Maddie Arnold November 2, 2017 Zen and the Beats ●Jack Kerouac was a member of the beats and followed Zen Buddhism ●Zen is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chan ○Tradition that originated in Chinese Buddhism ○Use the Japanese pronunciation of zen because Japanese individuals were important in bringing zen to the West in the early part of the 20th century bc they were more powerful than China at that time ●Chan is an abbreviation of Channa which is a transliteration of the Sanskrit dhyana ●Dhyana means meditative absorption- specific meditation practice during which the mind temporarily withdraws from external sensory awareness and you are completely absorbed in meditation. Leads to full absorption. ○Really means a particular form of Buddhism ●Zen Buddhism: ○Stresses that language gets in the way ■Special transmission outside the scriptures- special teaching not found in scriptures ■Don’t get attached to words or letters bc they get in the way ○Origin story of zen- Buddha gave a flower sermon and just holds up a flower and doesn’t say anything. One of his disciples smiles and the Buddha just leaves. The disciple then
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