Song dynasty (960–1297)
After the fall of the Tang-dynasty China was in turmoil during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was followed by the Song Dynasty, which established a strong central government. During the Song Dynasty, Chán (禪) was used by the government to strengthen its control over the country, and Chán grew to become the largest sect in Chinese Buddhism. An ideal picture of the Chán of the Tang-period was produced, which served the legacy of this newly acquired status. With the establishment of the Wu-shan (Gozan) system during the Southern Sung the Chinese bureaucratic system entered into Zen temples throughout the country, and a highly organized system of temple rank and administration developed.
Ming dynasty (1368-1644)
In the Ming Dynasty teachers such as Hanshan Deqing (憨山德清) taught Chán alongside Pure Land Buddhism in many Chinese Buddhist monasteries. In time much of the distinction between them was lost, and many masters taught both Chán and Pure Land.
Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) and modern times (after 1912)
After centuries of decline during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), Chán was revived again in the early 20th century by Hsu Yun (虛雲), a well-known figure of 20th century Chinese Buddhism. Many Chán teachers today trace their lineage back to Hsu Yun, including Sheng-yen (聖嚴) and Hsuan Hua (宣化), who have propagated Chán in the West where it has grown steadily through the 20th and 21st century.
Chán was repressed in China during the recent modern era in the early periods of the People's Republic, but has more recently been re-asserting itself on the mainland, and has a significant following in Taiwan and Hong Kong as well as among overseas Chinese.
Seon in Korea
Seon was gradually transmitted into Korea during the late Silla period (7th through 9th centuries) as Korean monks of predominantly Hwaeom (華嚴) and Consciousness-only (唯識) background began to travel to China to learn the newly developing tradition. During his lifetime, Mazu had begun to attract students from Korea; by tradition, the first Korean to study Seon was named Peomnang (法朗). Mazu's successors had numerous Korean students, some of whom returned to Korea and established the nine mountain (九山) schools. This was the beginning of Chán in Korea which is called Seon.
Seon received its most significant impetus and consolidation from the Goryeo monk Jinul (知訥) (1158–1210), who established a reform movement and introduced koan practice to Korea. Jinul established the Songgwangsa (松廣寺) as a new center of pure practice. It was during the time of Jinul the Jogye Order, a primarily Seon sect, became the predominant form of Korean Buddhism, a status it still holds. which survives down to the present in basically the same status. Toward the end of the Goryeo and during the Joseon period the Jogye Order would first be combined with the scholarly 教 schools, and then be relegated to lesser influence in ruling class circles by Confucian influenced polity, even as it retained strength outside the cities, among the rural populations and ascetic monks in mountain refuges.
Nevertheless, there would be a series of important Seon teachers during the next several centuries, such as Hyegeun (慧勤), Taego (太古), Gihwa (己和) and Hyujeong (休靜), who continued to develop the basic mold of Korean meditational Buddhism established by Jinul. Seon continues to be practiced in Korea today at a number of major monastic centers, as well as being taught at Dongguk University, which has a major of studies in this religion. Taego Bou (1301–1382) studied in China with Linji teacher and returned to unite the Nine Mountain Schools. In modern Korea, by far the largest Buddhist denomination is the Jogye Order, which is essentially a Zen sect; the name Jogye is the Korean equivalent of Caoxi (曹溪), another name for Huineng.
Seon is known for its stress on meditation, monasticism, and asceticism. Many Korean monks have few personal possessions and sometimes cut off all relations with the outside world. Several are near mendicants traveling from temple to temple practicing meditation. The hermit-recluse life is prevalent among monks to whom meditation practice is considered of paramount importance.
Currently, Korean Buddhism is in a state of slow transition. While the reigning theory behind Korean Buddhism was based on Jinul's "sudden enlightenment, gradual cultivation", the modern Korean Seon master, Seongcheol's revival of Hui Neng's "sudden enlightenment, sudden cultivation" has had a strong impact on Korean Buddhism. Although there is resistance to change within the ranks of the Jogye order, with the last three Supreme Patriarchs' stance that is in accordance with Seongcheol, there has been a gradual change in the atmosphere of Korean Buddhism.
The Kwan Um School of Zen, one of the largest Zen schools in the West, teaches a form of Seon Buddhism. Soeng Hyang Soen Sa Nim (b. 1948), birth name Barbara Trexler (later Barbara Rhodes), is Guiding Dharma Teacher of the international Kwan Um School of Zen and a successor of the late Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim.
Zen in Japan
Kamakura (1185-1333)
Zen was not introduced as a separate school until the 12th century, when Myōan Eisai traveled to China and returned to establish a Linji lineage, which is known in Japan as Rinzai. Decades later, Nanpo Shōmyō (南浦紹明?) (1235–1308) also studied Linji teachings in China before founding the Japanese Otokan lineage, the most influential branch of Rinzai. In 1215, Dōgen, a younger contemporary of Eisai's, journeyed to Chin... himself, where he became a disciple of the Caodong master Tiantong Rujing. After his return, Dōgen established the Sōtō school, the Japanese branch of Caodong.
Muromachi (or Ashikaga) (1336-1573)
During the Muromachi period the Rinzai school was the most successful of the schools, since it was favoured by the Shogun. Rinzai was organized in the Gozan system. This system was extended throughout Japan, effectively giving control to the central government, which administered this system. The Rinka monasteries, primarily found outside the cities in rural areas, had a greater degree of independence. The O-to-kan lineage, that centered on Daitoku-ji, also had a greater degree of freedom. A well-known teacher from Daytoku-ji was Ikkyū. Another Rinka lineage was the Hotto lineage, of which Bassui Tokushō is the best-known teacher.
