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　　   Origins of the Term Tso-ch'an
　　  
　　　　  The Chinese term tso-ch'an 坐禅（ zazen ） was in
　　   use among  Buddhist  practitioners   even  before  the
　　   appearance of the Ch'an (Zen) School. Embedded in the
　　   term  is the word  ch'an, a derivative  of the Indian
　　   dhyana, which  is the  yogic   practice  of  attaining
　　   samadhi  in  meditation.   Literally  translated, tso-
　　   ch'an means "sitting  ch'an"   and has a comprehensive
　　   and a specific  meaning.  The   comprehensive  meaning
　　   refers  to any type of meditation   practice  based on
　　   taking  the  sitting  posture.   The specific  meaning
　　   refers to the methods  of practice   that characterize
　　   Ch'an Buddhism.
　　　　  The earliest Chinese   translations  of  Buddhist
　　   sutras that describe methods of samadhi appear around
　　   the end of the second century A.D. The most famous
　　   of these was the Tso-ch'an ching 坐禅经, The Sutra of
　　   Sitting Ch'an, translated  by K'ang Seng-hui  康僧会.
　　   In  the  beginning   of   the  fifth   century   A.D.,
　　   Kumarajiva  鸠摩罗什  translated   a large  number  of
　　   sutras on the practice  of samadhi.   One of these was
　　   the Tso-ch'an san-mei ching 坐禅三昧经.   The Sutra on
　　   Tso-ch'an  and Samadhi.  So we see that the term tso-
　　   ch'an was used in China as early as the second   cent-
　　   ury, and there  are at least two sutras   that use the
　　   term in their titles.  We know that many monks during
　　   this time practiced  tso-ch'an  to achieve samadhi in
　　   the Indian tradition.  This is especially revealed in
　　   the chapter  Hsi-ch'an  p'ien   习禅篇, On Cultivating
　　   Ch'an, in the Kao-seng  chuan 高僧传, The Biographies
　　   of Eminent Monks.  This was compiled in the Liang Dy-
　　   nasty 梁朝 (502-557).
　　　　  During the Sui Dynasty 隋朝 (589-617) the T'ien-
　　   t'ai 天台 master Chin-I 智顗wrote the   Hsiao  chin-
　　   kuan 小止观. The Minor
　　  
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　　   Treatise on Samatha-Vipasyana.  In   it  he describes
　　   tso-ch'an in terms of three aspects: how to regulate
　　   one's body, one's breath, and one's mind. In the
　　   section on regulating the body, the posture of sitting
　　   meditation is the most important factor. In a later
　　   work called Ta chih-kuan 摩诃止观, The Major Treatise
　　　　 on Samatha-Vipasyana, he described   four  methods
　　   to attain samadhi. The first method is called samadhi
　　　　 Through Constant  Sitting 常坐三昧,  the  second,