What is "Zen" (Chan) Buddhism?

(Let's Talk Religion) What is Zen Buddhism?

• China's Chan Buddhism
• Zen Buddhism (primarily in Japan)

What is jhana or "meditation" ("meditative absorption")?

• Bodhisattva (ideals) vows
• Śhūnyatā: "emptiness" (impersonal, interdependent)

Buddhist Magic with the Heart Sutra

(Benebell Wen) Buddhist Magic with the Heart Sutra

• Neuroscientist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor: My Stroke of Insight

Five real cracks in this "reality"

(The Opening) Five cracks in reality (we've never noticed one)

What did Bodhidharma say about Zen?

(ECHOES OF LOST KNOWLEDGE) Seek nothing [suññata?]: Bodhidharma's radical Zen (Chan) teaching | Buddhist wisdom

Hairy brown man saves China

Bodhidharma is a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who is said to have lived during the 5th or 6th century CE [1].

Bodhidharma [lit., "Enlightenment-Teaching"] is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China and is regarded as its first Chinese patriarch [a].

Bodhidharma is also popularly regarded as the founder of Shaolin kung fu [2, 3, 4, 5], an idea popularized in the 20th century [2, 4, 5] and based on the 17th-century Yijin Jing and the Taoist association of taoyin gymnastics with Bodhidharma [2, 3, b, c].

I cut off my eyelids to stare at a wall.

Little contemporary biographical information on Bodhidharma exists, and subsequent accounts are layered with lofty [and often absurd] legend and unreliable details [6, d].

According to the principal Chinese sources, Bodhidharma came from the Western Regions [7, 8], which typically refers to modern-day Xinjiang and Central Asia [such as Buddhist Afghanistan, Gandhara, the historical Buddha's homeland, territory of the Sakas, Scythians, Shakyas]. But it can also include the Indian subcontinent.

Shaolin kung fu? I wish I had done more yoga!

Bodhidharma is described as either a "Persian [Iranian Aryan] Central Asian" [7] or a "South Indian...the third son of a great Indian king" [8, e].

Aside from the Chinese accounts, several popular traditions also exist regarding Bodhidharma's origins [Note 1].

Throughout Buddhist art, [the idea, legend, or personification of] Bodhidharma is depicted as an ill-tempered, large-nosed, profusely bearded [often obese], wide-eyed non-Chinese man. The accounts also differ on the date of his alleged arrival. More

• ECHOES OF LOST KNOWLEDGE, Oct. 10, 2026; CC Liu, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

Who will save the trees? Butterfly will

• juliabutterflyhill.com

Will anything I ever do make a difference? IDK

If only all of us had Butterfly-will like Julia Butterfly Hill who willed that Luna the Tree be saved from corporate logging.

The Buddha called "will" (cetanā, volition) "karma." (Most of the good things that happen to us in life are due to our karma, as are many but not all of the bad things).

The Legacy of Luna

But what can just one person do? One person can save the world, save a grove, a forest, nature, a species, a region. And more people coming together for a cause can do even more, taking their lead from that ONE person.

Sure, we say she's a "super heroine" now, but at the time, everyone said she was a "crazy hippie" for having uncapitalist ideals and principles. There is that scientific theory called the "butterfly effect," the idea that the smallest change can have a compounding effect, stacking, triggering a cascade much bigger than would ever seem possible by just one act, a kind of domino effect.

Julia, you did the impossible! How'd you do it?
Easy. I just did something. Nature did the rest.

What can just one pretty, little, dumb, colorful, flighty, teensy-weensy butterfly do?

• 

  No One Is Too Small...

  It isn't just the karmic (willful) action that has an immediate result. There is the inspiring of others, modeling change for them, blowing the whistle, speaking up for the unpopular but honest view of things. Greta Thunberg may not do much more than boycott school, hold a sign, garner attention, speak at rallies, or get herself in the media, and she still has done a great deal. She gets demonstrates, protests, investigates, sticks to her guns (e.g., against Israel), speaks out, gets arrested, talks to movers-and-shakers, addresses the U.N., and inspires millions to think and act. She does participate in direct actions herself, but more than that, she rallies demonstrators and attracts attention to important causes. What can I do? What can you do? What can we do?

