is derived from the type of meditation which is practice. Zen is a form of Mahayan Buddhism, which believes that in a great vehicle which will take everyone to the final destination of Nirvana. Everyone is or has the ability to become a Buddha in Mahayan beliefs. This makes it look very appeasing to possible devotees. Since the Buddha believed in love and compassion, he would not leave anyone behind. Therefore nirvana is achieved through and with everyone. There does seem to be a lot more freedom involved in Mahayan and Zen beliefs then in ISKCON because one does not have a huge set of rules and guidelines, but rather has to have faith in the Buddha. I do see a lot of similarities in the Zen retreats and the ISKCON communes. They both have a definite leader who makes most of the rules and the followers that have specific monastic duties in which they perform daily.Zen members do not follow the Buddhas eight-fold path but rather emphasize more on good works. Zen seems to have broken free from more traditional Buddhist ways. Similar to ISKCON they are concerned with the orthopraxy of their ways. They are not concerned with dogmas or a lot of rituals but focus on riddles, known as koans, which are suppose to stimulate the mind. Zen is also similar to ISKCON in the way they each have a spiritual leader that heads up almost all affairs. The Zen master usually will bring up these koans in order to bring a satori or surprise to the mind, which will cause enlightenment. In Zen, reaching Nirvana or achieving enlightenment is coming to the realization that one and everything is empty.Similar to ISKCON, Zen can be very group oriented. On retreats, members have certain monastic duties that they have to perform. Zen is also very team oriented in meditation as well as in work and labor. They perform zazen, group meditation, to achieve this sense of emptiness together. This meditation is often very rigorous, and can last long hour...
