Zen Buddhism in Japan
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. 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 environme...