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禅宗 (chán zōng) — Chan (Zen) school of Buddhism, a major Chinese Buddhist sect

Definition

Chan (Zen) Buddhism is a major school of Chinese Buddhism that emphasizes meditation (坐禅/静坐) and sudden enlightenment (顿悟), in contrast to the more scriptural schools. It is the Chinese ancestor of Japanese Zen.

noun
Chan (Zen) school of Buddhisma major Chinese Buddhist sect

Examples

  • 禅宗。
    chán zōng Shì zhōng guó fó jiào de yí gè zhòng yào liú pài.
    Chan (Zen) is an important school of Chinese Buddhism.
  • 禅宗。
    Tā duì chán zōng de zhé xué sī xiǎng fēi cháng gǎn xìng qù.
    He is very interested in the philosophical thoughts of the Chan school.
  • 禅宗。
    chán zōng De xiū xíng fāng fǎ qiáng diào jìng zuò hé dùn wù.
    The practice methods of Chan emphasize sitting meditation and sudden enlightenment.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

禅chánChan
宗zōngschool

禅 denotes Chan or Zen practice and 宗 denotes school, together naming the Chan sect.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 禪; 禅 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
示示shì
Sound part声符shēngfú
單
單dān禪chán
Same sound today

The traditional form 禪 pairs 示, a meaning part, with 單, a sound part; the simplified 禅 is a later abbreviation, so its right side is not the old sound part.

Open 禅 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 宀宀miánhouse
  • 示示shìspirit tablet

宗 pairs 宀, a house, with 示, a spirit tablet, to show an ancestral shrine or temple.

Open 宗 →
Appears in
Religion & Belief

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