What is Zen Buddhism?

In this video, we continue exploring the rich spiritual tradition of Buddhism through one of its most profound and important schools - Chan/Zen. We dive into the history and development of the school, as well as its characteristic teachings about meditation, koans, liberation and Buddha-nature.

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Sources/Suggested Reading:

Chuang Zhi (2019). "Exploring Chán: An Introduction to the Religious and Mystical Tradition of Chinese Buddhism". Songlark Publishing.

Hershock, Peter D. (2004). "Chan Buddhism". University of Hawaii Press.

Red Pine (translated by) (1989). "The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma". North Point Press.

Red Pine (translated by) (2002). "The Diamond Sutra". Counterpoint.

Red Pine (translated by) (2008). "The Platform Sutra: The Zen Teaching of Hui-neng". Counterpoint.

Westerhoff, Jan (2009). "Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka: A Philosophical Introduction". Oxford University Press.

Ziporyn, Brook (2016). "Emptiness and Omnipresence: An essential introduction to Tiantai Buddhism". Indiana University Press.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
03:39 Basics of Buddhism
04:56 East Asian Buddhism (Mahayana)
13:19 The Origins of Chan
17:22 Bodhidharma
20:17 Teachings & Practices of Chan
33:49 Chan's relationship to Daoism
35:31 Later developments & Subschools
37:50 Japanese Zen & Dogen
41:16 Chan/Zen today & Conclusions

#zen #buddhism #china

[rumrunner]

I studied Chan at a monastery for a year (but didn't become a monk) and I must say, you really nailed it here! There are just two points that should be made: First, something that many Westerners may not realize, is that strict adherence to one sect of Buddhism isn't very widespread. Many Buddhists, including monastics, practice both Chan/Zen and Pureland Buddhism, or mix Chan/Zen with esoteric/Vajrayana teachings. Also, many Buddhists will even combine religions, like having Confucian ancestor veneration and familial piety or Shinto reverence for Kami spirits mixed with Zen or other sects of Buddhism.

Second, it should be noted that we do have the concept of Wu (Satori in Japanese) Essentially, while in Zuochan/Zazen meditation, it is possible to actually touch Buddhahood, if only for a moment. That is one of the biggest differences between Chan and just about every other religion: other religions talk about "heaven, " but in Chan, we actually visit it and experience it in this life.

It should also be noted that Bodhidharma founded Chan at the Shaolin monastery...yep, that Shaolin monastery. The birthplace of Chan in China is also the birthplace of Kung-Fu.

[Vak_g]

After so many episodes, after so many excellent documentaries, I still cant't believe how lucky I am to be able to watch videos like this in Youtube! Philip what you are doing is literally making my life more beautiful! Thank you very much!

[kasturiswami]

In real life we learn all the time from such wisdom and it makes a huge difference.

[simpleitsdanny]

Ive been Thien Buddhist my whole life but always wondered why the Buddhism varies by country ! Thank you for tackling this and clarifying my own religion

[ExplainingChristianity]

Finally a video about Zen Buddhism, been waiting for a while!

[nicolafrau]

Finally a video about Buddhism! Thanks!

[tdclemensen]

I have been going through a very difficult time recently, and what you said about letting go and accepting the suffering really hits home. Sometimes suffering hits like a tidal wave and there is no option but to let go

[MartyMcK]

I prefer Thich Nhat Hanh’s use of the term interconnected ness. rather than emptiness. You actually explained it really well when referring to the tree.

[greenthumb]

I have benefitted greatly these past three years studying the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, on the Plum Village channel here on YT. Thank you Filip for all your wonderful videos 🙏🏼

[jseymourguenther]

I get why it took Filip awhile to get around to Buddha Dharma — he doesn’t settle for simplification

[deacudaniel]

In Middle Chinese (spoken by the time Zen Buddhism emerged), dhyana was pronunced as *dzien, then diverged into modern Mandarin "chan", Japanese "zen" and other variants across East Asian languages.

[mcgee]

Thank you for this explanation. I've studied zen for years, but from time to time, you'll hear an explanation that makes the teaching more available.

[leow]

I remember in one of Michael Palin's travel documentaries (Full Circle, I think), he visited a zen monastery in Japan and was discussing meditation with one of the monks. He asked the monk what he should hope to get out of meditation, and the monk smiled and said, "That is your problem."

[aubreyekstrom]

Very well done video on Chan/Zen Buddhism, from someone who has practiced and studied Buddhism most of my life, specifically Chan/Zen Buddhism. While we could debate minor differences in the details & history, I think that misses the point. For a 45 minute video you did an amazing job of covering the main ideas and history. Thank you for your hard work on this!

[lastakocjancic]

I would say, with acceptance the suffering loses his power over us.Thank you, you inspired me.❤

[douglashtang]

I understand exactly everything you say in this video because I grew up reading a lot of Chan and Mahayana Buddhist texts (sutras-vinayas-sastras) in Vietnamese language. Thank you so much for explaining this in depth for English speaking audiences. This video is truly a gem. I feel like you might have been able to read some non-English texts to come up with such detailed look in Chan Buddhism. I love that you introduce the zen koans riddles to the non-Buddhist audience. These koans are very fascinating, mind-blowing and thought-provoking.

[ZenAndPsychedelicHealingCenter]

As a Zen teacher, I would say that there were one or two errors, but overall one of the better presentations I've seen on Chan/Zen. Thank you.

[LysSylva]

One of my favorite channels. Straight to the point, , well researched, topped with own experienceand well explained Thank you!

[dudeonthasopha]

I'm a zen buddhist and it's refreshing to see it explained from a more historical view. I'd love a video on the trikaya concept and how it relates to tathāgatagarbha and śunyata. It's one of the most interesting parts of mahayana I think.

[d]

I look forward to see a philosopher's biography about the sixth patriarch Huineng. His teachings were compiled into a book called Platform Sutra and is held in high regard by Chan Buddhists.