The Buddha
This was Buddha's name BEFORE he became the Buddha.
What is Siddhartha?
This major principle of Zen has a inseperable relationship with Form.
What is Emptiness?
This sermon by the Buddha contained no words, and marked the first Zen mind-to-mind transmission.
What is the Flower Sermon?
The Buddha was looking at this when he attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.
What is the Morning Star (Venus)?
This term has been used to normalize/commercialize Zen philosophy in Western culture.
What is Mindfulness?
These are the four things the Prince saw that inspired his quest for enlightenment.
What are a sick person, an old person, a dead person and a holy man?
This Zen concept reminds us that everything decays.
What is Impermanence?
As opposed to a focus on individual enlightenment, this major sect of Buddhism advocates for the enlightenment of others before oneself.
What is Mayhayana Buddhism?
This type of zazen is simply sitting with no object of concentration.
What is Shinkantaza (just sitting)?
In the 13th century, warlords realized that Zen was an excellent way to train this group of elite warriors in swordsmanship.
Who are Samurai?
This concept was inspired by the overheard phrase, "If the string is too loose, it will not play--too tight, and it will break."
What is the Middle Way?
Everyone and everything has this, and it’s also known as the “one mind” or “big self.”
What is Buddha Nature?
He was the first-patriarch of Chinese Zen who brought Zen from India to China in the 6th century.
Who is Bodhidharma?
This is the name of the place in which Zazen is formally practiced.
What is a Zendo?
This monk tradition may have led to the death of the Buddha.
What is Takuhatsu (begging for food)?
These four statements are the basis of the Buddha’s teachings and are NOT lies.
What are the Four Noble Truths?
Most human suffering is caused by these three characteristics.
What are greed, ignorance and anger?
One of the two biggest schools of Zen which, because of its focus on spontaneity, became popular with Japanese Samurai.
What is Rinzai Zen?
This is the walking form of Zen meditation, usually done between sets of Zazen.
What is Kinhin?
This type of poetry, made up of 17 syllables, was the artistic outlet for many Zen Masters.
What is Haiku?
With this, the Buddha reminded his disciples that everything is transitory and that they alone were responsible for their own enlightenment.
What are the Buddha’s final words/final teaching?
When one experiences this, there is no longer separation between themselves and anything else.
What is Satori, Kensho or Enlightenment?
In the 1950s, many artists from this cultural movement found inspiration in Zen and helped make it accessible to a wider audience.
What is the Beat generation?
Usually held over an extended period of days, this is what a Zazen intensive is called.
What is a Sesshin?
This stanza of 4 lines, called a Gata, is written by a Zen Master to mark this occasion.
What is their death?