User:Ch'an

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ch'an
Pali Name
Romanization Jhāna
Devanāgarī झान
Sinhala ඣාන
Sanskrit Name
Romanization Dhyāna
Devanāgarī ध्यान
Chinese Name
Hanyu Pinyin Chán
Wade-Giles Ch'an
Shanghainese Zeu [zø]
Cantonese IPA sɪm4
Cantonese Jyutping sim
Hanzi 禪
Jiantizi 禅
Korean Name
Revised Romanization Seon
McCune-Reischauer Sŏn
Hangul 선
Hanja 禪
Japanese Name
Romaji Zen
Hiragana ぜん
Kanji 禅
Vietnamese Name
Quốc ngữ Thiền (Thiền na)
Chữ Hán 禅那
Tibetan Name
Wylie bsam gtan (pronounced samten)
This Japanese scroll calligraphy [1] of Bodhidharma reads “Zen points directly to the human heart, see into your nature and become Buddha”. It was created by Hakuin Ekaku (1685 to 1768)
This Japanese scroll calligraphy [1] of Bodhidharma reads “Zen points directly to the human heart, see into your nature and become Buddha”. It was created by Hakuin Ekaku (1685 to 1768)

This is the user page for the Wikipedian whose name Ch'an is taken from the Chinese language name of a particular transmission passed down through an unbroken lineage for 2500 years from Siddhartha Gautama (Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) Buddha, historical founder of Buddhism.

The Ch'an tradition is said to have been brought from India to China between the years 420 and 527 by Bodhidharma, founder and First Patriarch of Ch'an [and Zen] Buddhism.

The word "ch'an" originated 1500 years ago as a Chinese pronunciation of the Sanskrit word "dhyāna", itself derived from the earlier Pali word "jhāna", and later became the source for the Japanese word "zen", the Korean word "seon", and the Vietnamese word "thiền", all of which words refer to a state of meditative concentration or absorption.

More about Ch'an from Wikipedia as of 2006-09-27:

"Ch'an is [the Wade-Giles transliteration of] the Chinese name for the school of Mahāyāna Buddhism which is the origin of Japanese Zen.
Ch'an is known for its emphasis on meditation and everyday life ahead of philosophical and scriptural pursuits. ...
Bodhidharma is recorded as having come to China to teach a 'special transmission outside scriptures' which 'did not rely upon words'."

These depictions of Bodhidharma are from the Wikimedia Commons.

Blue-eyed Central Asian Buddhist monk, [2] possibly Bodhidharma, forming the "Vitarka" mudra (Symbol of teaching or discussion of the dharma), in the direction of a disciple East-Asian monk. Eastern Tarim Basin, China, 9th-10th century.
Blue-eyed Central Asian Buddhist monk, [2] possibly Bodhidharma, forming the "Vitarka" mudra (Symbol of teaching or discussion of the dharma), in the direction of a disciple East-Asian monk. Eastern Tarim Basin, China, 9th-10th century.
Bodhidharma, woodblock print [3] by Yoshitoshi, 1887.
Bodhidharma, woodblock print [3] by Yoshitoshi, 1887.