Japanese 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"). Buddhism was introduced to China in the first century CE. According to tradition, Chan was introduced around 500 CE by Bodhidharma, an Indian monk teaching dhyāna. He was the 28th Indian patriarch of Zen and the first Chinese patriarch. Buddhism was introduced in Japan in the 8th century CE during the Nara period (710-794) and the Heian period (794–1185). Zen was not introduced as a separate school in Japan until the 12th century during the Kamakura
An Introduction to Zen Buddhism after the 1927 publication of his book "Zen Essays", which he decided would be "too heavy" as an introduction to Zen for beginners. Suzuki intended the resultant volume, 1934's "An Introduction to Zen Buddhism", to be used as a companion with the contemporaneously published "Manual of Zen Buddhism". "An Introduction to Zen Buddhism" was published in 1934 in Kyoto by the Eastern Buddhist Society. The Marshall Jones Company of Boston oversaw first publication in the United States. The 1939 German language edition was published with a preface by Carl Jung. In 1949, the book was reprinted in London and New