zen

Where does the word "zen" come from? It comes from Sanskrit dhyana, passing through Chinese and Japanese before entering English (1900s).

Zen’s story begins in Sanskrit: dhyana meant “meditation.” By medieval, the word had taken hold in Chinese as chan. Chinese 'chan', from Sanskrit 'dhyāna', meditation; Bodhidharma is its legendary founder. From there it passed into Japanese as zen by medieval. Eisai and Dōgen brought Zen schools from China to Japan around 1200. It reached English by 1900s as zen. D. T. Suzuki's English books of the 1920s–50s spread Zen in the West. Today, zen means a school of Buddhism emphasizing meditation, or a state of calm and focus.

1. Stage 1 · Sanskrit · ancient dhyana "meditation", meaning "meditation".
2. Stage 2 · Chinese · medieval chan "meditation, a school of Buddhism", Chinese 'chan', from Sanskrit 'dhyāna', meditation; Bodhidharma is its legendary founder.
3. Stage 3 · Japanese · medieval zen "a school of Buddhist meditation", Eisai and Dōgen brought Zen schools from China to Japan around 1200.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1900s zen "a state of calm attentiveness; a form of Buddhism", D. T. Suzuki's English books of the 1920s–50s spread Zen in the West.