Zazen is the focus on meditation within the Zen Buddhist tradition. Zen is simply one version of the Buddhist religion which traces it roots back to the the founding of the faith in India around 500 BCE.. Zen began to develop in earnest when one of its most famous teachers, Bodhidharma, arrived in China around 475 CE.
Zen continued to evolve over the centuries and around 1200 CE received another of its greatest teachers, Dogen. He founded the Soto sect of Zen in Japan which emphasized zazen and the ability of all humanity to understand its way. Dogen greatly influenced both Zen Buddhism and Japanese culture in later centuries.
