How did Zen come to Japan? Zen came to Japan after being studied by the monks Eisai and Dogen. Eisai went on to found the school of Rinzai, where Dogen founded the school of Soto.

A little history of Zen Buddhism After it had been established in India for almost 1000 years, the monk Bodhidharma took the teaching to China, in the 5th century CE, under the name of ch'an, where it spread widely throughout the country, having found there a favorable ground for its growth.

Zen is a school of Buddhism which emphasises the practice of meditation as the key ingredient to awakening ones inner nature, compassion and wisdom. The practice of meditation (Zen in Japanese) as a means of attaining enlightenment was introduced, as we have seen, by the Buddha himself.

Zen, like the other forms of Buddhism, aims at the perfection or realization of personhood.