Buddhism Zen Buddhism is divided into two main schools: Rinzai (臨済宗) and Sōtō (曹洞宗), the former greatly favouring the use in meditation on the koan (公案, a meditative riddle or puzzle) as a device for spiritual break-through, and the latter (while certainly employing koans) focusing more on "shikantaza" or "just sitting". Zen Buddhism is primarily found in Japan, with some presence in South Korea and Vietnam. The scholars of Japanese Soto Zen tradition in recent times have critiqued the mainstream Japanese Buddhism for "dhatu-vada", that is assuming things have substantiality, a view they assert to be non-Buddhist and "out of tune
History of Buddhism the Chinese monk Xuanzang traveled to India, bringing back 657 Buddhist texts along with relics and statues. He established a famed translation school in the Tang capital of Chang'an (today's Xi'an), focusing on Yogacara school texts. Also during the Tang, Chinese Esoteric Buddhism was introduced from India. The Tang dynasty also saw the growth of Chan Buddhism (Zen), with the great Zen masters such as Mazu Daoyi and Linji Yixuan. In the later Tang, Chinese Buddhism suffered a setback during the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution of 845. Buddhism recovered during the Song Dynasty (960–1279), which is known as the "golden age"