Zen Buddhism Buddhist sect of China and Japan. The name of the sect (Chin.
Ch'an,
Jap.
Zen
) derives from the Sanskrit
dhyana
[meditation]. In China the school early became known for making its central tenet the practice of meditation, rather than adherence to a particular scripture or doctrine.
The founder of Zen in China was the legendary Bodhidharma, who came to China from India in the late 5th cent. AD He taught the practice of "wall-gazing" and espoused the teachings of the
Lanka-Vatara Sutra
(whose chief doctrine is that of "consciousness-only" ; see
Yogacara
), which he passed on to his successor Hui-k'o (487-593).
