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
Why Buddhism Is True Washington Post" gave a more mixed review, stating that "while [Wright] does not make a fully convincing case for some of his more grandiose claims about truth and freedom, his argument contains many interesting and illuminating points." Why Buddhism Is True Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment is a 2017 book by journalist and evolutionary psychologist Robert Wright. As of August 2017, the book had peaked at "The New York Times" No. 4 bestseller in hardcover nonfiction. In "Why Buddhism is True", Wright advocates a secular, Westernized form of Buddhism focusing on the practice