zen

Noun (1)

zen (uncountable)

1. Synonym of enlightenment, particularly the kind acquired through Zen meditation.

   Synonyms:

   enlightenment, particularly the kind acquired through Zen meditation

2. An approach to instruction, understanding, or an activity similarly emphasizing simplicity and intuition rather than conventional thinking or fixation on goals.
   • the zen of cooking
   • the zen of passing the bar exam

   Synonyms:

   tao

Adjective (1)

zen (comparative more zen, superlative most zen)

1. (colloquial) Wise, displaying enlightenment or similar wisdom, insightful, unburdened and free of worries, extremely relaxed and capable.

Proper noun capitalized: Zen

IPA/zɛn/

Zen

1. A school of Mahayana Buddhism characterized by sudden enlightenment achieved by indirect means and principally associated with China and Japan.
   • For Orientals these mysterious formulae are clear and familiar truths, but for us they are completely bewildering... Dhyana Buddhism, which is known in Japan as "Zen"... is not speculation at all but immediate experience of what, as the bottomless ground of Being, cannot be apprehended by...1953, Richard Francis Carrington Hull translating Eugen Herrigel's Zen in the Art of Archery, p. 3
   • Philosophical mysticism, the idea that truth is indefinable and can be apprehended only by nonrational means, has been with us since the beginning of history. It's the basis of Zen practice.1974, Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, page 235

Noun (2) capitalized: Zen

IPA/zɛn/

Zen (uncountable)

1. Alternative letter-case form of zen: (religion) enlightenment and (informal) mindful action, instruction, or behavior considered similar to Zen.
   • Hōyen... used to produce his own hand and ask his disciples, why it was called a hand? When we know the reason, there is satori and we have Zen.1934, Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, page 102

Adjective (2) capitalized: Zen

IPA/zɛn/

Zen (comparative more Zen, superlative most Zen)

1. Of or related to Zen Buddhism.
   • Zen meditation
   • Zen monk
2. (colloquial) Alternative letter-case form of zen.
   • "It sounds very Zen," I said. "A log cabin with no logs."2010, Martin Avery et al., Zen Forest
   • Part of him is still so much the newbie, amazed to find this place of sand and sun stuck onto the ass end of the greatest city in the world, but the rest of him has relaxed into acceptance already. He's Zen like that.2020, N. K. Jemisin, The City We Became, Orbit, page 431