Hello and welcome to the history of Japan podcast, episode 548, The Five Mountains, Part 2.

Now, last week we spent much of the episode discussing the rise of Zen, from a new sect in China to a novelty in Japanese religious circles to a major force in the cultural life of the era,

thanks to the patronage of the elite.

One thing we didn't talk much about is what Zen actually is, which will be important,

but not as much as you might think, when we look at Zen practice in the Great Five Mountain

temples.

So, as a quick refresh, Zen is a result of a cultural fusion between

Buddhism and the native Chinese religious philosophy known as Taoism. The name Zen is a shortening

of Zenna, which in turn is derived from Dianna, a word in Sanskrit, the language of Indian Buddhism,

and really Indian philosophy and religion more

generally.

That word means meditation.

And, as that would imply, the main focus of Zen is the pursuit of enlightenment by means

of vigorous meditation.

Different sects of Buddhism have different approaches to helping adherents realize the truths of the religion,

the impermanence of all things, the nature of cause and effect, the cycle of rebirth, all of the teachings associated with Buddhism as a religion,

that you probably learned about in a world religions unit in secondary school at some point.

Some sects rely on Mandala visualization, images intended to help you see how this cosmology

fits together. Others rely on chanting, like the Nembutsu associated with Pureland Buddhism. For Zen,

the focus is just on meditation, on just sitting, and focusing on the experience of the moment itself.

The precise form of that meditation can vary a bit based on teaching and lineage, but the emphasis really is always on this rigorous mental discipline that is cultivated internally

in order to see the world as it truly is.

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