23 Facts About Japanese Zen

Japanese Zen refers to the Japanese forms of Zen Buddhism, an originally Chinese Mahayana school of Buddhism that strongly emphasizes dhyana, the meditative training of awareness and equanimity.

Term Zen is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the Middle Chinese word ?, an abbreviation of ??, which is a Chinese transliteration of the Sanskrit word of dhyana .

Japanese Zen was the 28th Indian patriarch of Zen and the first Chinese patriarch.

The early phase of Japanese Zen has been labeled "syncretic" because Chan teachings and practices were initially combined with familiar Tendai and Shingon forms.

Japanese Zen found difficulties in establishing itself as a separate school in Japan until the 12th century, largely because of opposition, influence, power and criticism by the Tendai school.

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Not all Rinzai Japanese Zen organisations were under such strict state control.

Japanese Zen's influence was so immense that almost all contemporary Rinzai lineages are traced back to him.

Notable work on this subject was Japanese Zen at War by Brian Victoria, an American-born Soto priest.

Primary goal of Rinzai Japanese Zen is kensho, seeing one's true nature, and mujodo no taigen, expression of this insight in daily life.

Sanbo Kyodan is a small Japanese Zen school, established by Hakuun Yasutani, which has been very influential in the West.

Japanese Zen wrote many books on Zen which became widely read in the Western world, but he has been criticised for giving a one-sided and overly romanticized vision of Zen.

Japanese Zen was interned during World War II and started writing in prison.

Japanese Zen's essays include "God, Buddha, and Buddhahood" and "Zen, Sin, and Death".

Japanese Zen understood Zen as a vehicle for a mystical transformation of consciousness, and as a historical example of a non-Western, non-Christian way of life that had fostered both the practical and fine arts.

Dharma Bums, a novel written by Jack Kerouac and published in 1959, gave its readers a look at how a fascination with Buddhism and Japanese Zen was being absorbed into the bohemian lifestyles of a small group of American youths, primarily on the West Coast.

Japanese Zen was ordained a Catholic priest in Japan in 1965, and studied with Yamada Koun in Japan in the 1970s.

Japanese Zen was installed as a Zen teacher of the White Plum Asanga lineage in 1991 and was given the title 'Roshi' in 1997.

Japanese Zen has stated that, despite its title, the book "should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice".

In North America, the Japanese Zen lineages derived from the Sanbo Kyodan school are the most numerous.

The Sanbo Kyodan is a Japan-based reformist Japanese Zen group, founded in 1954 by Yasutani Hakuun, which has had a significant influence on Japanese Zen in the West.

Sanbo Kyodan Japanese Zen is based primarily on the Soto tradition, but incorporates Rinzai-style koan practice.

The American Japanese Zen Association, headquartered at the New Orleans Japanese Zen Temple, is one of the North American organizations practicing in the Deshimaru tradition.

Japanese Zen is not a traditional Zen teacher, but is influential via his blogs on Zen.