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Research draft

Zen

vr.tr.zen · SOC.ORG

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.

Thing Registry Society, people and institutions

Research draft, second pass

A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.

written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify

Researched by: Claude

Purpose and description

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.

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.

What it is for: A Buddhist school of meditation.

It can be describe Zen and its schools; explain practices; support respectful engagement; separate popular uses.

Distinguishing features

Meditation-centred

Lineage transmission

Multiple national forms

Global spread

What it looks like

Not physical as such; temples, meditation halls and practice communities.

How it is recognised

Mahayana school centred on meditation

Chan, Seon, Thien and Zen forms

Popular use of zen for calm is a loose sense

Related models

is a kind of - category

Mahayana

is related to - Zen temples and orders

religious organization

is related to - Zen calligraphy

calligraphy

is related to - historical patronage in Japan

samurai

In practice

Families and kinds

Chinese Chan

Korean Seon

Japanese Zen including Soto and Rinzai

Vietnamese Thien

Zen in the West

Standards and regulation

Religious corporation law in relevant countries

Monastic rules of each lineage

Safeguarding norms in practice communities

Failure modes and hazards

Presenting one lineage as the whole

Trivialising Zen through popular usage

Ignoring documented abuses in some communities

Also called

Zen in the United StatesTaiwanese Chan BuddhismDaruma-shūChan BuddhismJapanese ZenKorean SeonYunmen SchoolSouthern School of ZenEast Mountain TeachingCaodong schoolFayan schoolVietnamese ThiềnNorthern SchoolFive Houses of ChánLinji schoolGuiyang schoolSeon Buddhism in late Joseon dynasty

Where this came from

wikidata · CC0 1.0

Source repository Registry entry point

Drafted structure

Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.

Understand What Zen is.

Attribution.

Teaching

Teachings and schools.

Teaching

Teachings.

  1. 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? provenance
  2. Is the Buddhist school or a popular sense of zen meant? boundary

History

History.

History

History.

  1. How did Chan arise in China and spread to Korea, Vietnam, Japan and the West, according to historians? provenance
  2. What was the Daruma-shu? provenance
Practice Practising Zen.

Engagement.

Meditation

Meditation and koans.

Meditation

Meditation.

  1. What are zazen, koan study and other Zen practices, as taught by the traditions? provenance
  2. How can a beginner start respectfully, and which centres exist here? provenance

Visit

Visiting temples.

Visit

Visiting.

  1. What etiquette applies at Zen temples and meditation halls? provenance
  2. Which entry fits a specific temple? action
Culture Zen and culture.

Context.

Arts

Zen arts.

Arts

Arts.

  1. How has Zen influenced arts such as calligraphy, gardens, tea and poetry? provenance
  2. How is this influence sometimes overstated, according to scholars? boundary

West

Zen in the West.

West

Zen in the West.

  1. How did Zen spread to the United States and Europe, and how has it adapted? provenance
  2. Which documented controversies exist, with positions attributed? boundary
Learn Study.

Education.

Sources

Texts and scholarship.

Sources

Sources.

  1. Which texts and scholarly works are standard for studying Zen? provenance
  2. How do devotional and scholarly accounts differ? boundary

Teach

Teaching about Zen.

Teach

Teaching.

  1. How can Zen be taught in religious studies respectfully? action
  2. Which misconceptions arise? provenance

What the second pass must settle

  • Should each school be a separate entry?
  • How should scholarly sources be linked?
  • How should practice centres be localised?
Draft as JSON