Dictionary Definition :
Definition[1]
:
zengyō (Japanese). This term can have several meanings, depending upon the Chinese characters with which it is written.
1. ‘Gradual teachings’ in several different classificatory schemes, such as ‘sudden teaching’ versus ‘gradual teaching’, or as the ‘gradual method’ in the T'ien-t'ai Tendai schema of doctrinal classification (Chinese, p'an-chiao).
2. ‘Zen practice’, or the practice of meditation and kōan study in the zen school.
3. ‘Good opportunity’; as a contraction of ‘zengyō hōben’, it indicates a good opportunity for the practice of skilful means (upāya-kauśalya), a chance to present Buddhist teaching to someone or to spur their practice according to their capacities and inclinations.
Source
:
A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2003, 2004 (which is available in electronic version from answer.com)