SO TO ZEN - Shasta Abbey

The Origin and Development of Zen 21Chinese the word was rendered Òthought and practice.Ó In thelater translations the term Òquiet reflectionÓ was chosen. Theformer meant concentrating the mind on one object, thinkingabout it thoroughly and then carrying it out into practice. Thelatter term had reference to the practice of putting the heart atrest in order to see things more clearly. This word for meditationhas also been translated as the Japanese term j‡, i.e., fixed,stable. This has reference to fixing the mind on one object inorder to free it from distractions. The form of dhyna whichflourished before the rise of Buddhism lacked completeness inboth method and form.Buddhism gave new meaning to dhyna, deepened itscontents and defined its objectives clearly. We might also saythat this meditation strengthened the foundations of Buddhismas a religion. It is with this in mind that Oldenberg said, ÒZen(meditation) is to Buddhism what prayer is to other religions.ÓHermann Beckh wrote, ÒThe only way to understand correctlythe difference between Buddhism and other religions is by acomparison between Zen meditation in Buddhism and prayerin other religions.Ó Buddhism owes its success as a great worldreligion to the fact that Zen meditation forms its practical basis.Indeed, the enlightenment of the Buddha was realized throughthe practice of Zen meditation. There is nothing unnatural thenin the fact that Buddhism has its roots in Zen. Although theform of Zazen practiced by the Buddha was the same as the