Soto too spread out over Japan. Gasan adopted the Five Ranks of Tung-shan as a fit vehicle to explain the Mahayana teachings.
Azuchi-Momoyama(1573-1600) and Edo (or Tokugawa)(1600-1868)
After a period of war Japan was re-united in the Azuchi–Momoyama period. This decreased the power of Buddhism, which had become a strong political and military force in Japan and was seen as a threat by the ruling clan. Neo-Confucianism gained influence at the expense of Buddhism, which came under strict state control. Japan closed the gates to the rest of the world. New doctrines and methods were not to be introduced, nor were new temples and schools. The only exception was the Ōbaku lineage, which was introduced in the 17th century during the Edo period by Ingen, a Chinese monk.
Well-known Zen masters from this period are Bankei Yōtaku (盤珪永琢?, 1622–1693), Matsuo Bashō (松尾 芭蕉?, 1644 – November 28, 1694) and Hakuin Ekaku (白隠 慧鶴?, 1686–1768), who revived the Rinzai school.
Meiji Restoration (1868-1912) and Imperial expansionism
During the Meiji period (1868–1912) Japan abandoned its feudal system and opened up to Western modernism. Shinto became the state religion, and Buddhism was coerced to adapt to the new regime. Rinzai and Soto Zen chose to adapt, with embarrassing consequences when Japanese nationalism was endorsed by the Zen institutions. War endeavours against Russia, China and finally during the Pacific War were supported by the Zen establishment.
Within the Buddhist establishment the Western world was seen as a threat, but also as a challenge to stand up to. Parties within the Zen establishment sought to modernize Zen in accord with Western insights, while simultaneously maintaining a Japanese identity.
Present time (after 1945)
Interest in Zen grew in the West after World War II. Westerners such as Philip Kapleau and the Dutchman Janwillem van de Wetering went to Japan to study Zen. Japanese teachers came to the West to share Zen practice and philosophy.
Contemporary Zen organisations
The traditional schools of Zen in contemporary Japan are the Sōtō (曹洞), Rinzai (臨済), and Ōbaku (黃檗). Of these, Sōtō is the largest and Ōbaku the smallest. Rinzai is itself divided into several subschools based on temple affiliation, including Myoshin-ji, Nanzen-ji, Tenryū-ji, Daitoku-ji, and Tofuku-ji. Besides these there are modern Zen organisations which have especially attracted Western lay followers, namely the Sanbo Kyodan and the FAS Society.
Zen teachings
Polarities
Zen is characterised by a set of polarities: absolute-relative,Buddha-nature - sunyata,sudden and gradual enlightenment.
Absolute-relative
The Prajnaparamita-sutras and Madhyamaka emphasized the non-duality of form and emptiness: form is emptiness, emptiness is form, as the heart sutra says. The idea that the ultimate reality is present in the daily world of relative reality fitted into the Chinese culture which emphasized the mundane world and society. But this does not tell how the absolute is present in the relative world:
To deny the the duality of samsara and nirvana, as the Perfection of Wisdom does, or to demonstrate logically the error of dichotomizing conceptualization, as Nagarjuna does, is not to address the question of the relationship between samsara and nirvana -or, in more philosophical terms, between phenomenal and ultimate reality. What, then, is the relationship between these two realms?
This question is answered in such schemata as the Five Ranks of Tozan and the Oxherding Pictures.
Buddha-nature and sunyata
When Buddhism was introduced in China it was understood in terms of its own culture. Various sects struggled to attain an understanding of the Indian texts. The Tathāgatagarbha Sutras and the idea of the Buddha-nature were endorsed, because of the perceived similarities with the Tao.
The doctrine of the Buddha-nature asserts, as do other schools in Mahāyāna Buddhism, that all sentient beings have Buddha-nature (Skt. Buddhadhātu, Tathāgatagarbha), the universal nature of transcendent wisdom (Skt. prajñā), and emphasizes that Buddha-nature is nothing other than the essential nature of the mind itself. Sunyata was understood as pointing to this underlying essence.
It took Chinese Buddhism several centuries to realize that sunyata does not refer to an essential reality underneath or behind the world of appearances. This realisation was discernable in the course that Chán took.
Sudden and gradual enlightenment
Avalokiteshvara
When the so-called Southern School placed emphasis on sudden enlightenment, it also marked a shift in doctrinal basis from the Lankavatara-sutra to the prajnaparamita-tradition, especially the Diamond Sutra. The Lankavatara-sutra, which endorses the Buddha-nature, emphasized purity of mind, which can be attained in gradations. The Diamond-sutra emphasizes sunyata, which "must be realized totally or not at all". Once this dichotomy was in place, it defined its own logic and rhetorics, which are also recognizable in the distinction between Caodong (Soto) and Lin-ji (Rinzai) chán.
The Bodhisattva ideal
As a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, Zen draws many of its basic driving concepts from that tradition, such as the bodhisattva ideal. Buddhas and bodhisattvas such as Amitābha, Avalokiteśvara, Mañjuśrī, Samantabhadra, and Kṣitigarbha are also venerated alongside Gautama Buddha.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_buddhism#Scripture
