(Literally: “palms together.”) A mudra, or hand positon, expressing nonduality. The palms are joined so that the fingertips are at…
The Buddha’s motivation for leaving his home and taking up a spiritual life was to understand duhkha (suffering) and find…
Four Noble Truths
The timekeeper who sounds the han or densho, announcing service and zazen, and plays the mokugyo or drum during service.
Fukudo
The dedication chanted at the end of a ceremony, dedicating the merit and energy of our practice to all beings,…
Eko
The Eightfold path was given by the Buddha as part of the Four Noble Truths and as such, as the…
Eightfold Path
The priest who officiates at zazen, service, or ceremonies by offering incense and leading prostrations and bows.
Doshi
Dokusan is the Japanese term for “going alone to a respected one;” a formal and private face-to-face meeting with a…
Dokusan
Literally: the room or hall (do-) of the way (-jo). Dojo is often used interchangeably with zendo, however, the ‘way’…
Dōjō
The group of people who serve in temple roles, including the dōan, the fukudo, the chiden, the jiko, and the…
Dōan-ryo
This the Sōtō Zen term for one who rings bells in the zendo. At AZC, our dōan acts as timekeeper…
Dōan
The dharma (almost as difficult to define as Zen) is thought of variously as the Way, the Path, Cosmic Law…
Dharma
The large bell hanging outside of the zendo, used to announce the time for services and ceremonies.
Denshō
The person who takes care of altars. The chiden cleans the censors, makes sure incense is available for ceremonies, and…
Chiden
The Chinese word for Zen. The word ch’an predates the Japanese word Zen, of course, since Zen originated in China…
Ch’an
An awakened or enlightened being who renounces the experience of nirvana in order to remain with unenlightened beings and to…