Zen
Zen Buddhism, one of the most unique sects of Buddhism, can make us calm and teach us how to lead a pleasant existence. The word of "Zen" is sometimes called a religion, sometimes identified simply as a "way of life". Students of Zen Buddhism, therefore, cannot afford to ignore the study of Zen for better lives. The road of Zen and sprit of Zen are not only in the temple but also precept of Zen is in our daily lives.
According to Studies of Zen, "during the twenty centuries of development in the Far East Buddhism has been differentiated into many sects, who are so far distinct from their original Hindu types that we are justified in designating Far Eastern Buddhism by a special name." (Studies in Zen 18) In Japan, at present, we have two major Zen sects, the Rinzai and Soto. "The Rinzai Sect represents the Zen current in the Chinese Lin-chi School of late Sung, at thirteenth century it was brought to Japan by a number of Chinese master and Japanese monks who had studied under Lin-chi masters in China. At that period the Koan system had already become the distinguishing teaching method of the Lin-chi School. Present day masters in Japanese Rinzai Zen, the lineal descendants of those early teachers, in instructing their students continue to use approximately the same method as that used in the Chinese Lin-chi School in the days of Sung" (Ross 15)
On the other hand, Japanese Soto Zen represents the Ts'ao-tung School of Zen, also current in China in the Sung dynasty. "The masters of the Ts'ao-tung School; however, did not use the Koan as a means of bringing their disciples to enlightenment, but depended almost entirely upon the practice of Zazen (meditation). The great Japanese priest Dogen Zenji, after studying under a Ts'ao-tung master in china, brought the method of this school back to Japan, also in the thirteenth century. Moreover, Dogen greatly modified both the teaching and the teaching method of the school to accord with his own...
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