Zen Meaning
/zɛn/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounSynonym of enlightenment, particularly the kind acquired through Zen meditation.
nameA school of Mahayana Buddhism characterized by sudden enlightenment achieved by indirect means and principally associated with China and Japan.
Sentence Examples
They say Zen cultivates our mind.
He sat in Zen meditation.
Zen priests beg for alms near Shinjuku station.
CEFR Practice Quiz
After meditating for an hour, she achieved a state of perfect ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
____ is a branch of Buddhism that emphasizes the importance of several meditation and achieving a state of inner peace today.
Word Origin & History
From Japanese 禅(ぜん) (zen), from Middle Chinese 禪 (MC dzyen), an abbreviation of 禪那 (MC dzyen na), from Sanskrit ध्यान (dhyāna, “a type of meditation”). Doublet of dhyana and Chan.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Philosophical mysticism, the idea that truth is indefinable and can be apprehended only by nonrational means, has been with us since the beginning of history. It's the basis of Zen practice."
— 1974, Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, page 235:
"While Christianity teaches that man was expelled from the Garden of Eden, Zen teaches that we are living in paradise right now, even amid all the shit that's going down. This world is the Pure Land. This world is paradise. In fact, this world is better than paradise—but all we can do is piss and moan, and look around for something better."
— 2003, Brad Warner, Hardcore Zen, page 25:
"Hōyen... used to produce his own hand and ask his disciples, why it was called a hand? When we know the reason, there is satori and we have Zen."
— 1934, Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, page 102:
""It sounds very Zen," I said. "A log cabin with no logs.""
— 2010, Martin Avery et al., Zen Forest:
"Part of him is still so much the newbie, amazed to find this place of sand and sun stuck onto the ass end of the greatest city in the world, but the rest of him has relaxed into acceptance already. He's Zen like that."
— 2020, N. K. Jemisin, The City We Became, Orbit, page 431:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
After meditating for an hour, she achieved a state of perfect ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
____ is a branch of Buddhism that emphasizes the importance of several meditation and achieving a state of inner peace today.