Questions to Master Deshimaru

Question

At what point in the history of Buddhism did Zen begin?

Answer

When Buddha woke up under the Bodhi tree. Afterward it was influenced very strongly by traditional Indian philosophies and religions, and it hardened into scholasticism and asceticism, as in the case of the Theravada system. After that, Bodhidharma left India to transplant the true Zen into new soil, in China. And then Buddhism grew old in China, just as it is declining today in Japan. The essence of Buddhism is the posture of zazen. But in China and Japan zazen is no longer being practiced and that is why I have brought it again to fresh ground here in Europe.