what is the definition of boedism and what is the difference with zen?

Answer 1

Boedism, as far as I unerstand, is the germanic spelling. In english it's "Buddhism". When Buddhism spread from India into China, the most important aspect, the meditative practices, were not taken, only the texts. When these practices did finally reach China, the Sankrit word for meditation (dhyan) was pronounced "Chan". Upon reaching Japan, the word Chan became Zen. There are many Buddhist sects that do not meditate, or put more emphasis on scritpural authority. The Chan/Zen school puts more emphasis on actual personal experience in and from meditation, and only uses the framework of Buddhism as a backdrop to help one understand those expereinces. As the Zen saying goes, "If you meet the Buddha on the path, kill him."

Answer 2

Zen is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism which strongly emphasizes the practice of moment-by-moment awareness and of 'seeing deeply into the nature of things' by direct experience. Zen emerged as a distinct school in China and spread to Vietnam, Korea, Japan, and, in modern times, the rest of the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen

Answer 3

It is spelled Buddhism not Boedism. There is no difference. Zen is part of Buddhism like Shinto. They only existed in different places because each has some kind of different phase of practicing Buddhism. And Neil S has already explained it well.