Zen Group of Western Australia Zen Group of Western Australia The Zen Group of Western Australia (ZGWA) is an organization of lay zen practitioners located in Perth, Western Australia. The ZGWA is formally affiliated with the Diamond Sangha tradition of Zen Buddhism, which was founded in Hawaii in 1959 by Robert Aitken Roshi. In keeping with Diamond Sangha tradition, the ZGWA uses rituals from both the Soto and Rinzai schools. Mediation practices of Shikantaza from the Sōtō school and koan training from the Rinzai school are typical forms of practise employed by students in the group, under the guidance of the groups roshi. ZGWA's senior
Buddhism in Vietnam not been recognized by the government; however, in 2007, with 1.5 million followers, the Vietnamese Pure Land Buddhism Association (Tịnh Độ Cư Sĩ Phật Hội Việt Nam) received official recognition as an independent and legal religious organization. Thiền is the Sino-Xenic pronunciation of "Chan" (Japanese "Zen") and is derived ultimately from Sanskrit "dhyāna". The traditional account is that in 580, an Indian monk named Vinitaruci () traveled to Vietnam after completing his studies with Sengcan, the third patriarch of Chan Buddhism. This would be the first appearance of Thiền. The sect that Vinitaruci and his lone Vietnamese disciple founded would