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Buddhism began with [[Siddhartha Gautama|Shakyamuni Buddha]], the founder, about 500 BC in Northern [[India]]. Zen primarily emphasizes [[meditation]] to realize the illusory nature (meaning [[impermanence|impermanent]], [[interdependence|interdependent]] "merely labelled" or "imputed") of the [[self]] and the [[eternal]] abiding [[reality]] of the "Cosmic Buddha" or '[[Dharma#2. Dharmakaya - Tathagata Garbha - Dharma Dhatu as Source of the Universe|Dharmakaya]]'.
Buddhism began with [[Siddhartha Gautama|Shakyamuni Buddha]], the founder, about 500 BC in Northern [[India]]. Zen primarily emphasizes [[meditation]] to realize the illusory nature (meaning [[impermanence|impermanent]], [[interdependence|interdependent]] "merely labelled" or "imputed") of the [[self]] and the [[eternal]] abiding [[reality]] of the "Cosmic Buddha" or '[[Dharma#2. Dharmakaya - Tathagata Garbha - Dharma Dhatu as Source of the Universe|Dharmakaya]]'.
Buddhism moved from [[India]] to [[China]] due to the efforts of the [[monk]] Bodhidaruma (or '[[Bodhidharma]]') who made the treacherous sea crossing to [[China]]. The Indian word for meditation 'Dhyana' was taken to describe the heart of the practice in China and the name 'Dhyana' was there pronounced 'Chan'. When Chan Buddhism was taken from China to [[Japan]] the word 'Chan' was pronounced 'Zen' in Japanese. There are several schools of Zen Buddhism in Japan: Soto, Rinzai, Obaku etc. Another name for the meditation which is the heart of the practice is 'Shikan Taza' which means 'Serene Reflection' - a "seeing deeply into the nature of things".
Buddhism moved from [[India]] to [[China]] due to the efforts of the [[monk]] Bodhidaruma (or '[[Bodhidharma]]') who made the treacherous sea crossing to [[China]]. The Indian word for meditation 'Dhyana' was taken to describe the heart of the practice in China and the name 'Dhyana' was there pronounced 'Chan'. When Chan Buddhism was taken by Eisai and Dogen from China to [[Japan]], the word 'Chan' was pronounced 'Zen' in Japanese. There are several schools of Zen Buddhism in Japan: Soto, Rinzai, Obaku etc. Another name for the meditation which is the heart of the practice is 'Shikan Taza' which means 'Serene Reflection' - a "seeing deeply into the nature of things".
==Doctrine==
The goal of Buddhism is the state of Nirvana, which is itself not clearly defined. Buddha himself gave no real definition of what it is. In traditional Buddhism, the "summum bonum" is the release from karma and reincarnation. This consists in absorption into or reunion with the "Over-Soul". This objective is to be reached through knowledge, and ultimately involves the annihilation of one's individuality.<ref>Samuel Macauley Jackson, ed., The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. 1977 reprint, volume 2, p 293</ref> The state of awakening, called bodhi, is distant and almost impossible to achieve.<ref name="The Way of Zen">Alan W. Watts, The Way of Zen, 1957, p. 83</ref><br/>
Zen Buddhism differs in this, by claiming that bodhi is something more readily available. According to Alan Watts, "...in Zen, there is always the feeling that awakening is something quite natural, something startlingly obvious, which may occur at any moment." Watts also notes that "Zen is also direct in its way of teaching, for it points directly and openly to the truth, and does not trifle with symbolism".<ref name="The Way of Zen">Alan W. Watts, The Way of Zen, 1957, p. 83</ref> However, others disagree. For example, Richard Mathison remarked that "Zen is brusque in its teachings, aimed at the roots of inconsistency. It demands action of the curios sort...It finds truth through shrinking away from error, not discovering a way to truth.<ref>Richard Mathison, God is a Millionaire, 1950, pp. 365.</ref><br/>
Reality is not an objective, correlative truth to them, but rather a subjective, egocentric reflection which can become reality if they work to cause its manifestation.
== Chan Buddhism ==
== Chan Buddhism ==