Maria Kannon Zen Center listed with the American Zen Teachers Association. Maria Kannon Zen Center Maria Kannon Zen Center (MKZC) is a non-profit practice center in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition of Zen Buddhism, located in Dallas, Texas and founded in 1991 by the guiding teacher Ruben Habito (a Dharma heir of Yamada Koun). MKZC derives its name by combining the names of the Virgin Mary of Christianity and Kannon bodhisattva of Buddhism. It is actually the name of a figurine revered in Japan during Christian persecution there. Many of the MKZC members are individuals who consider themselves Christian, with Habito himself being a practicing
History of Buddhism may have arrived as early as the 3rd or 2nd century BCE via India, or alternatively during the 1st or 2nd century from China. Whatever the case, Mahayana Buddhism had been established by the second century CE in Vietnam. By the 9th century, both Pure Land and Thien (Zen) were major Vietnamese Buddhist schools. In the southern Kingdom of Champa, Hinduism, Theravada and Mahayana were all practiced until the 15th century, when an invasion from the north led to the dominance of Chinese-based forms of Buddhism. However Theravada Buddhism continues to exist in the south of Vietnam. Vietnamese Buddhism is