I didn't begin with a book. I began a strike.

How, for example, could a single piece of flimsy straw (like a pretty girl in a tree) ever break a robust camel (like a greedy corporation out to hump everyone and steal water from an arid place for itself) with a strong back for carrying bales and bales of hay?

• No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference
• The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods
• It's so possible, even a Pakistani girl can do it. - Do what? - Do something. Just ask Malala Yousafzai (malala.org)

Teaching crusade: female education in the Muslim world around the world (malala.org)

You don't have to be white, right, Barry? - No, but it sure helps, Mal (with Malia+Michael O.)

'Super heroine'? I'm just a regular person with no ability to anything about greedy corporations

Reverend Dr. MLK Jr. was very popular until he spoke out against the U.S. War on Vietnam.

A Jew for Palestine? I thought Jews hated them? - Many good people stand for truth and justice

Devis live at the tops of trees, mostly unseen by ordinary human beings who do not meditate.

Buddhism vs. Taoism: when Zen was born

Every ordinary moment is pointing to our true Buddha nature | Zen Master Bodhidharma

(Daily Tao Wisdom) Buddhism versus Taoism: The Night Zen was Born: Bodhidharma

The 'goal' of Buddhism: Enlightenment

(Buddhism Podcast) What is enlightenment (bodhi)? The ultimate goal of life in Buddhism

• Enlightenment in Buddhism

What could go wrong? Broken "enlightenment"

(Asangoham) The Four Stages of a Broken "Awakening"

Apathy or indifference?

In neurology, abulia (aboulia from Ancient Greek βουλή, meaning not-"will") [1] is a lack of will, volition, initiative, willful-motive. It is a disorder of diminished motivation.

Abulia falls in the middle of the spectrum of diminished motivation, with apathy being milder and akinetic mutism being the most severe [2].

The condition was originally considered to be a disorder of the will [3, 4], as aboulic individuals are unable to act or make decisions independently.

Can everyone become a buddha?

(Natasha Yehenara) If all have "Buddha-nature," can everyone become one?

Their condition may range in severity from subtle to overwhelming. In the case of akinetic mutism, many patients describe that as soon as they "will" or attempt a movement, a "counter-will" or "resistance" [a possessive demonic spirit?] rises up to meet them [5]. More

Taoism vs. Buddhism: Four big differences

(Flowing Void): 4 differences that actually matter

COMMENTARY

Wisdom Quarterly

• All those who quote Lao Tzu and speak of the "Tao" are not teaching the historical Buddha's message of liberation from suffering and samsara
• Anyone who says "nirvana is samsara" speaks ill of the Buddha's message of liberation in this very life, in this body, in this world
• Syncretism (blending traditions) is beautiful, but it will not likely produce the result of either path. If the Tao is the "way," then the Eightfold Way (magga) the Buddha talked about is a very different use of the word
• If the true Tao is everything, then there is no sense in talking about it
• The Buddha defined the problem, defined the cause, assured is there is a solution, and pointed out the path, the Middle Way, to that solution: dukkha, samudaya, nirodha, magga
  
• The problem is disappointment (suffering)
• The cause is ignorance bound up with craving and aversion
• The extinction of suffering is the extinction of ignorance
• The path leading to this extinction has eight parts
• Buddhism and Taoism may blend beautifully like milk and water, but they are not the same

The Ten Stages of Zen Enlightenment

The way to sudden awakening is abduction by ETs then gurgling on TV: Disclosure Day

The Ten Bulls (created with Dream by WOMBO feat. music by Infraction) : r/AIArtwork

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The 10 Stages of Zen Enlightenment: A Map to Buddha-Nature

Bongeunsa paintings of ox herding, the Ten Bulls (wiki)

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Ten to Zen Bulls

(Buddha's Wisdom) 🔍 The ancient [Taoist] Zen map that reveals we've been seeking what we already have: The 10 stages of Zen enlightenment, known as The Ten Ox-Herding Pictures, are Zen Buddhism’s 1,000-year-old roadmap to awakening and self-discovery.

