Traditions : Buddhist :
Zen / Chan

Poets in the Zen / Chan tradition
Books - Links

Known as Zen in Japan and Chan in China.

This tradition of Buddhist spiritual practice largely rejects ritualism in favor of simplicity, focused meditation, and constant awareness of the mind leading toward sartori or spontaneous awareness of the true nature of reality.

Chan often overlaps Taoism in China, with many individuals practicing both, as though they are aspects of the same path. Zen/Chan practices and philosophy can also be compared to the Advaita non-dualist tradition within Yoga.

Poetry is often composed as part of Zen practice, emphasizing being fully present, awareness of the spontaneous moment, and a lack of verbal embellishment. Some of the great poetry of the East comes to us through the Zen tradition.

In America, the Beat poets of the 1950s and 1960s discovered and introduced many of the great Zen poets to the West.