生なま禅ぜん

noun

self-styled Zen; dabbling in Zen; sciolism

Refers to shallow, self-proclaimed Zen practice or knowledge, often contrasted with genuine understanding. The term carries a negative connotation of superficiality. Compare 野狐禅 (やこぜん), which also denotes false or misguided Zen.

See also: 野狐禅

• 彼かれの禅ぜんの話はなしは所しょ詮せん生なま禅ぜんに過すぎない。

  His talk about Zen is, after all, nothing more than self-styled Zen.

• 生なま禅ぜんに陥おちいらないように、きちんと師しについて修しゅ行ぎょうしなさい。

  To avoid falling into dabbling in Zen, train properly under a teacher.