A Brief Hisory of Zen
1000-500 B.C. Siddhartha Gautama - the Buddha - is born in India.
Siddhartha announces the Four Noble Truths: (1) Life is suffering; (2) Suffering is caused by desire; (3) Desire can be extinguished; (4) By the Eighfold Path.
The Eightfold Path: (1) Right Understanding; (2) Right Purpose; (3) Right Speech; (4) Right Conduct; (5) Right Livelihood; (6) Right Effort; (7) Right Alertness; (8) Right Concentration.
Real or Imagined Schools of Buddhism
Mahayana - the "Greater Vehicle." A reform movement? Oversimplification: Liberation for everyone. "Bodhisattvas" delay their own nirvana to help others attain nirvana. Present day China, Japan, Korea, and Tibet.
Hinayana - the "Lesser Vehicle." A pejorative term coined by Mahayanists? No longer a "politically correct" term. School no longer exists? Oversimplification: "Arhats" attain their own nirvana.
Theravada - a non-Mahayana school based upon the Pali Canon, the earliest recorded teachings of the Buddha. Present day Thailand, Cambodia, Burma and Laos.
500 A.D. Bodhidharma brings Buddhism to China from India.
600-700 A.D. Zen develops as a school of Buddhism in China.
The Rinzai and Soto sects of Zen arise. Rinzai oversimplification: Hard, illogical, spontaneous, no book learning required (but lots of koans). Soto oversimplification: Quiet, conservative, lots of sitting meditation.
1200 A.D. Esai brings Rinzai Zen to Japan from China. Dogen brings Soto Zen to Japan from China.
Zen flourishes with the Samurai caste, the "Bushi." Zen is attractive to the Bushi because it is existential, doesn't require loyalty to a higher power - which might interfere with loyalty to their lord or shogun, and can easily be incorporated into their martial arts training.
