TEA CEREMONY

The Zen Division of Buddhism and Tea Ceremony as a part of Meditation



The Zen Division of Buddhism and Tea Ceremony as a part of Meditation

Introduction

Developed in Japan, Zen Buddhism is the meditational school of Buddhism. Importance on the form of meditation which requires reaching a level of enlightenment or awareness, and practicing present-mindedness is the tenets of this branch of Buddhism which differ it from other forms. Knowing one's own nature and the truth about it can be only achieved through the practice of meditation. A noticeable reduction in the emphasis on holy writings including Buddhist sutras despite the importance of their study in other branches of Buddhism, and more emphasis on meditation is observable in this branch.

Discussion

In China, the school of thought in Buddhism which emphasized on meditation was known as Chan Buddhism. Gradually Zen made its way to Japan. The origin and development of Zen in Japan is commonly associated with Dosho. The Chan master Hui Man and Xuan Zang (602-664) taught Dosho (629-700), a Japanese priest who lived and studied in China for eight years. In addition to teaching some of the Chan doctrine he had learned in China, Dosho is famous for founding the Hosso (Dharma Marks) faction of Buddhism. A century later, a form of Zen was introduced in Tendai by the founder of Tendai Buddhism Saicho (767-822). It is practiced to date in Japan, amongst the various practices in Japanese religion (Brumann, 1992).

Prior to the short but overwhelming persecution of Buddhists and Buddhism in 845 under Emperor Wuzong (r.841-846), Chan had reached its height of popularity and acceptance within China. The period marked the beginning of the usage of Koan. Koan can be described as the stories and questions put in front of the individual practitioner which had confounding effects on the intellect. Koans would work to lead individuals to make intuitive jumps towards the realization of truth. Zen's two main divisions Caodong Chan and Linji Chan emerged in the generation that came after the persecution. Coadong Chan rejected the use of Koans, however, both divisions which developed as a consequence to the southern Chan movement placed emphasis on sudden enlightenment, rejecting the idea of gradual enlightenment. The first division of Zen which was formally introduced in the island nation of Japan is Linji and thus it enjoys the most importance in Japanese Zen. A number of schools of thought exist within Linji, each school conveying slightly differing approaches and teachings about distinctive lineage through which authority should be passed and meditation to its followers. Teachers from the generation subsequent to the original transmitters of Zen went to China to receive credentials from various Chinese schools of Linji, in order to establish those schools as distinctive Rinzai Zen groups in Japan. Rinzai groups were built in surroundings of a head monastic complex or temple with various sub-temples established in the country. There are no fewer than 18 separate Rinzai schools in modern day Japan.

Raised as a Shintoist, Eisai (1141-1215) developed an interest ...