Japanese Zen and the Zen priest's function has largely been reduced to officiating at funerals, a practice sarcastically referred to in Japan as . For example, the Sōtō school published statistics stating that 80 percent of laity visited temples only for reasons having to do with funerals and death. Mahayana Buddhism teaches śūnyatā, "emptiness", which is also emphasized by Zen. But another important doctrine is the buddha-nature, the idea that all human beings have the possibility to awaken. All living creatures are supposed to have the Buddha-nature, but don't realize this as long as they are not awakened. The doctrine of an
Buddhism in Costa Rica altars among Chinese merchants in the early 20 century Puntarenas. Another source of Buddhism in the country was the Theosophical Society, popular among important members of the economic and intellectual elite. Among the poets and theosophists that wrote Buddhist-influenced poetry are Roberto Brenes Mesén and José Basileo Acuña Zeledón. However one of the first Buddhist temples made in the country was the Casa Zen (Zen House) of Costa Rica created in 1974 with support of the Japanese government, followed by the first Dharma Center of Tibetan Buddhism of the Gelug tradition founded in 1989 after the Dalai Lama's first visit