The Beliefs Of Zen And Sufism

1527 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The Sufi movement

Religion is a sensitive aspect that various people have tried to explain and practice. People have different reasons for their participation in various religions and to fulfill their quest for what they look for, various rituals and traditions are practiced to improve on their spiritual lives. Zen and Sufism are part of the main religions practiced and just like other religions; it follows a certain criteria and beliefs. Sufism is an important dimension in Islam and those who practice it belong to an order formed around Muhammad peace be upon him the grand master. Zen on the other hand is believed to originate from China and is a mixture of Indian Buddhism and Taoism. It tries to explain the meaning of life with influence of language and logical …show more content…

He studied Buddhism at an early age and is remembered due to his contribution of using the three mysterious gates to emphasize on the idea of non-conceptual nature of reality while employing the sutras and instructing his students. The three gates included mystery in the essence, mystery in the word and mystery in the mystery. Zen emerged from the Japanese form regarding dhyana, the Sanskrit word. This word is a meditation and is based on the Buddhist school which greatly impacted Europe, America and Japan. Zen was founded in the 6th century C.E. in China as a Ch’an school that involves Mahayana Buddhism and later exported to Japan in the 12th century C.E. The religion developed faster in an indigenous and unique manner (Xie 234). Bodhi dharma being an Indian monk is recognized with the transfer of the Zen tradition to China. The essence of his teachings is the fact that a person does not require studying worship deities, sacred texts or even explain the religious rituals that bring forth enlightenment. Instead, a person is required to go through the boundaries involving usual thoughts using experience and meditation that is recently evident in the world (Bunyadzade 619; Pradhan 26). According to Zen, the Buddha achieved enlightenment through meditation and experience. As a result, it teaches humans to gain the capacity to achieve enlightenment because of the Buddha nature that is inherent in our

Show More
Related

  • A Philosophical Discussion in Contemporary Music: Jane's Addiction and Bush

    2400 Words  | 5 Pages

    Zen themes may be familiar to a student of religion, since they arise from Buddhism. The Buddha, Sidhartha Gautama, is said to have achieved his four noble truths about the nature of existence through meditation.

    Read More

  • China And Seated Buddha Comparison

    1324 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Buddhism is the oldest worldwide religion. It is known to be a religion, a philosophy and a way of life.” The main idea, foundation and fundamentals of Buddhism were born 2,500 years ago in the foothills of India. Siddhartha Gautama was born into a royal family and raised as a prince in the Gupta period. He was always confined to the palace and was sheltered from the real world. As time went on, Siddhartha wanted to find out the meaning of life and his experiences through his journey created the practice of Buddhism. His first teaching as a Buddha was based on the doctrine of the four noble truths and along with the principle of the middle way, the eight fold path. Through oral tra...

    Read More

  • The Nature of Perceived Ultimacy in Zen Buddhism

    2142 Words  | 5 Pages

    The topic of Zen Buddhism and understanding how it fits into a framework that was designed to describe and compare religions is important because religion has a major impact on the world and to be able to understand and “explore” what the world has to offer is an important aspect of existence as a human being. Some might wonder why Zen Buddhism is important when it is not a major religion in the United States, but perhaps that is the very reason it is so important to understand Zen Buddhism and to be able to describe it in a way that allows one to make comparisons with more familiar religions in a standardized framework. Zen Buddhism in particular is interesting in the setting of the United States because as Americans we have had little experience with Buddhism. Shunryu Suzuki related in the book Zen Mind, Beginners Mind, that Americans start Buddhism with a very pure mind, a beginners mind, which allows us to understand the Buddha’s teaching as he meant them to be understood (138).

    Read More

  • Buddhism: Annotated Bibliography

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the comparison with other class of Chinese faith , the study of Chinese Buddhism benefits. First, the International range of Buddhism allows for fruitful comparison with developments in other neighboring finish such as India and japan and the contemporary identicalness of Buddhism as a missionary. Buddhism is a way of breakthrough repose within oneself. It is a organized religion that helps us to find the happiness and contentment we seek. Buddhist develop inner peace, kindness and wisdom through their daily practice; and then share their experience with others delivery real number benefit to this humankind .They try not to injury others and to live

    Read More

  • Sufism: Its Mystical Contribution to an Understanding of the Islamic God

    1642 Words  | 4 Pages

    Fakhry, M. 1997. Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Mysticism: A Short Introdu ction. Oxford: One World Publications.

    Read More

  • On the Road Essay: The Motif of Inadequacy of the Language

    1552 Words  | 4 Pages

    Suzuki, D.T. An introduction to Zen Buddhism. Ed. Christmas Humphreys; fwd. C.G. Jung. London: Rider, 1983.

    Read More

  • Zen and the Art of William Shakespeare

    2383 Words  | 5 Pages

    The beauty of Zen, though, is its practicality, its simplicity, its ingenious grasp of the obvious. There are few of the traditional Buddhist rituals or ceremonies in Zen. It is known as the "Way of Sudden Enlightenment. " It is a way of life that brings one closer to the satori experience. Satori is the enlightenment itself and, thus, the complete understanding of Zen’s truths.

