禅 (chán): Zen (Buddhism)

Meanings

1 Zen (Buddhism)
2 dhyana; meditation
3 contemplation

Characters

禅

chán

Zen; meditation; dhyana

Examples

HSK 6

他每天打坐参禅。

Tā měitiān dǎzuò cānchán.

He sits in meditation and practices Zen every day.

HSK 7-9

禅宗是中国佛教的重要流派。

Chánzōng shì Zhōngguó Fójiào de zhòngyào liúpài.

Chan Buddhism is an important school of Chinese Buddhism.

Tips

history

禅 is a transliteration of Sanskrit 'dhyana' (meditation). Chan Buddhism (禅宗) originated in China and later became Zen in Japan. Note: 禅 has a second reading shàn meaning 'to abdicate' (禅让), a completely different word.

Components

radical

礻 shì

altar; spirit (radical form of 示)

Left-side altar radical, the four-stroke side form of 示 - originally a drawing of a stone offering-stand where sacrifices were placed. Indexes 禅 in the ritual family alongside 神 god, 祖 ancestor, 福 blessing. Marks 禅 as belonging to sacred practice - Chan Buddhist meditation and the abdication ceremonies of antiquity.

phonetic

单 dān

single; alone

Right side 单 supplies the sound: dān shifted to chán via a d/ch alternation. The phonetic also picks up shàn in the abdication reading 禅让. The single, alone imagery of 单 happens to suit the solitary discipline of Chan meditation, but the linkage is incidental - 单 is here for its sound.