introduction jnani raja hatha tantric kundalini laya mantra karma bhakti sufism vajrayana zen taoist
Zen
Zen literally means meditation. It is a Japanese transliteration of the Chinese term Chan which is in turn a transliteration of the Sanscrit term Dhyana as used by Patanjali . (See Raja Yoga.)
The main Zen methods are koan and just sitting. The former is peculiar to Rinzai Zen and the latter is practised by adherents of Soto Zen. There is also mondo which is intreaction with a Zen master.
Koan meditation defeats the intellect by setting it an insoluble puzzle so that at the moment of defeat there is the experience of sartori, or sudden enlightenment. Soto sitting is, according to Dogen, enlightenment itself. In both cases, enlightenment is conceived of as a mysterious dissolution of boundaries and a fusion of opposites - inasmuch as it is conceived at all!
There is a relationship between Zen and certain martial arts. The clear mind attained by meditation is invaluable to those who fight for a living. Deliberation and intellection inhibit the spontaneity necessary for self-defence or sword-play and Zen is a direct counter to these. The physical fitness of the martial artist is thought to aid sitting meditation and there is a resemblance here between this relationship and that of Hatha Yoga to Raja Yoga. Martial artists also utilise a subtle anatomy similar to that of Hatha Yoga, especially in the concept of a universal energy (ki, chi, prana). The no-mind spontaneity of Zen is also valued by many other arts, e.g. painting, flower-arranging.
Though formally Buddhist, Zen has absorbed much from Taoism, especially in the practical and spiritual value of emptiness.
Zen resembles certain aspects of Vajrayana Buddhism, particularly Mahamudra and Dzog Chen. All of these try to point directly to enlightenment.
Resources
Translation of The Heart Sutra.
introduction jnani raja hatha tantric kundalini laya mantra karma bhakti sufism vajrayana zen taoist