Zen Buddhism in Japan

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Buddhism has spread dramatically among Asian countries and reshaped the views of many people. But "China's most important contribution to nascent Japanese civilization was Buddhism"(Bresnan 425). In early Japanese feudal society, the land was organized by clans and it took time for the region to unite after long conquest. Zen Buddhism began in China and spread to Korea and Japan and became a popular religion in the West.
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Zen Figure Painting
in Medieval Japan
When Zen became established in Japan, the Chinese monastic system was adopted and was gradually modified to blend in with the Japanese way of life. Zen monastery has been where the community resides and practices Zen way of life."Zen monastery is a community of monks living and working together under the guidance of a Roshi"(Bresnan 439). Founders of Zen monastery remotely located in an "out-of-the-way place," meaning an ordinary place that passes over by others and where the environment is naturally undisturbed from human life. 

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Monk Meditating
Japanese culture has been powerfully influenced by Zen Buddhism. One major influence from China to Japan was the style of painting. "The art of Chinese landscape painting took root in Japan and flourished there"(Bresnan 455). Japanese artists favored scenery of nature in which harmony of nature is clearly emphasized. But the Japanese also express is the "painting by no painting" in which the artist/painter leaves a display of clean white portrait that portrays life and energy. Clearly, Zen Buddhism has reshaped Japan's culture and styles to modern-day Japan. 

Work Cited:
Bresnan, Patrick. Awakening: An Introduction to the History of Eastern Thought. Upper Saddle  River, N.J: Prentice Hall, 1999. Print.

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