Chan (Zen) Buddhism

Chan (Zen) Buddhism is a tradition that emphasizes direct experience and meditation to realize one's true nature. It encourages practitioners to observe their thoughts and feelings without attachment, fostering insight beyond intellectual understanding. Core practices include sitting meditation (zazen), mindfulness, and koans—paradoxical riddles designed to transcend logical thinking. Zen seeks to awaken a spontaneous, compassionate awareness in everyday life, emphasizing presence and impermanence. Overall, it aims to cultivate a deep, personal realization of enlightenment through disciplined practice and direct, experiential insight into the nature of reality.