| 释义 |
Zen|zɛn|
Also 8 Sen.
[a. Jap. zen, ad. Chin. chán quietude, ad. Skr. dhyāna meditation.]
A school of Mahayana Buddhism that emphasizes meditation and personal awareness and became influential in Japanese life from the 13th century after being introduced from China.
1727J. G. Scheuchzer tr. Kæmpfer's Hist. Jap. I. ii. v. 199 In the 1850 streets of this city, there were 1050 [families] of the Ten Dai's Religion,..11 016 of Sen. 1834[see Shingon]. 1911Encycl. Relig. & Ethics IV. 704/1 Meditation came to have more weight than the other two factors, until in China and Japan there arose a sect, the Zen..in which it is the most essential part of the entire teaching. 1921Eastern Buddhist (Japan) I. 13 Zen in its essence is the art of seeing into the nature of one's own being. 1960Spectator 15 July 101 What do they know about Zen—the programme-writer, the film-makers, the beatniks, the lot? 1967D. & E. T. Riesman Conversations in Japan 123 Another boy, who..was their top judo athlete, said that he got his values from Zen. 1976A. Davis Television 122 By the late sixties, religious programmes were beginning to reflect the interest of young people in Eastern religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Zen and the cult of the Maharishi. 1977J. F. Fixx Compl. Bk. Running ii. 14 Our society puts considerable emphasis on personal development and the maximizing of one's potential. Zen, transcendental meditation, assertiveness training..and similar movements are all directed at making us fulfilled human beings.
2. attrib. and Comb., esp. in Zen Buddhism, Zen Buddhist.
1881Trans. Asiatic Soc. Japan IX. 179 (heading) Zen sect. 1894, etc. [see Soto]. 1902Encycl. Brit. XXIX. 681/1 The Zen doctrines of Buddhism, which contributed so much to the development of the heroic and the sentimental,..were therefore favourable to the stability of military feudalism. 1921Eastern Buddhist (Japan) I. 13 (heading) Zen Buddhism as purifier and liberator of life. Ibid. 26 Whether an enlightened Zen master or an ignoramus of the first degree, neither can escape the so-called laws of nature. 1923Ibid. II. 341 It remained for the Chinese Zen Buddhists to invent their own methods according to their own needs and insight. 1947Archit. Rev. CII. 32/2 Taoism and nature mysticism, transmitted through the vehicle of Zen Buddhism. 1950A. Huxley Themes & Variations 98 As the Zen Masters like paradoxically to put it, ‘Buddha never taught the saving truth.’ 1960Koestler Lotus & Robot ii. x. 234 The monk's rudeness..was in the right tradition of Zen-teasing. 1965W. Swaan Jap. Lantern v. 58 The canons of Japanese aesthetic appreciations were formulated to a very large degree under the influence of Zen Buddhist philosophy. 1971‘G. Black’ Time for Pirates iii. 45 Mr. Akamoro..contrived..to leak the thought..that it is time for Japanese initiative to take over with Zen Buddhism for the moral trimmings. 1979B. Malamud Dubin's Lives viii. 280 She said she had been talking to a Zen Master in South San Francisco... ‘I'm thinking of entering a Zen commune... I expect to become a Zen disciple.’
▸ Zen garden n. (originally in Japan) an outdoor space in which natural materials (typically rocks and sand) are arranged in lines and patterns, creating a serene environment believed to assist contemplation.
1937L. E. Kuck One Hundred Kyoto Gardens Introd. 15 There is another type of temple courtyard garden, not so austere as the sanded *Zen garden and ordinarily much smaller. 1960H. Stewart Net of Fireflies 167 The most celebrated Zen garden in Japan..dates from 1469 and consists solely of a courtyard of raked white sand in which are asymmetrically disposed fifteen stones, in groups of five, three, and two. 2005N.Y. Times Mag. 15 May 72/2 An open-air atrium..a Zen garden carpeted with smooth round stones.
▸ Zen-like adj. reminiscent or characteristic of Zen; calm, meditative.
1957College Art Jrnl. 16 184 As for the examples of his ink work, are they not complete, finished poems? How *Zen-like in essence. 1986‘L. McNeil’ Huck Hell & Legs Sawyer on Mississippi in ‘R. Hell’ Hot & Cold (2001) iv. 193 He's so Zen-like so far it's actually a relief when he throws a tantrum. 1992Working Woman Mar. 113/3 Most women consider their newfound Zenlike calm a positive attribute but worry about taking it too far and losing their American feistiness. 2002Times 1 July (T2 section) 22/5 Bailey's drama resists cliché, especially in the Zen-like performance of Harris as a small-town hero out of his depth. |