    Read More

  • Zen Buddhism's Influence on Western Culture

    338 Words  | 1 Pages

    Originally from Japan, Soyen Shaku was the first Zen master to arrive in America. His followers urged him not to come to a nation that was so ill-mannered and uncultivated and that the Japanese were facing extreme discrimination. Shaku’s countrymen Hirai Ryuge Kinzo “offered pointed examples: the barring of a Japanese student from a university on the basis of his race; the exclusion of Japanese children from the San Francisco public schools; the processions of American citizens bearing placards saying ‘Japs Must Go!’” (Eck 185). After several decades, there was a Zen boom of the 1950s and that was how Buddhism affected western culture, especially in regards to entertainment. “‘Zen’ is “the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese character "chan," which is in turn the Chinese translation from the Indian Sanskrit term "dhyana," which means meditation’” (Lin).

    Read More

  • Asoka and the Buddhist Faith

    1774 Words  | 4 Pages

    Buddhism is one of the oldest religions in the world, which began in India. The origin of Buddhism is traced back to the experience of single man, Siddhartha Gautama, later known as the Buddha. Born around 563 B.C.E., legend follows that Siddhartha was the son of a prince in a kingdom near the border of what is now India and Nepal. As such, he was sheltered from the world and lived a life of luxury and comfort. (Molloy 124) However, at age 29 Siddhartha left the royal grounds and witnessed the suffering of ordinary life for the first time. What he saw deeply affected him and caused him to question everything in his materialistic life. Siddhartha made the decision to give up his possessions and embark on a search for enlightenment, an event known as the Great Going Forth. (Molloy 125)

    Read More

  • The Four Noble Truths Summary

    1248 Words  | 3 Pages

    A man of noble birth, living in the time before the Common Era, preached a way to extinguish the fire of self-centered delusion. This state of Nirvana can be achieved by understanding The Four Noble Truths, suffering in life, he explains can be avoided by following an Eightfold Path. Sounds simple? This must have been an awaking for people of his time seeking a more personal religion, away from the rigidities of a priest-dominated Hinduism of India. The man, the Buddha, spent the rest of his life teaching the religion he discovered and its doctrine based upon his Dharma (cosmic law and order). The first written evidence of the existence of Buddhism is found over 400 years ago after the life of the Buddha. (Kozak) Historians pose the

    Read More

  • Buddhism versus Bartleby the Scrivener

    1769 Words  | 4 Pages

    Buddhism is currently the fourth most popular religion in our society today, following Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Its major ideologies are based on the philosophies of Siddhartha Guatama, also known as “Buddha”, who began his teachings in 598 BCE at the age of 35, according to Buddhist texts. A Buddhist’s foremost aspiration is the obtainment of Bodhi, or enlightenment through meditation and Anapana-sati (awareness of the breath). Buddhism shares many ideologies with India’s Hinduism and Yoga such as non-harming, non-violence, and self-awareness. In many instances, people regard Buddhism as a way of life rather than a religion, for it has no clear belief in the idea of a God or Gods. Its structure is built upon a hierarchy much like Christianity where superior orders such as Lamas or the Dalai Lama are said to be chosen by nature through the process of reincarnation rather than by a council like Christianity’s Pope. Though these “higher level” Buddhists are rare (not everyone is a reincarnation of an ancient Buddhist “priest”), all are permitted to follow “The Middle Way” either as a Buddhist monk or the simple attendance of a weekly teaching session from time to time. Throughout the last few hundred years the Buddhist population has blossomed into a healthy 381,611,000 and over fifteen different sects including Zen, Mahayana, and Theravada.

    Read More

  • Buddha and Confucius

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    The founder of Buddhism was a man called Siddhartha Gautama, born to a wealthy family and destined for greatness; Siddhartha, however, left his family and the palace in search for religious truth and an end to suffering. Siddhartha tried many ways of reaching an enlightened stage; wandering the forest, joining the beggars, fasting, debating with religious leaders, but when none of these methods brought him a greater understanding of the world, Siddhartha sat himself down under a fig tree, and meditated. After forty-nine days of meditation Siddhartha was said to have achieved an understanding of the cause of suffering, he then became known as the Buddha, enlightened one.

    Read More

  • How Does Toni Morrison Use Milk In Beloved

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Toni Morrison’s Beloved, the bonds between individuals, whether in a church, community, or town, greatly affect the people who thrive within them. Milk is used to symbolize familial bonds and is used throughout the novel to demonstrate slavery’s negative effects on these bonds. Sethe’s family unit uses the corruption of milk to describe how slavery damages these bonds; meanwhile, the more stereotypical slave stories use the absence of milk to show the prior destruction of the relationships. The corruption of milk appears at pivotal points in Sethe's family unit to highlight slavery’s destruction of a loving bond.

    Read More

  • Sufism

    1933 Words  | 4 Pages

    can only be given by God, and Sufi's in no way equal to God's power. In fact,

    Read More

  • Buddhism Reflection Paper

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    Buddhism is not just a religion but also a lifestyle for millions of people all over the world. Unlike any other religion Buddhism requires a ton of self-reflection and self-motivation to follow. From the life of Gautama to modern day Buddhist, it has always been steeped in rituals and following the teaching of the dharma. Knowing the truths and using that knowledge to follow the eightfold path is at the core of Buddhism. Knowing the different branches of Buddhism and there origins has given me a greater since of Buddhism around the world. Though reading the text over and over again I can say I have gained not only a greater knowledge but also an appreciation for those that choose to follow the teachings of Buddha.

    Read More

More about The Beliefs Of Zen And Sufism

Open Document