How does Daishonin Buddhism (SGI) differ from Zen Buddhism?

Question

In spirit? In practice?

I know that there is considerably more chanting involved with SGI but that's all i know...

also, are there any other denominations of Buddhism that I should know about?

Answer 1

Theravada, the "Doctrine of the Elders," is the school of Buddhism that draws its scriptural inspiration from the Tipitaka, or Pali Canon, which scholars generally agree contains the earliest surviving record of the Buddha's teachings. For many centuries, Theravada has been the predominant religion of continental Southeast Asia (Thailand, Myanmar/Burma, Cambodia, and Laos) and Sri Lanka. Today Theravada Buddhists number well over 100 million worldwide. In recent decades Theravada has begun to take root in the West.

Theravada emphasizes the life of the monk and serious meditation practices that demand extended time and isolation which became difficult for millions and as Buddhism moved into new countries outside India it also had to compete with other religions. A new strand developed which was known as Mahayana.

Mahayan accommodated and change it’s religious beliefs and practices to the religious expectations and ideas of people. They moved away from considering monks as the only elite and beyond the monastery. The Mahayan interpreted and transformed the Buddha and his teachings into divine being of personal nature and transcendence.
Variants of Mahayana Buddhism:
Tibetan Buddhism
Zen/ Ch'an Buddhism
Pure Land Buddhism
Nichiren Buddhism
Tentai Buddhism
Yogachara Buddhism
Avatamsaka Buddhism
Madhyamika Buddhism

Nichiren: These teachings are based on those of the Lotus Sutra, the title of which alone, according to Nichiren, contains the essence of all the Buddhist teachings and the correct path to attaining enlightenment. The practice advocated by Nichiren consists in reciting the formula, "Nam myoho renge-kyo."
The Japanese word "Gongyo" literally means "assiduous practice." Generally speaking it means to recite Buddhist sutras in front of an object of worship. In the practice of Nichiren Buddhism it means reciting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, and part of the second chapter "Hoben" and the entire sixteenth "Juryo" chapter of the Lotus Sutra in front of the Gohonzon. This is the fundamental practice of Nichiren Buddhism, which is performed morning and evening.

zen: Developed from CH’an a school of Chinese Buddhism formed in the Seventh century from a blend of Taoism (Chinese philosophy outlined in the TaoTeChing). It aims is to achieve harmony with all that is by pursuing inaction and effortless) and Mahayana teachings. The school stressed experience rather than learning. One of the heroes of Zen is the fierce – looking Indian monk Boddhidharma who brought Buddhism to China.

Absolute faith is placed in a person’s own inner being. Zen came to Japan in the 13th century five centuries after the orthodox forms of Buddhism. It appealed because of its emphasis on the uselessness of words and the insistence of action without thought.

Zen teaches the possibility of enlightenment in the here and now, unlike the tendency that have developed in other strands of Buddhism as far off goals. It teaches that enlightenment is a spontaneous event, totally independent of concepts, techniques or rituals. Zen Monks are based on doing things, learning through experience.

Esoterically regarded, Zen is not a religion but rather an indefinable, incommunicable (fukasetsu) root, free from all names, descriptions, and concepts, that can only be experienced by each individual for him- or herself. From expressed forms of this, all religions have sprung. In this sense Zen is not bound to any religion, including Buddhism. It is the primordial perfection of everything existing, designated by the most various names, experienced by all great sages, saints, and founders of religions of all cultures and times. Buddhism has referred to it as the "identity of samsara and nirvana." From this point of view zazen is not a "method" that brings people living in ignorance (avidya) to the "goal" of liberation; rather it is the immediate expression and actualization of the perfection present in every person at every moment.