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
History of Buddhism later Kamakura period (1185-1333), there were six new Buddhist schools founded which competed with the older Nara schools and are known as "New Buddhism" or "Kamakura Buddhism." They include the influential Pure Land schools of Hōnen (1133–1212) and Shinran (1173–1263), the Rinzai and Soto schools of Zen founded by Eisai (1141–1215) and Dōgen (1200–1253) as well as the Lotus sutra school of Nichiren (1222–1282). Japanese Buddhist art was especially productive between the 8th and 13th centuries during Nara period (710-794), Heian period (794-1185) and Kamakura period (1185-1333). Buddhism, especially Zen, remained culturally influential during the Ashikaga period (1333–1573) and the