Zen Buddhism

n. A school of Buddhism which began in about the sixth or seventh century C.E. in China and later in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, which emphasizes direct experience through meditation (zazen) and the using of everyday life as a part of mindfulness practice. It is part of Mahayana Buddhism, which suggests that compassion is inherent but covered up by the illusion of desire, in which most people spend most of their lives mired.