Zen

A school of Buddhism emphasizing meditation — and, casually, anything calm and unflappable.

Origin

Zen (禅) is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese Chan, itself a transliteration of the Sanskrit dhyāna (meditation). The school took root in Japan from the 12th century onward and shaped tea ceremony, calligraphy, martial arts, and garden design. D. T. Suzuki and Alan Watts introduced it to mid-20th-century Western audiences.

Modern usage

'Zen' as an adjective now means relaxed, minimalist, or unbothered. 'Be zen about it', 'a zen office'. The actual tradition is more demanding than the marketing.

Nirvana

Liberation from suffering and the cycle of rebirth.

concept

Eastern Traditions

Yin and Yang

Complementary opposites that together make up a whole — dark and light, soft and hard, receptive and active.

character

Eastern Traditions

Samurai

The hereditary warrior class of pre-modern Japan, bound by a strict code of honor.

concept

Eastern Traditions

Mandala

A geometric, often circular diagram used in Hindu and Buddhist meditation — and, in pop psychology, any symmetrical image of the self.

kiso.to

Zen

Origin

Modern usage

Related

Nirvana

Yin and Yang

Samurai

Mandala