{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.zen","code":"thing-q7953","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q7953/","name":"Zen","alternateNames":["Zen in the United States","Taiwanese Chan Buddhism","Daruma-shū","Chan Buddhism","Japanese Zen","Korean Seon","Yunmen School","Southern School of Zen","East Mountain Teaching","Caodong school","Fayan school","Vietnamese Thiền"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.2","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Society, people and institutions","entryKind":"thing","plane":"SOC","domain":["SOC.ORG"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China as Chan and spread to Korea as Seon, Vietnam as Thien and Japan as Zen, emphasising meditation, direct insight and teacher-to-student transmission, with lineages such as Soto and Rinzai and historical schools such as the Daruma-shu, and today practised worldwide including in the United States; Zen is described here as understood by its traditions and by scholars.","purpose":"Let an agent describe Zen and its schools with attribution to the traditions and scholarship, explain practices such as meditation and koan study, support respectful engagement and visiting, and separate popular uses of the word.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Meditation-centred","Lineage transmission","Multiple national forms","Global spread"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What Zen is.","layers":[{"id":"teaching","name":"Teaching","description":"Teachings and schools.","findings":[{"id":"teaching-finding","name":"Teaching","description":"Teachings.","questions":[{"text":"What are the core teachings and practices of Zen, and how do Chan, Seon, Thien and Japanese schools differ, in their own terms and according to scholars?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the Buddhist school or a popular sense of zen meant?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did Chan arise in China and spread to Korea, Vietnam, Japan and the West, according to historians?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What was the Daruma-shu?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"practice","name":"Practice","description":"Practising Zen.","layers":[{"id":"meditation","name":"Meditation","description":"Meditation and koans.","findings":[{"id":"meditation-finding","name":"Meditation","description":"Meditation.","questions":[{"text":"What are zazen, koan study and other Zen practices, as taught by the traditions?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"How can a beginner start respectfully, and which centres exist here?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"visit","name":"Visit","description":"Visiting temples.","findings":[{"id":"visit-finding","name":"Visit","description":"Visiting.","questions":[{"text":"What etiquette applies at Zen temples and meditation halls?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific temple?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"culture","name":"Culture","description":"Zen and culture.","layers":[{"id":"arts","name":"Arts","description":"Zen arts.","findings":[{"id":"arts-finding","name":"Arts","description":"Arts.","questions":[{"text":"How has Zen influenced arts such as calligraphy, gardens, tea and poetry?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"How is this influence sometimes overstated, according to scholars?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"west","name":"West","description":"Zen in the West.","findings":[{"id":"west-finding","name":"West","description":"Zen in the West.","questions":[{"text":"How did Zen spread to the United States and Europe, and how has it adapted?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which documented controversies exist, with positions attributed?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"learn","name":"Learn","description":"Study.","layers":[{"id":"sources","name":"Sources","description":"Texts and scholarship.","findings":[{"id":"sources-finding","name":"Sources","description":"Sources.","questions":[{"text":"Which texts and scholarly works are standard for studying Zen?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"How do devotional and scholarly accounts differ?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"teach","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching about Zen.","findings":[{"id":"teach-finding","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","questions":[{"text":"How can Zen be taught in religious studies respectfully?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which misconceptions arise?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe Zen as its traditions understand it, noting lineages such as Soto and Rinzai.","Distinguish Chan, Seon, Thien and Zen and their histories."],"mustNot":["Present one lineage as all of Zen.","Use Zen as a marketing label in ways that trivialize the tradition.","Hide or deny documented abuses in some communities.","Claim teacher authority or transmission for an AI or a person without it."],"requiresHuman":["Publishing claims about named teachers or communities."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Zen is a living religious tradition for millions.","Students have been harmed by abusive teachers shielded by authority."],"affectedParties":["Practitioners","Students in communities","Buddhist traditions"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns Zen; its temples and lineages hold their traditions.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q48362","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Mahayana","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"religious organization","type":"related","note":"Zen temples and orders"},{"target":"calligraphy","type":"related","note":"Zen calligraphy"},{"target":"samurai","type":"related","note":"historical patronage in Japan"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.zen","Wikidata: Q7953 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7953)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Mahayana school centred on meditation","Chan, Seon, Thien and Zen forms","Popular use of zen for calm is a loose sense","Not physical as such; temples, meditation halls and practice communities."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["describe Zen and its schools","explain practices","support respectful engagement","separate popular uses"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Presenting one lineage as the whole","Trivialising Zen through popular usage","Ignoring documented abuses in some communities"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Religious corporation law in relevant countries","Monastic rules of each lineage","Safeguarding norms in practice communities"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["A Buddhist school of meditation.","Chinese Chan","Korean Seon","Japanese Zen including Soto and Rinzai","Vietnamese Thien","Zen in the West"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q7953: Zen","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7953","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Zen","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should each school be a separate entry?","How should scholarly sources be linked?","How should practice centres be localised?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q7953/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q7953/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-11T23:11:19Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:52:02+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane SOC: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}