Buddhism was introduced to Japan in ad 539, when a Korean ruler sought an alliance with the ruler of Yamato in Japan. To please the Japanese, the Korean ruler sent a statue of the Buddha and some Buddhist scriptures, which he described as the greatest treasures he could send. The Daibutsu (Great Buddha) figure at Kamakura, Japan, was cast in bronze in 1252. The figure depicts Amitabha (also known as Amida Buddha) in perfect repose and passionless calm.

Kamakura Daibutsu

Group Profile

1. Name: Zen Buddhism; the mystical school of Buddhism
   (Zen in Chinese= ch'an-na, which transliterates the sanskrit term dhyana, which means "meditation")

2. Founder: Siddhartha Gautama, the original founder of the school of Buddhism

3. Date of Birth:560 BC

4. Death:460 BC

5. Birth Place: Southern India

6. Year Founded: 500 BC

7. Brief History

   At the age of 29, Siddhartha Guatama was deeply troubled by the suffering he saw around him, and he renounced his privileged life to seek understanding. After 6 years of struggling as an ascetic, he finally achieved Enlightenment at age 35. After this, he was known as the Buddha ("One who is awake"). After all of these experiences, Guatama realized that everything is subject to change and that suffering and discontentment are the result of the attachment to circumstances and things which, by their nature, are not permanent. From that point on, the teachings of Zen Buddhism have been passed down from teacher to students. Around 475 AD, Bodhidharma traveled from India to China and introduced teachings there. (This is why some references cite Bodhidharma as the founding father of Zen Buddhism.)

8. Sacred or Revered Texts: Non-existent

9. Cult or Sect: Negative sentiments are typically implied when the concepts "cult" and "sect" are employed in popular discourse. Since the Religious Movements Homepage seeks to promote religious tolerance and appreciation of the positive benefits of pluralism and religious diversity in human cultures, we encourage the use of alternative concepts that do not carry implicit negative stereotypes. For a more detailed discussion of both scholarly and popular usage of the concepts "cult" and "sect," please visit our Conceptualizing "Cult" and "Sect" page, where you will find additional links to related issues.

10. Size of Group: No approximation is given because many Schools of Zen Buddhism  exist

II. Beliefs of the Group

According to Benjamin Radcliff, the key beliefs of Zen focus primarily on The Four Noble Truths and The Noble Eightfold Path.

The Four Noble Truths are:

• The first truth is the observation that suffering or unhappiness, referred to as dukkha, is pervasive in life. Dukka is explained to be suffering or unhappiness of any kind. (i.e. the desire for wealth or respect, the distaste for bad weather).
  
• The second truth explains that the cause of dukkha is craving or clutching at life. Our unhappiness results from our desiring to make life fit our preconceptions of what should be or what we would like it to be.
  
• The third truth explains that dukkha can be ended by ending the craving, which in turn, can be achieved by following the fourth truth.
  The fourth truth reveals to follow The Noble Eightfold Path.
  

The Noble Path reveals the following:

• The first and second relate to right views and right understanding of the mind. These proposals require proper understanding of Buddha's method (nature of dukkha).
  
• The third, fourth, and fifth paths refer to right speech, right conduct, and right vocation. They offer simple suggestions of prudence. One should follow "the path" to achieve spiritual goodness.
  
• The sixth, seventh and eighth paths apply to meditation. Right effort, right awareness(smiriti), and right contemplation (smadhi) are necessary to achieve complete meditation.
  

In general, Zen is different from other religious groups. Zen is not a religion in the sense that religion is generally understood. Zen has no God to worship, no ceremonial rights to observe, no "future abode" to which the dead are destined. Zen is free of all dogmatic principles that Christianity and other religions are tied to. Zen has no set doctrines which are imposed on its followers for acceptance. Zen teachings come out of one's own mind. It is addressed to the human heart. It is a living experience, a "creative impulse."

All major religions, Buddhism included, have split into schools and sects. But the different sects of Buddhism have never gone to war with each other and they go to each others temples and worship together. This understanding by the different Buddhist sects is vary rare. Buddhism has evolved in different forms so it can be relevant to different cultures. For example, the practice of Zen Buddhism is different among the Chinese, Americans, and Japanese. Because Zen Buddhism is the creation of the T'ang dynasty in China (where it originated), it is difficult for Anglo-Saxons and the Japanese to absorb anything quite so Chinese as Zen. The Chinese practice involves the achievement and respect for a vision of a universal way of nature, wherein good and evil are both considered as parts of existence. Japanese Zen promotes rigid self-discipline and was popular among the Samurai class. Meanwhile, American Zen is self-conscious and subjective and is used to justify life and one's desires. The types of Buddhism all may seem very different but at the center of all of them is the Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path.

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