Zen

Etymology
From, from  , an abbreviation of , from. .

Proper noun

 * 1)  A school of Mahayana Buddhism characterized by sudden enlightenment achieved by indirect means and principally associated with China and Japan.
 * 2) * 1953, translating 's , p. 3:
 * For Orientals these mysterious formulae are clear and familiar truths, but for us they are completely bewildering... Dhyana Buddhism, which is known in Japan as "Zen"... is not speculation at all but immediate experience of what, as the bottomless ground of Being, cannot be apprehended by intellectual means, and cannot be conceived or interpreted even after the most unequivocal and incontestable experiences: one knows it by not knowing it.

Usage notes
In reference to a specific lineage of Buddhist teachers, Zen is sometimes inclusive of its Chinese development and masters and sometimes distinguished as the particularly Japanese form of, from the modern Mandarin pronunciation of the same character.

Translations

 * Arabic: زَن, زِن, زِن
 * Armenian:
 * Bashkir: Дзэн
 * Burmese: ဇင်ဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာ
 * Chinese:
 * Hokkien:, 禪宗
 * Mandarin: ,
 * Czech:
 * Esperanto: zena
 * Finnish:, , zenbuddhismi
 * French:
 * Georgian: ძენი
 * German:
 * Greek:
 * Hebrew:
 * Hindi: ज़ेन, झेन
 * Hungarian:
 * Irish: Búdachas Zen, Zen
 * Japanese: ,
 * Kazakh: Дзен
 * Korean: ,
 * Lao: ເຊັນ
 * Malayalam: സെൻ
 * Marathi: जेन, झेन
 * Persian:
 * Portuguese:
 * Punjabi: ਜ਼ੇਨ
 * Russian: ,
 * Sanskrit:
 * Sinhalese: සෙන්
 * Spanish: budismo zen,
 * Telugu: జెన్
 * Thai:
 * Tibetan: ཟེན
 * Urdu: زین
 * Vietnamese: ,
 * Western Panjabi: زین
 * Yiddish: זען

Noun

 * : enlightenment and  mindful action, instruction, or behavior considered similar to Zen.

Usage notes
Similar to the proper noun, Zen’s use as a synonym for enlightenment is sometimes limited to the specific form acquired through Zen meditation. In general application, Zen can carry orientalizing overtones, particularly of smug superiority over conventional western thought. It is therefore also applied sarcastically to disparage shallow understanding, feigned wisdom, or bullshitting.

Adjective

 * 1)  Of or related to Zen Buddhism.

Noun

 * 1)  zen (denomination of Buddhism)

Proper noun

 * 1)  Zen