Chán

Chinese: "Buddha"

Chan Buddhism

Chan Buddhism Chan (禅, 禪; Chán; 禪那; chánnà), from Sanskrit dhyāna (meaning “meditation” or “meditative state”), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming dominant during the Tang and Song dynasties. After the Yuan dynasty, Chan more or less fused with Pure Land Buddhism. Chan is the originating tradition of Zen Buddhism (the...

The kare-sansui (dry landscape) zen garden at Ryōan-ji

Zen

What Is Zen? Zen (禪; Chán, 선) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty as Chan Buddhism. It was strongly influenced by Taoism and developed as a distinct school of Chinese Buddhism. From China, Chan Buddhism spread south to Vietnam which became Vietnamese Thiền, northeast to Korea and east to Japan, where it became...