From Japanese 禅(ぜん) (zen), from Middle Chinese 禪 (MC dzyen), an abbreviation of 禪那 (MC dzyen na), from Sanskrit ध्यान (dhyāna, “a type of meditation”). Doublet of dhyana and Chan.
Meanings
Of or related to Zen Buddhism.
Zen meditation
Zen monk
Zen master
(alt-of, colloquial) Alternative letter-case form of zen.
Part of him is still so much the newbie, amazed to find this place of sand and sun stuck onto the ass end of the greatest city in the world, but the rest of him has relaxed into acceptance already. He's Zen like that. 2020, N. K. Jemisin, The City We Became, Orbit, page 431:
"It sounds very Zen," I said. "A log cabin with no logs." 2010, Martin Avery et al., Zen Forest:
From Japanese 禅(ぜん) (zen), from Middle Chinese 禪 (MC dzyen), an abbreviation of 禪那 (MC dzyen na), from Sanskrit ध्यान (dhyāna, “a type of meditation”). Doublet of dhyana and Chan.
Meanings
(alt-of, uncountable) Alternative letter-case form of zen: (religion) enlightenment and (informal) mindful action, instruction, or behavior considered similar to Zen.
Hōyen... used to produce his own hand and ask his disciples, why it was called a hand? When we know the reason, there is satori and we have Zen. 1934, Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, page 102:
From Japanese 禅(ぜん) (zen), from Middle Chinese 禪 (MC dzyen), an abbreviation of 禪那 (MC dzyen na), from Sanskrit ध्यान (dhyāna, “a type of meditation”). Doublet of dhyana and Chan.
Meanings
A school of Mahayana Buddhism characterized by sudden enlightenment achieved by indirect means and principally associated with China and Japan.
While Christianity teaches that man was expelled from the Garden of Eden, Zen teaches that we are living in paradise right now, even amid all the shit that's going down. This world is the Pure Land. This world is paradise. In fact, this world is better than paradise—but all we can do is piss and moan, and look around for something better. 2003, Brad Warner, Hardcore Zen, page 25:
For Orientals these mysterious formulae are clear and familiar truths, but for us they are completely bewildering... Dhyana Buddhism, which is known in Japan as "Zen"... is not speculation at all but immediate experience of what, as the bottomless ground of Being, cannot be apprehended by intellectual means, and cannot be conceived or interpreted even after the most unequivocal and incontestable experiences: one knows it by not knowing it. 1953, Richard Francis Carrington Hull translating Eugen Herrigel's Zen in the Art of Archery, p. 3
Philosophical mysticism, the idea that truth is indefinable and can be apprehended only by nonrational means, has been with us since the beginning of history. It's the basis of Zen practice. 1974, Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, page 235:
ru дзэн (denomination of Buddhism) · lo ເຊັນ (denomination of Buddhism) · fi zen (denomination of Buddhism) · ur زین (denomination of Buddhism) · ga Búdachas Zen (denomination of Buddhism) · yi זען (denomination of Buddhism) · ru дзен (denomination of Buddhism) · mr झेन (denomination of Buddhism) · ba Дзэн (denomination of Buddhism) · hu zen (denomination of Buddhism) · es budismo zen (denomination of Buddhism) · ja 禅 (denomination of Buddhism) · bo ཟེན (denomination of Buddhism) · nan-hbl 禪 /禅 (denomination of Buddhism) · ar زَن (denomination of Buddhism) · hy ձեն (denomination of Buddhism) · he זן (denomination of Buddhism) · cmn 禪宗 /禅宗 (denomination of Buddhism) · si සෙන් (denomination of Buddhism) · cs zen (denomination of Buddhism) · ka ძენი (denomination of Buddhism) · pt zen (denomination of Buddhism) · kk Дзен (denomination of Buddhism) · de Zen (denomination of Buddhism) · ga Zen (denomination of Buddhism) · th เซน (denomination of Buddhism) · te జెన్ (denomination of Buddhism) · fi zenbuddhismi (denomination of Buddhism) · ko 선 (denomination of Buddhism) · fr zen (denomination of Buddhism) · vi Thiền Tông (denomination of Buddhism) · eo zena (denomination of Buddhism) · fi zenbuddhalaisuus (denomination of Buddhism) · cmn 禪 /禅 (denomination of Buddhism) · el Ζεν (denomination of Buddhism) · vi thiền (denomination of Buddhism) · ml സെൻ (denomination of Buddhism) · my ဇင်ဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာ (denomination of Buddhism) · fa ذن (denomination of Buddhism) · pnb زین (denomination of Buddhism) · ar زِن (denomination of Buddhism) · es zen (denomination of Buddhism) · ja 禅宗 (denomination of Buddhism) · pa ਜ਼ੇਨ (denomination of Buddhism) · sa ध्यान (denomination of Buddhism) · hi ज़ेन (denomination of Buddhism) · hi झेन (denomination of Buddhism) · nan-hbl 禪宗 /禅宗 (denomination of Buddhism) · mr जेन (denomination of Buddhism) · pl zen (denomination of Buddhism) · ko 선종 (denomination of Buddhism) · ar زِن (denomination of Buddhism)