841Uif

ZEN VOCABULARY I 351yaza: zazen done after 9 p.m., the usual bedtime hour in the Zen monastery.yoga: In its widest sense this Sanskrit term embraces the whole complexof spiritual disciplines (including doctrines and bodily postures andbreathing exercises) for achieving unity {the literal meaning of yoga)with universal Consciousness. In the popular mind. yoga is synonymouswith Hatha yoga, a branch of yoga which emphasizes breathing exercisesand postures for attaining this end. Yoga is also commonly associatedwith physical or mental health or supranormal powers. ln MahayanaBuddhism the term has been employed chiefly to describe disciplinesand doctrines of the tantric sects.Yoka Gengaku (Ch., Yung-chia; ?-712): a great Zen master of the T'angperiod and a disciple of the Sixth Patriarch. His Shodoka (Song of Enlightenment)is a popular Zen writing.zazenkai: a one-day gathering of Zen devotees fo r the purpose of practicingzazen, listening to a Zen lecture, and receiving dokusan.Zazen Yojinki (Precautions to Observe in Zazen) : This well-knownwriting on the practice of zazen is by Keizan-zenji, one of the Patriarchsof the Japanese Soto sect. It was written in the fourteenth century.Zen: an abbreviation of the Japanese word zenna, which is a transliterationof the Sanskrit dhyana (ch'an or ch'anna in Chinese), i.e., the processof concentration and absorption by which the mind is tranquilized andbrought to one-pointedness. As a Mahayana Buddhist sect, Zen is areligion whose teachings and disciplines are directed toward Self-realization,that is to say, to the attainment of satori, which ShikyamuniBuddha himself experienced under the Bo tree after rcnuous selfdiscipline.The Zen sect embraces the Soto, Rinzai, and Obaku sects.zendo- (sodo) ·a large hall or room-in monasteries a separate structurewherezazen is practiced. The floor is usually of concrete or slate, makingit cool in the summer and cold in winter.zenji: The last syllable of this word is the euphonic rendering of shi,meaning "teacher" or "master"; the entire expression thus has themeaning of great or renowned Zen master. The title is usually conferredposthumously, though some masters have achieved this distinctionduring their lifetime.