Long ago it is said that a man named Siddhartha reached enlightenment through seated Zen meditation. It was not until a great deal later, around 520 CE in the south of India, when a man named Bodhidharma, who was the third son in the royal family of India, spread Zen throughout the world. In order to spread the idea of Zen as a cornerstone of Buddhism, Bodhidharma decided to head to China. It is said that Zen was later handed down from China to Japan during the Kamakura period. Zen was adapted in Japan by applying Japanese characteristics and was colored by the background of the time period.

The difference between the age of active Samurai in the Kamakura period and nowadays is the closeness of death-- at that time many wars were fought, and death was always nearby. It was at such a time, during the Song dynasty, when two men who studied Zen in China began teaching Zen in Japan; one named Eisai who opened the Rinzai school of Buddhism, and another named Dongen who began the Soto School of Zen. Many people gathered to learn the lessons of Zen. At a time when the constant fear of death lurked nearby, Zen became a way to help people through their hardships and fears.

During the Edo period, Ingen Ryuki started the Obaku School of Zen using Chinese training methods. In recent history, famous figures such as Japanese novelists, Soseki Natsume and Toson Shimazaki have been influenced by Zen. To spread Zen outside of Japan, figures such as Daisetsu Suzuki went overseas to various countries to lecture and write books in order to relate Zen to those abroad.

In the 1950’s as capitalism was spreading in the United States, so too was the Beatnik movement with poets such as Kerouac and Snyder, who had discovered the charm of Zen.

Snyder, along with musician, John Cage, and architect, Buckmisnter Fuller, would often attend the lectures by Daisetsu Suzuki. (Cage’s influence by Zen can be seen in his experimental piece “Four Thirty Three”, which consists of 4 minutes and 33 seconds of no instruments, just the sounds of the environment). There was one more influential Zen practitioner by the name Suzuki- Toshitaka Suzuki. His book, “Zen Mind Beginner's Mind”, is said to be one of Steve Jobs’ favorite reads.

These days, MIT professor John Kabat Jin founded the Center for Mindfulness, combining Zen teachings and Western medicine to raise mindfulness and relieve stress and worries.

Mindfulness is continuing to gain attention from startups in Silicon Valley such as the global conglomerates of Google and Apple. Why do they pay attention to Zen? Rather than pursuing capitalism or materialism, there may be an increasing number of people seeking the answers to their life through Zen. People are beginning to realize that fulfillment can be achieved on one’s own, rather than by the acknowledgment of others. That is the essence of Zen.