how can he become the
bridge?
When I look all around, Zen seems to be the only possibility, because in Zen, Buddha and
Lao Tzu have become one. The meeting has already happened. The seed is there, the seed of
that great bridge which can make East and West one. Zen is going to be the meeting-point. It
has a great future -- a great past and a great future.
And the miracle is that Zen is neither interested in the past nor in the future. Its total
interest is in the present. Maybe that's why the miracle is possible, because the past and the
future are bridged by the present.
The present is not part of time. Have you ever thought about it? How long is the present?
The past has a duration, the future has a duration. What is the duration of the present? How
long does it last? Between the past and the future can you measure the present? It is
immeasurable; it is almost not. It is not time at all: it is the penetration of eternity into time.
And Zen lives in the present. The whole teaching is: how to be in the present, how to get
out of the past which is no more and how not to get involved in the future which is not yet,
and just to be rooted, centered, in that which is.
The whole approach of Zen is of immediacy, but because of that it can bridge the past and
the future. It can bridge many things: it can bridge the past and the future, it can bridge the
East and the West, it can bridge body and soul. It can bridge the unbridgeable worlds: this
world and that, the mundane and the sacred"

[house_of_fortune]

advait that's why every great scientist or thinker was a vigorously reader of advait vendanta

[kenjones]

Really? I know there's Zen and there's Buddhism, but when was Buddhism made Zen?

[curtisrobinson]

Except Bodhidarma was described as a blue eyed redhead