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
Zen Song Dynasty, which established a strong central government. During the Song Dynasty, Chán (禪) was used by the government to strengthen its control over the country and Chán grew to become the largest sect in Chinese Buddhism. An ideal picture of the Chán of the Tang period was produced which served the legacy of this newly acquired status, and the period of the Tang Dynasty came to be regarded as the "golden age" of Chan. With the establishment of the Wu-shan (Gozan) system during the Southern Sung, the Chinese bureaucratic system entered into Zen temples throughout the country, and a