SO TO ZEN - Shasta Abbey

The Origin and Development of Zen 33and Fa-yen, by a practical use of the sayings of the masters todispel immediately all the illusions which disturb the Buddhiststudent.The Huang-lung (J. Ory‡) School was founded by Huinan(J. Enan), who was a disciple of TzÕu-ming ChÕu-yuan(J. Jimyo Soen), who was a sixth generation disciple of Lin-chiin a direct line. Fang-hui (J. H‡e), a disciple of TzÕu-ming,founded the Yang-chÕi School (J. Y‡gi). Kanna Zen, or K‡anZen as it is also termed, is Buddhist meditation practice whichcenters around the k‡an, a brief story about an individualÕssearch for enlightenment, often marked by irrelevancies andcontradictions. This practice began to flourish under Ta-huiTsung-kao (J. Daie S‡k‡, 1089Ð1163), who belonged to theLin-chi School. Quiet, meditative Zen (J. Mokush‡ Zen) wasadvocated by Hung-chih Cheng-chueh (J. Wanshi Sh‡kaku,1091Ð1157). K‡an is a portmanteau word made from the twowords k‡fu (C. kung-fu, ÒgovernmentÓ) and antoku (C. an-tu,Òrecords, legal caseÓ) and indicates a precedent or model. Theword ÒgovernmentÓ lends authority to the precedent. The k‡anis a convenient exercise for the student to practice in amonastery. However, when this comes to be practiced generally,it exposes Buddhism to the danger of becoming a patchworkstructure made up of nothing but k‡an built upon k‡an andmay lead to the loss of the vital spirit of Sudden Enlightenmentand Direct Entrance (J. tongo jikiny‰). The quiet, meditative