• What does Zen consider "enlightenment"? There are two words used. The first is satori (from Japanese satoru, to know, to see, understand a gestalt) or "sudden realization." Any insight or epiphany might do. But there's another word, kenshō, that means suddenly seeing our "true face," our "nature," our intrinsic "Buddha-nature." Certainly, our "true nature," which is the true nature of all things, has three marks. Penetrating this is necessary to letting go of all clinging.
• None of these accords with what the historical Buddha taught as enlightenment (bodhi, "awakening"), but seeing "emptiness" (suññatā) -- how all things are impersonal -- is necessary for the first stage of awakening called "stream entry."
• The Ten Bulls or the "Ten Ox Herding Pictures" (Chinese shíniú 十牛, Japanese jūgyūzu 十牛図, Korean sipwoo 십우)

Created by 12th-century Chinese Chan Master Kuòān Shīyuǎn, these images explain the stages of enlightenment—from desperate seeking to the realization that the ox we’ve been chasing has been the "Buddha-nature" we already possess and have always possessed.

This isn’t just ancient art. It’s a mirror showing where we truly are on the path to awakening right now.

This video explores The 10 Stages of Zen Enlightenment: A Map to Buddha-Nature, decoding the Zen Buddhist path to awakening through Zen’s most iconic teaching story.

Learn how Kuòān Shīyuǎn’s Ten Ox-Herding Pictures became a timeless visual guide to mindfulness, meditation, and non-duality in Chinese Chan and Zen Buddhism.

DISCOVER

• The 10 ancient Zen stages explained step-by-step
• How 12th century Master Kuòān Shīyuǎn transformed Taoist symbols into Zen training tools
• The mystery behind the final picture—why enlightenment ends in a noisy marketplace
• How the Heart Sutra and Zen Master Dōgen’s teachings appear inside these images
• Why these ancient pictures still describe the modern search for meaning and peace
• [Hasbara propaganda works as 'Disclosure Day' invades globe with $93M worldwide opening
• Box Office: 'Disclosure Day' opening to $44 mil in U.S.
• 'Disclosure Day' nears $100 mil, 'Michael' eyes $950 mil]

Are ETs into Zen? (Disclosure Day)

🙏 Are you somewhere between Picture 1 and Picture 4, searching, struggling, or starting to see glimpses? That's exactly where you need to be. Subscribe to continue the Path to Enlightenment series as we explore Theravāda's Four Stages and Mahāyāna's Bodhisattva Path.

 ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

• 00:00 Intro – “You’ve lost something”
• 01:09 Chp 1 – The finger pointing at the moon
• 03:11 Chp 2 – When you first spot what you’ve lost 
• 07:52 Chp 3 – The years of wrestling your own mind
• 12:06 Chp 4 – The death of everything you think you are
• 17:57 Chp 5 – Why enlightenment [Zen's version of the awakened state] looks like a drunk in the market
• 21:45 Chp 6 – The ox you’re already riding

Ox herding pictures, No. 7 (Ten Bulls)

#buddhism #zen #enlightenment #oxherding #buddhanature #dogen #mindfulness #meditation, #buddhaswisdom #ZenBuddhism #ZenEnlightenment #OxHerding #BuddhaNature #SpiritualAwakening #PathToEnlightenment #ZenMaster

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📚 SOURCES AND FURTHER READING

Primary texts:

"Ten Ox-Herding Pictures" by Kuòān Shīyuǎn (Kakuan) - 12th century Chan Buddhism classic "The Platform Sutra" - Teachings of Huìnéng, Sixth Patriarch "The Diamond Sutra" (Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra) "The Heart Sutra" (Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya) "Shōbōgenzō" by Dōgen Zenji - 13th century Zen master "The Gateless Gate" (Wúménguān) - Classic Zen kōan collection featuring Zhàozhōu

Modern scholarship:

"Zen and Japanese Culture" by D.T. Suzuki "The Three Pillars of Zen" by Philip Kapleau (commentary on ox-herding) "Wild Ivy: The Spiritual Autobiography of Zen Master Hakuin" translated by Norman Waddell "The Zen Teaching of Rinzai" translated by Irmgard Schloegl Historical Context: Earlier buffalo-herding sets from Chinese Chan tradition Evolution from earlier versions to Kakuan's refined ten-stage cycle Song Dynasty Buddhist art and philosophy

• Buddha's Wisdom, Nov. 2, 2025; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly

Tao of Not Trying: Alan Watts, Lao Tzu, B Wen

(After Skool) Taoism Founder Lao Tzu on Art of Not Trying

Care about what they all think, prisoner?

