The work describes the Zen school as consisting of the authentic Buddhism practiced by monks and nuns who belong to a large religious family with five main branches, each branch of which demonstrates its legitimacy by performing Confucian-style ancestor rites for its spiritual ancestors or patriarchs.

The Origins of Zen 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.

Often referred to simply as “Zen meditation,” it is a form of seated meditation that is central to Zen Buddhism. Thought to have originated in India in the 5 ^th century BCE, this ritual has been transferred from master to disciple uninterrupted for thousands of years.