Zen expected to become familiar with the classics of the Zen canon". A review of the early historical documents and literature of early Zen masters clearly reveals that they were well versed in numerous Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtras, including Madhyamaka. Especially the Lotus Sutra played a large role in the development of East Asian Buddhism, including Zen. Nevertheless, Zen is often pictured as anti-intellectual. This picture of Zen emerged during the Song Dynasty (960–1297), when Chán became the dominant form of Buddhism in China, and gained great popularity among the educated and literary classes of Chinese society. The use of koans, which
Buddhism in Slovakia Buddhism in Slovakia Buddhism is not officially recognized as a religion in Slovakia. The 2001 census findings included Buddhism under "other religions," so the total number of Buddhists is not known. Various Buddhist schools, including all three traditional vehicles (Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana), are active as either informal groups or civil associations. Theravada is represented by groups of vipassana practitioners. Several Zen schools, including disciples of Sando Kaisen and the Korean Kwan Um School, represent the Mahayana. Vajrayana schools include Nyingma practitioners following Namkai Norbu Rinpoche. The Diamond Way organisation founded and directed by Ole Nydahl is also active in