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 José (Karma Kagyu lineage) and a Lingmincha Center of the Nyingma-Bon tradition. The Casa Zen of Costa Rica center is located in Santo Domingo, Heredia. There are also temples of Theravada, Shaolin and a Chinese Buddhism Pagoda. Buddhism in Costa Rica Costa Rica has more Buddhists than the other countries in Central America with almost 100,000 (2.34% of total population), followed closely by Panama, with almost 70,000 (2.1% of total population). Buddhism was introduced in the country for the first time by Chinese immigrants during the early 19th and 20th century, but an important part of these migrants later became