# Zen Buddhism · The Canon · The Atlas · The Congregation of Tomorrow

Source: https://congregationoftomorrow.org/atlas/library/canon/zen-buddhism/ · The Congregation of Tomorrow · the Atlas · language: en
The same words a person sees on this page, nothing more and nothing hidden.
Our own words are free to use under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), naming the Congregation of Tomorrow. Words of others keep their own terms.
Every page of the site, listed: https://congregationoftomorrow.org/ai/pages.json · the whole site in one file: https://congregationoftomorrow.org/llms-full.txt

← The Canon: all 125
The Canon · No. 052
Zen Buddhism
Chan (China); Seon (Korea); Thien (Vietnam)
c.6th c. CE – present · Dharmic / Indian · Living · China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam; large Western following
V. THE MEDIEVAL WORLD — c.500 – 1500 CE
### How many
### Who began it
### What it is for
### What it worships
### What it holds
### What it does
### After death
### Its texts
### Its branches
### Of note
### Its timeline
- c.520 CE Bodhidharma arrives in China.
- c.700 CE The Northern and Southern schools split over gradual versus sudden awakening; the Southern, sudden, line wins the argument and writes the history.
- c.750–900 CE The golden age of Chan under Mazu, Baizhang, Linji and Zhaozhou. Baizhang's rule — a day without work is a day without food — makes Chan monasteries self-supporting and helps them survive the 845 persecution that ruined other schools.
- 1191, 1227 CE Eisai brings Rinzai to Japan; Dogen brings Soto and founds Eiheiji.
- c.1200–1600 CE Zen becomes the religion of the samurai class and shapes Japanese arts.
- 1686–1769 CE Hakuin revives Rinzai and systematises koan practice.
- 1893, 1950s CE Soyen Shaku at the Chicago Parliament; then D. T. Suzuki introduces Zen to Western intellectuals, with a presentation later criticised as detaching it from its monastic and doctrinal setting.
- 1930s–45 CE Imperial Way Zen. Most major Zen institutions actively supported Japanese militarism; Brian Victoria's Zen at War (1997) documented it and several orders have since issued formal apologies.
- 1960s–present Western Zen centres proliferate; several are subsequently damaged by teacher misconduct scandals, prompting ethics codes and lay oversight structures.
### Sources
Not yet checked against named sources. This entry is the house's reading; until it is checked, treat each claim as unverified. Correct it, with a source.
The Atlas The Door