Studying it, one discovers the key to all forms of Buddhism; practicing it, one's life is brought to fulfillment in the attainment of enlightenment.  Outwardly it favors discipline over doctrine; inwardly, it brings the Highest Inner Wisdom.  This is what the Zen school stands for.

- Myoan Eisai Zenji (1141-1215)

“Zen” comes from the Chinese word ch’an, which is from the Sanskrit word dhyana:  meditation.  The Zen lineage of Buddhist practice was transmitted from India to China in the 6th century, and has spread from there throughout Asia and now to the West. 

Who am I? Why am I here? What is my life for?  These are the fundamental human questions.  A person comes to Zen when such questions can no longer be ignored.  Zen, however, is not fixated on doctrine or dogma:  it is a practice.  Through practice, the answers we seek are recognized within our own being.

Ultimately, the purpose of Zen is not to give you something new, or to help you do something new.  It is to glimpse the true nature of your existence, and to manifest the strength, wisdom and fearlessness which are your true potential.  To practice Zen is to discover what a human being truly is.

About Zen Training

The essential point of Zen training - and its gate - is to be awakened through a direct recognition of innate wisdom (the "Buddha nature" or "true self").  In Zen the student recognizes, immediately and intimately, this essential nature.  Open and free of fabrication, grasping or fear, beyond effort and dualistic habits of seeing - this is the realization of your own "original face". 

Because Zen points directly to this deepest human wisdom, it has also been called the "Buddha-Heart School":  a unique lineage, standing apart from the various exoteric and esoteric Buddhist traditions, transmitting directly the very quintessence of the Buddhist teachings.

The best-known practice in Zen is zazen:  seated meditation.  But there are many others as well, used in accordance with the character and needs of each student.  Aside from these, the Rinzai lineage of Zen in particular is known for adapting a wide range of complementary arts and disciplines to develop and refine the human being.  Fine arts such as calligraphy or flower arrangement, and physical culture like martial arts, are traditional examples.  If approached within the context of Zen, in fact, many activities can become practices that deepen wisdom. 

Through such practice one gains familiarity with, and confidence in, one's original enlightened state, and comes to manifest it in all the activities of life.  In such a manner complete freedom and liberation naturally unfold.  This is the life-long path of Zen, and its authentic expression is compassion for others. 

Approached in this way, one's entire life becomes the dojo:  a place of enlightenment.  Zen shows us that the path of wisdom and freedom, our true path, has always been right here at our own feet:

At this moment, what is there you lack?

Nirvana presents itself before you!

This very place is the Pure Land,

  This very body, the Buddha.

- Hakuin Ekaku Zenji (1685-1768)

Zen