meditation ［禅・禅定］ ( dhyāna; Pali jhāna;  zen or zenjō): The practice of focusing the mind on one point in order to purify the spirit, eradicate illusions, and perceive the truth. Meditation was practiced widely in India before Shakyamuni, and was later incorporated into Buddhism, which developed its own forms and approaches. In Mahayana Buddhism, dhyāna, meaning meditation, is the fifth of the six pāramitās, six practices required of Mahayana bodhisattvas. In China, T’ien-t’ai (538–597) established a system of meditative practice he named “concentration and insight.” China also saw the appearance of the Ch’an, or Zen, school, which places primary emphasis on meditation as the practice for attaining enlightenment. See also seated meditation; Zen school.