Zarathushtra

Name of the prophet who was a reformer (or founder) of the Mazdean tradition in the first or second millennium BCE.

zazen

Discipline of sitting meditation, emphasized by Zen Buddhists.

Zen

Name for the "meditation" school in Japan; this Buddhist tradition goes by various names in East Asia that represent transliterations of the Sanskrit term dhyāna, including   Chan in China, Sŏn in Korea, Thiên in Vietnam, and this one in Japan.

Zhou

The ancient Chinese dynasty from the Wei River area; they claimed that Heaven (Tian) had given them a mandate to rule. 

Zhu Xi

1130-1200) Chinese philosopher, often considered the third great Confucian thinker, who worked to purify Confucian tradition of Daoist and Buddhist elements; he is credited with bringing the School of Principle to its highest point, and influencing the course of Neo-Confucian thought in Korea and Japan.

Zhuang-zi

(360?-280?) Daoist thinker who lived at the same time as Mencius; his collection of essays incorporates humor and an incisive critique of society; he taught that rulers should not meddle, and that a true jun-zi could anticipate the ill-effects of his meddlesome actions.

Zhuang-zi

Chinese Daoist classic attributed to Zhuang-zi.