Kyoto, Zen city.  east-mountain,Nanzenji, Konchin-in, and Zenrin-ji.Zen,

It’s minimalism of beauty. This house ware builds to be Zen philosophy. The building is cover with a lot of trees, and behind of house are garden and facing mountain. From the behind mountain, small water fall to a pond, Beautiful fish are swimming in the men made a pond, The tree are specially trimmed and shaped, the house collaborate with nature.

Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation, which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyana, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state". Zen emphasizes experiential wisdom in the attainment of enlightenment. As such, it de-emphasizes theoretical knowledge in favor of direct self realization through meditation and dharma practice. The teachings of Zen include various sources of Mahayana thought, including the Prajnaparamita literature and the teachings of the Yogacara and Tathagatagarbha schools. The emergence of Zen as a distinct school of Buddhism was first documented in China in the 7th century CE. From China, Zen spread south to Vietnam, and east to Korea and Japan. As a matter of tradition, the establishment of Zen is credited to the South Indian Pallava prince-turned monk Bodhidharma, who came to China to teach a "special transmission outside scriptures, not founded on words or letters". Zen Art starts from here.

Although it is difficult to trace when the West first became aware of Zen as a distinct form of Buddhism, the visit of Soyen Shaku, a Japanese Zen monk, to Chicago during the World Parliament of Religions in 1893 is often pointed to as an event that enhanced its profile in the Western world. It was during the late 1950s and the early 1960s that the number of Westerners, other than the descendants of Asian immigrants, pursuing a serious interest in Zen reached a significant level.

In Europe, the Expressionist and Dada movements in art tend to have much in common thematically with the study of koans and actual Zen. The early French surrealist René Daumal translated D.T. Suzuki as well as Sanskrit Buddhist texts. Eugen Herrigel's book Zen in the Art of Archery(1953),  describing his training in the Zen-influenced martial art of Kyudo, inspired many of the Western world's early Zen practitioners. However, many scholars, such as Yamada Shoji, are quick to criticize this book. The British philosopher Alan Watts took a close interest in Zen Buddhism and wrote and lectured extensively on it during the 1950s. He understood it as a vehicle for a mystical transformation ofconsciousness, and also as a historical example of a non-Western, non-Christian way of life that had fostered both the practical and fine arts.

In North America, the Zen lineages derived from the Japanese Soto School are the most numerous. Among these are the lineages of the San Francisco Zen Center, established by Shunryu Suzuki and the White Plum Asanga, founded by Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi. Suzuki's San Francisco Zen Center established the first Zen Monastery in America in 1967, called Tassajara in the mountains near Big Sur. Maezumi's successors have created schools including Great Plains Zen Center, founded by Susan Myoyu Andersen, Zen Mountain Monastery, founded by John Daido Loori, Great Vow Zen Monastery founded by Chozen Bays, the Zen Peacemaker Order, founded by Bernard Tetsugen Glassman, Heart
Circle Sangha founded by Nicolee Jikyo McMahon and Joan Hogetsu Hoeberichts, and the Ordinary Mind school, founded by Charlotte Joko Beck. The Katagiri lineage, founded by Dainin Katagiri, has a significant presence in the Midwest. Note that both Taizan Maezumi and Dainin Katagiri served as priests at Zenshuji Soto Mission in the 1960s.

East-mountain side, Nanzenji, Konchin-in, and Zenrin-ji.Zen Map

© 2011 ny-jp.com, All rights reserved.