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
Buddhism in Costa Rica José (Karma Kagyu lineage) and a Lingmincha Center of the Nyingma-Bon tradition. The Casa Zen of Costa Rica center is located in Santo Domingo, Heredia. There are also temples of Theravada, Shaolin and a Chinese Buddhism Pagoda. Buddhism in Costa Rica Costa Rica has more Buddhists than the other countries in Central America with almost 100,000 (2.34% of total population), followed closely by Panama, with almost 70,000 (2.1% of total population). Buddhism was introduced in the country for the first time by Chinese immigrants during the early 19th and 20th century, but an important part of these migrants later became