A term that generally refers to
Islamic mystics. Unlike most
Muslims, who simply fulfill their religious duties by following the
Five Pillars of Islam, Sufis are Muslims who also (roughly) work to achieve a direct mystical union with
God.
There are many conflicting stories about the origin of the word "Sufi"; for example, the name has been associated with the Arabic word for "wool" or, according to Sufi teacher Idries Shah, linked to a meditation-word used by Sufis ("SUF").
Sufi teaching practices are similar to Zen Buddhism in many ways. For example, Sufis often emphasize that their teachings are often nonverbal and require direct transmission from master to student in face-to-face situations. Again, like Zen, Sufi teaching stories and poems can be deliberately paradoxical, humorous, crude, or even heretical (by Islamic standards).
Unlike Zen Buddhism, which usually relies on several traditional teaching methods--the monastic lifestyle, meditation, and the posing of koans--Sufis seem to use a wider range of teaching methods, including meditiation, chanting, various rituals (including the dance of the Whirling Dervishes), and anything else that a Sufi master devises.