Origins and History

Zen’s roots start in India where Buddhism was first introduced. From India, Buddhism began to spread to other parts of the world, and Zen Buddhism was then primarily practiced in China. Missionaries from India also came to China spreading this sect of Buddhism. A monk by the name of Bodhidharma from south India came to China in the 6th century CE and there founded Zen Buddhism.
Zen Buddhism was growing to be the largest division in Chinese Buddhism. Resulting from this, many schools of different sets of beliefs regarding Zen were being built. However, the basic focus of each school still remained the same, such as meditation, personal instruction, and personal experience. Rinzai School came to be known in the country when found by Esai Zenji.


In the 13th century, Soto School of Zen also developed, basing in Chinese Ts’ao-tung School. Teachers such as Mazu, Shitou, Baizhang, Huangbo, Linzi, and Yunmen devoted themselves to the development of specialized teaching methods which later turned into the Five Houses of “mature Chinese Zen Buddhism". In the mountains and forests of China, thousands of temples where tens of thousands of people lived, were constructed. Here, people would devote themselves to the study and practice of the Dharma of Buddha.
Zen did not just remain in China. Schools of Zen were also built in Japan, Vietnam, Korea, and western countries.

(Picture: Social dimension - Buddhist temple)