Wu wei (Chinese 無為, simplified Chinese 无为, Pinyin wúwéi) is a concept [popular in Zen Buddhism] from ancient Chinese philosophy that literally means "not-acting" or "non-doing," variously interpreted and translated as actionlessness, inaction, or effortless action [1, 2].

• Is it the "flow state" in Western psychology?

If I were Zen, would I thereby be a Taoist, too?

In Taoism, it denotes the nature of Tao, meaning that while the Tao (the way, path, or flow of nature) is the source of all existence and manifestation of all phenomena, its intrinsic formless essence is that it acts or moves in a silent, invisible, ineffable, often-unnoticed manner that may even seem motionless and effortless [3, 4, 5, 6, 7].

Accordingly, Taoists aspire to live their lives in alignment with such a harmonious state of free flowing and unforced activity.

In a political context, it also refers to an ideal form or principle of spontaneous and non-aggressive governance [8]. More

The Path of Least Resistance

(Benebell Wen) Ziran (The Taoist Path of Least Resistance)

Let nature reign and all will be well?

Ziran (Romanized tzu-jan) is a key concept in Taoism and East Asian Buddhism. It literally means "of its own" or "by itself" and therefore "naturally; natural; spontaneously; freely; in the course of events; of course; doubtlessly" [1, 2].

ETYMOLOGY: This Chinese word is a two-character compound of zì (自, "self," "oneself," "from," "since") and rán (然, "right," "correct," "so," "yes"), which is used as a -ran suffix marking adjectives or adverbs (roughly corresponding to English -ly).

What is the most intelligent response? Flow

According to the Shuo Wen lexicon, the character 自 zi means "nose" [one's nose, oneself when not interfered with by outside influences.] In Chinese culture, the nose (or zi) is a common metaphor for a person's own point of view [3]. More

Alan Watts, what's the Philosophy of the Tao?

Alan Watts – Philosophy of the Tao, Pt.1 | Flow, Balance, and the Course of Nature (full talk)

• Pantheon of Taoist Gods (Tao.org)

A decolonized intro to Taoism

(Benebell Wen) Taoism: A Decolonized Introduction

Vesak Day celebrations, Berkeley (5/9)

Come join us in celebrating the Buddha's birthday, enlightenment, and final nirvana. Chanting, food, tea, and blessings, everyone is welcome. On Saturday, May 9, 2026, we celebrate Vesak, a day to commemorate the Buddha's birth, mahabodhi, and parinirvana. Hopefully we will become more aware of the fact that we are intrinsically the same as all buddhas and thus will be inspired to use the Buddha’s teachings, his Dharma (Doctrine), to help ourselves and others.

• Location: Universal Chan (445 Colusa Ave, Kensington, CA 94707)
• PHOTOS: Vesak Day: Buddha's Birthday Celebration Tickets, Saturday, May 9  •  9:00 AM - 2:00 PM | Eventbrite

Zen's Bodhidharma on the ONE method

The ONE practice that contains every spiritual method | Bodhidharma's breakthrough sermon

(ECHOES OF LOST KNOWLEDGE) April 17, 2026: What if one single practice contained every other spiritual method within it?

In this final chapter of the series, the First Zen Patriarch Bodhidharma [from India] reveals the most essential teaching of his entire lineage — and it begins with beholding the mind.

 

This video is a direct transmission of Buddhist Wisdom that cuts through centuries of misunderstanding about what spiritual practice truly means.

Discover why temples, rituals, chanting, and good deeds alone cannot free us — and what actually can.

In this sermon, Bodhidharma teaches

→ The single method that contains all other methods

→ The three hidden poisons (greed, anger, delusion) — and how they silently run our life

→ The six "thieves" operating through our own senses, robbing us of peace every day

→ Why "three asankhya kalpas [aeons of indeterminate length]" of hardship is not what most people think

→ The true meaning of the six perfections (paramitas), the three sets of precepts, and invoking the Buddha

→ How to behold our own mind and free ourselves from suffering — in this very lifetime.

