Zen Zen Zen (; ) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty as Chan Buddhism. It was strongly influenced by Taoism and developed as a distinct school of Chinese Buddhism. From China, Chan Buddhism spread south to Vietnam which became Vietnamese Thiền, northeast to Korea and east to Japan, where it became known as Seon Buddhism and Japanese Zen, respectively. The term Zen is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the Middle Chinese word 禪 (Chan) which traces its roots to the Indian practice of Dhyāna ("meditation"). Zen emphasizes rigorous self-control, meditation-practice, insight into
Zen Song Dynasty, which established a strong central government. During the Song Dynasty, Chán (禪) was used by the government to strengthen its control over the country and Chán grew to become the largest sect in Chinese Buddhism. An ideal picture of the Chán of the Tang period was produced which served the legacy of this newly acquired status, and the period of the Tang Dynasty came to be regarded as the "golden age" of Chan. With the establishment of the Wu-shan (Gozan) system during the Southern Sung, the Chinese bureaucratic system entered into Zen temples throughout the country, and a