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Since it has become widely known, the Japanese sect of Zen Buddhism has struck a responsive chord in many other spiritual traditions, from East to West.
This contemplative way of being and seeing is rooted in Buddhist teachings on the Four Noble Truths of the suffering engendered by separative selfhood; the Eightfold Path to peace, or enlightenment, through the transcendence of self; and the spiritual solidarity of the Sangha --- the monastic community.
Enunciated some 2,500 years ago, these precepts, in turn, drew upon the ancient wisdom of India's Hindu tradition, in which Siddartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, was raised.

Zen Buddhism evolved in China more than a thousand years ago, and the
teachings of such masters as Umon, Sengstan, and Liin - Chi were carried to Japan.
There, deep unbroken meditation (za-zen) and an intense relationship between
disciple and master were embraced as essential to the attainment of enlightenment.
Unswerving attention was fostered by the koans -- riddles and paradoxes posed by Zen masters to help parctitioners transcend the illusions of logic and realize the underlying unity and order of all that is.
Simplicity, spontaneity, and total awareness of each present moment characterize Zen perception.

"Since all is void, Where can the dust alight?"
(Hui-Neng)

"Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles
and the water is clear?"
(Lao-Tzu)

"Mist clears from ancient cedars and days last forever...
right and wrong don't enter the clouds."
(Stone House)

"The sage is clarity. Hearing the truth, she is like a lake;
Pure and tranquil and deep."
(The Buddha in the Dhammapada)

"No desire can pull you away from this present peace,
not even the desire to become a Buddha or to save
all beings."
( Thich Nhat Hanh)

"The sound of ice falls on dawnlit snowy ridges."
(Stone House)