Its basic form of ascetic practices is meditation, which has been an important type of virtue for the basic practice of Buddhism since ancient times, and the Buddhist group which practiced mediation began to be called Zen sect from the end of the Tang Dynasty in China.
坐禅を基本的な修行形態とするが、坐禅そのものは古くから仏教の基本的実践の重要な徳目であり、坐禅を中心に行う仏教集団が禅宗と呼称され始めたのは中国の唐代末期からである。