zen

alternative Zen

1. uncountablelifestyleSynonym of enlightenment, particularly the kind acquired through Zen meditation.

   Synonyms: enlightenment, particularly the kind acquired through Zen meditation

2. uncountableAn approach to instruction, understanding, or an activity similarly emphasizing simplicity and intuition rather than conventional thinking or fixation on goals.

   the zen of C++

   2 more examples

   the zen of cooking

   the zen of passing the bar exam

   Synonyms: tao

comparative more zen · superlative most zen · alternative Zen

1. lifestyleAlternative letter-case form of Zen: of or related to Zen Buddhism, particularly its focus on indirect teaching of wisdom through riddles and stories.

   1 more example

   Greggs: You hung over? Just sayin', you look like shit. Moreland: You know what you need at a crime scene? Greggs: Rubber glove? Moreland: Soft eyes. Greggs: Like I'm s'posed to cry an' shit? Moreland: You got soft eyes, you can see the whole thing. You got hard eyes? You starin' at the same tree, missin' the forest. Greggs: Ah. Zen shit. Moreland: Soft eyes, grasshopper.

   2006 Oct. 1, Dennis Lehane, "Refugees", The Wire, 00:37:10

2. colloquialWise, displaying enlightenment or similar wisdom, insightful, unburdened and free of worries, extremely relaxed and capable.

alternative zen · alternative obsolete Sen · alternative obsolete Dzen

1. lifestyleA school of Mahayana Buddhism characterized by sudden enlightenment achieved by indirect means and principally associated with China and Japan.

   Philosophical mysticism, the idea that truth is indefinable and can be apprehended only by nonrational means, has been with us since the beginning of history. It's the basis of Zen practice.

   1974, Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, page 235

   2 more examples

   For Orientals these mysterious formulae are clear and familiar truths, but for us they are completely bewildering... Dhyana Buddhism, which is known in Japan as "Zen"... is not speculation at all but immediate experience of what, as the bottomless ground of Being, cannot be apprehended by intellectual means, and cannot be conceived or interpreted even after the most unequivocal and incontestable experiences: one knows it by not knowing it.

   1953, Richard Francis Carrington Hull translating Eugen Herrigel's Zen in the Art of Archery, p. 3

   While Christianity teaches that man was expelled from the Garden of Eden, Zen teaches that we are living in paradise right now, even amid all the shit that's going down. This world is the Pure Land. This world is paradise. In fact, this world is better than paradise—but all we can do is piss and moan, and look around for something better.

   2003, Brad Warner, Hardcore Zen, page 25

alternative zen · alternative obsolete Sen · alternative obsolete Dzen

1. uncountableAlternative letter-case form of zen: (religion) enlightenment and (informal) mindful action, instruction, or behavior considered similar to Zen.

   Hōyen... used to produce his own hand and ask his disciples, why it was called a hand? When we know the reason, there is satori and we have Zen.

   1934, Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, page 102

comparative more Zen · superlative most Zen · alternative zen · alternative obsolete Sen · alternative obsolete Dzen

1. lifestyleOf or related to Zen Buddhism.

   Zen monk

   2 more examples

   Zen meditation

   Zen master

2. colloquialAlternative letter-case form of zen.

   "It sounds very Zen," I said. "A log cabin with no logs."

   2010, Martin Avery et al., Zen Forest

   1 more example

   Part of him is still so much the newbie, amazed to find this place of sand and sun stuck onto the ass end of the greatest city in the world, but the rest of him has relaxed into acceptance already. He's Zen like that.

   2020, N. K. Jemisin, The City We Became, Orbit, page 431