What are the essentials of Zen?

Zen is one of the eight sects of Buddhism in China, and it is also the most important one. Zen is named after advocating practicing meditation. Its purpose is to thoroughly see the origin of mind by means of investigation. The concern for nature contained in Zen Buddhism, as well as its way of life, pursuit of life, intuitive observation, aesthetic taste and transcendence spirit, highlight the clear and lofty realm of human spirit, thus maintaining lasting charm.

a symbol of Zen philosophy, which represents Zen thought. In order to fully understand Zen thought, we must trace its origin. The Origin of Zen Thought specifically discusses the influence of Buddhist scriptures on Zen thought. These classics include Lengga Sutra, Theory of Initiation, Heart Sutra, Diamond Sutra, Lengyan Sutra, Vimala Sutra, Huayan Sutra, Hokkekyo, Yuanjue Sutra and Nirvana Sutra. The book points out that the Tathagata-Tibetan thought, which emphasizes that all sentient beings have Buddhist nature, the knowledge-only thought, which reveals the reasons for the loss of one's true nature, the universal thought, which is characterized by eliminating the only method of sweeping away, and the thought of elegance and harmony, which emphasizes that everything is unimpeded, have had a great influence on Zen thought.

For each level of Zen ideology, the author uses three groups of discourse materials to explain it: Mahayana Buddhist classic discourse, Zen philosophy symbolic discourse and Zen poetry realm discourse. "Original Mind", "Lost", "Enlightenment" and "Realm" basically include the essence of Zen Buddhism. For the four main types of realm theory, the author also explains their respective emphases and internal relations with detailed materials and objective analysis. In this way, a relatively independent and harmonious interpretation system is formed, which is open and meticulous.