This is not a lecture. This is Buddhist Wisdom spoken directly — clear, unfiltered, and as alive today as it was 1,500 years ago.

📌 THIS SERIES

• Chapter 1 — Blood Stream Sermon (watch first)
• Chapter 2 — Wake-Up Sermon
• Chapter 3 — Breakthrough Sermon (you are here)

🔍 TOPICS COVERED

• Bodhidharma teachings | Breakthrough Sermon | Beholding the mind | Three Poisons in Buddhism | Six Perfections (paramitas) explained | Buddha Nature | Zen Buddhism | Buddhist Wisdom for modern life | First Zen Patriarch | Liberation from suffering | Three sets of precepts | Six thieves of the mind | Enlightenment teachings
• Bodhidharma: between myth and reality (Penglai Martial Arts)

Every week, this channel brings rare Buddhist Wisdom drawn from the original [Mahayana] teachings of the great masters — Bodhidharma, Bankei, Linji Yixuan, and the earliest Zen patriarchs. If the ancient path to liberation is what one are looking for [that person might try Theravada, a back-to-basics Buddhist movement that holds the teachings of the historical Buddha in the highest esteem over subsequent Mahayana interpretations and apocryphal inclusions, distortions, and additions], subscribe and turn on notifications to never miss a teaching.

This video is best experienced in a quiet space, and with full attention. #BuddhistWisdom #Bodhidharma #ZenBuddhism. How this was made: auto-dubbed and audio tracks for some languages were automatically generated.

Do all Teachers realize the same thing?

(Finding Meaning Project) They all discovered the same thing?

Hidden Birth of Zen (as Taoism)

Bodhidharma: Nothing you do... - Are you crazy, then why do anything? - Be. Go with the Tao

What are you doing, Zen Master? - I'm going with the Tao. - You're not doing anything. - Yes.

(Buddha's Wisdom) When Buddhism met Taoism: The Hidden Birth of "Zen"

• So much of what people call "Zen" (capitalized as opposed to zen or jhana/dhyana) sounds more like Taoism (with a stiff dose of Confucianism) than Buddhism, and here's why. It was all picked up in translation. So what was lost? Those may be beautiful spiritual/temporal traditions with which to blend, but what is obscured is the historical Buddha's message until it is almost completely lost and replaced by Hinduism (with its Tantra, yoga, and magic that gave rise to another branch Vajrayana/Shingon attached) to a new religion that came to be called Mahayana, far from the Buddha's Dhamma.

Everything Zen

We silly Westerners have no idea! We think we know

"Zen" is a silly word, carrying so much meaning in American English. Goodness knows what it means in Japan or China nowadays, a dying religious sect taking sides in the jiriki versus tariki battle?

We aim to find out on Thursdays in Los Angeles at the Pasadena Zen Sangha. There is a path. What is it? If one were to ask the average American Zen practitioner, then everything likely to be heard in response would be some derivation of Taoism, not Buddhism or any relation to relation to the Doctrine of the historical Buddha.

Shikantaza: just do it because it's just sitting.

Lao Tzu (Laozi) was not a Buddhist. He was possibly a celestial (deva), descended to Earth to philosophize and guide the Chinese.

For all that, on "Buddhist Radio" (Alan Watts - KPFK 90.7 FM, 8:00 am, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026) Alan Watts explained Zen in 18-minutes.

His brief talk lays bare the root of every misconception. Moreover, Buddha's Wisdom (in the video displayed above) does much to add context and clarify. Zen can be grasped.

 

KPFK Public Radio - Online Archives Archive

Watts says the problem with understanding Zen is that unless one were raised Japanese -- very punctilious, rigid, formal, ritualistic, deadly afraid of a faux pas, losing face, or doing things incorrectly -- one will not be able to appreciate what Zen (Taoism) offers as relief.

Zen promotes spontaneity, naturalness, flow, being at ease, comfort, and relaxing into a kind of "just being" present and mindful (of the moment) without so much thinking (premeditation).

• FREE THURSDAYS: Zen Meditation Community, LA

• Buddha's Wisdom, Feb. 2026; cartoonist Brad Warner, Angel City Zen, 4/15/24; Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Hel (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly