ZEN GLOSSARY

Ango: 90-day practice period

Bodhisattva (Skt): An awakened or enlightened being who renounces complete liberation in order to remain with unenlightened beings and to work for the awakening of all. The bodhisattva ideal is closely associated with Mahayana Buddhism.

Chan (Ch): The Chinese word for Zen.

Chiden: The person who takes care of altars.

Densho:The large bell hanging outside the zendo, used to announce the time for services and ceremonies.

Dharma(Skt): One of the three treasures that Buddhists take refuge in, the Buddha's teaching.

Doan:This the Sōtō Zen term for one who rings bells in the zendo. Our dōan acts as timekeeper and sounds the small bell that marks the beginning and end of each period of zazen. The dōan also rings the small and large bells during service and ceremonies and uses the inkin to begin and end kinhin (walking meditation).

Doan-ryo: The group of people who serve in temple roles, including the dōan, the fukudo, the chiden, the jiko, and the kokyo, led and trained by the ino.

Dokusan: A private interview between a student and a Zen teacher.

Doshi: The priest who officiates at zazen, service or ceremonies by offering incense and leading prostrations and bows.

Eko: The dedication chanted at the end of a ceremony, dedicating the merit and energy of our practice to all beings, and sometime to specific persons.

Fukudo, also Tenken: The timekeeper who sounds the han or densho, announcing service and zazen, and plays the mokugyo or drum during service.

Gassho: (Literally: “palms together”) A mudra expressing nonduality. The palms are joined so that the fingertips are at the height of the nose. The hands are approximately one fist width away from the face.

Gata (Skt): A short sutra or verse.

Han: In Zen monasteries, a wooden board struck by the fukudo with a mallet, used to summon participants to the zendo for daily zazen. Traditionally, the pattern of strikes always includes three roll downs: the first ending with one strike, the second with two, and the third with three. The han is sounded every 50 seconds between each roll-down. Practitioners are expected to be in the zendo and settled in their seats by the second roll-down, as the Doshi and Jiko enter the zendo as a procession at the third roll-down. At MZC, we hit the han twice five minutes before zazen.

Hinayana (Skt): Literally: “Small Vehicle”.The term ‘small vehicle’ has at times been used as a derogatory term by other traditions, we prefer to use the term Therevada (Teaching of the Elders), the oldest Buddhist school

Inkin: A portable bell.

Ino: One of the seven positions of the senior staff, the Ino is the zendo (meditation hall) manager responsible for training the doan-ryo, coordinating ceremonies with the Tanto or Head Teacher, and helping to care for and transmit zendo forms.

Jiko: The attendant who carries incense for the Doshi

Jisha: The ceremonial attendant to an Abbot or Guiding Teacher.

Jizo: Earth Womb Bodhisattva

Jukai: Also known as ‘lay ordination, or ‘bestowing the Precepts’, this ceremony is an initiation into the practice of the sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts for lay practitioners. During the ceremony, initiates receive the Precepts and a rakusu (which they have hand-sewn) from a lineage-holding Teacher.

Jundo: Broadly speaking, ‘jundo’ can mean any ritual circuit or circumambulation. At MZC each morning, the Doshi begins the jundo at the Kaisando where she offers incense and bows before making her way down to the main altar in the zendo (with the roll-down on the han). As the Doshi passes, meditators raise their hands in gassho without bowing; this joins Doshi and sitters in mutual acknowledgement.

Kaisando: The Founder’s Hall, which is the memorial building or shrine for the founder of a temple.

Karma: The Buddhist doctrine of cause and effect.

Kensho: An enlightenment or awakening experience

Kentan: inspection of the sitting platform

Kinhin: Walking meditation.

Koan: Originally: a public record or case. A Zen paradox, question or episode from the past that defies logical explanation.

Kokyo: This is the Sōtō Zen term for the chant leader or ‘cantor’ during service.

Kyosaku: A wooden stick, roughly a yard long and flattened at one end, sometimes carried by senior practitioners in the zendo during zazen. Sitters may request to be hit on the shoulders to help refresh the body and mind. Also called the wake-up stick or encouragement stick.

Mahayana (Skt): Literally: “Great Vehicle”. One of the three main branches of Buddhism, the others being Theravada and Vajrayana.

Mala (Skt): Mala, or Buddhist beads, are usually in a circle of 108 for a necklace, or a multiple of 9 in a bracelet. One would say a mantra with passing each single bead through your fingers: Om namu padme hum or namu kie butsu, etc. Mala are not considered essential in Zen, and they are not worn with the ceremonial robe. We use them, for example, for counting 108 rings on the big bell when a teacher has died, or for the midnight bell at New Year's.
Even though the beads are not "official" for our practice, they can be helpful in a personal way, and using them is not discouraged.

Mokukyo: (Literally: ‘wooden fish’) A traditional Japanese temple instrument played during services to set the pace of certain chants.

Mudra (Skt): A ritual hand or body position.

Nirvana(Skt): Literally cessation or extinction. Although nirvana is the ultimate goal of many Buddhists it should never be confused with the Western notion of heaven. Instead, nirvana simply means an end to samsara. In the Mahayana tradition, the bodhisattva eschews nirvana until all sentient beings are saved.

Okesa (or Kesa): From the Sanskrit “Kashaya,” a rectangular, patched robe made and worn as monks have done since the Buddha’s time. It encircles the body and is draped over the left shoulder, leaving the right shoulder uncovered. It is formally given to a new priest, who has sewn it him/herself during the priest ordination ceremony.

Oryoki: Formal meal taken in the zendo during sesshin. Also the name for the special set of bowls that are given to a priest at ordination.

Raihai: Also known as deep bows or prostrations. Normally done in a set of three and normally done towards the altar, these are bows that lead into a kneeling position and then into a position with one’s forehead gently touching the floor. The hands, palms upwards, are raised in a gesture symbolic of lifting the Buddha’s feet over one’s head.

Rakusu: A small version of Buddha’s patched robe, suspended from cloth straps and worn around the neck. Usually, each initiate sews his or her own and receives it from the Preceptor during lay ordination.

Rinzai: One of the two main schools of Zen still active in Japan, the other being Sōtō. Rinzai (Japanese for Master Linji (Ch), who founded this school) was the first school of Zen to be brought to Japan. Its initial introduction near the end of the 12th century did not take hold, but a subsequent transfer from China did succeed. The Rinzai tradition places more emphasis on koan work than the Sōtō tradition.

Rohatsu: A day to commemorate the enlightenment of the Buddha, which traditionally is celebrated on the eighth of December. Zen centers will organize a rohatsu sesshin early in December to mark this Zen “holiday.”

Roshi: (Japanese: "old teacher" or "old master") is a title in Zen Buddhism with different usages depending on sect and country. In Sōtō Zen it is used more loosely. This is especially the case in the United States and Europe, where almost any teacher who has received dharma transmission might be called rōshi.

Samsara (Skt): In Buddhist thought this is the continuing cycle of birth, death and rebirth. With awakening this becomes Nirvana.

Samu: Work practice. This is work, usually physical, done in a silent, mindful and aware manner.

Sangha (Skt): Zen family, community or group practicing together. In its largest sense, all living beings make up our sangha, though when commonly used sangha means our fellows in the local Zen center or the group in our area with whom we practice. In Theravada practice the term refers specifically to the body of ordained monks and nuns.

Satori: A very deep state of meditation in which notions of duality, self and indeed all concepts drop away. Profound satori is very close to an enlightenment experience (see kensho).

Seiza: A sitting position where one kneels and sits back onto the heels. This is the standard position for longer, seated services.

Sensei: A recognized teacher of Zen. The title sensei, like the title roshi, traditionally is positioned after the teacher’s name rather than before (i.e. Jane Smith Sensei).

Sesshin: (Literally: ‘gather or touch the mind’) An intensive meditation retreat usually lasting 3, 5 or 7 days. A sesshin is a silent retreat that involves many periods of zazen and the opportunity to have private interviews with a teacher (see dokusan). Meals are often eaten oryoki style, and periods of samu are generally included.

Shashu: A mudra used when standing or walking in formal practice situations. The fingers of the left hand make a fist around the thumb and held against the body at the solar plexus (right below the breastbone); the right hand gently covers the left.

Shikantaza: “Just sitting.” An intense form of zazen where no mental aids such as counting the breath are used. A state of great mental alertness is cultivated, but ideally no concepts or objects of thought are in the mind.

Shoten: The person who sounds the densho to announce events in the Buddha Hall.

Shuso: The head student for a practice period.

Soji: Temple cleaning.

Soto: short for the names of the two founders, Tozai and Sozan. One of the two main schools of Zen in Japan. From Chinese: Caodong, Dongshan and Caoshan.

Sutra (Skt): A Buddhist scripture regarded as having been spoken by the Buddha, literally

Tan: A raised platform for sitting in the zendo.

Tanto: The ‘head of practice’ of a monastery or temple, usually second in command to the Abbot or Head Teacher. The tanto is an experienced senior practitioner who oversees the Ino and training of the Zen students. As they are familiar with other leadership positions in the temple they are empowered to offer guidance on monastic conduct, forms, and ceremonies.

Tatami: Japanese-style, thick straw floor mats.

Tenzo: The head cook for a monastery or sesshin. Traditionally the role of tenzo was a position of high honor in Zen monasteries, and one of the seven positions of the senior staff.

Zabuton: A large, rectangular mat made of fabric-covered cotton batting or seeds usually used with a zafu or sitting bench.

Zafu: A round cushion used for zazen.

Zazenkai: Literally: “to come together for meditation” is a Zen Buddhist retreat that is usually less intensive and of shorter duration than sesshin.

Zen: A branch of Mahayana Buddhism that is said to have been introduced to China in the sixth century by Bodhidharma. The word zen (Chinese: chan) is a transliteration of the Sanskrit word Dhyana, meaning concentration (i.e. meditation).

Zendo: Zen room or hall. This is the main room, whether it be in a monastery, retreat center or residential home, where zazen and other Zen practices are observed.