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 A review of the early historical documents and literature of early Zen masters clearly reveals that they were well versed in numerous Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtras, including Madhyamaka.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
Reality in Buddhism Reality in Buddhism Reality in Buddhism is called "dharma" (Sanskrit) or "dhamma" (Pali). This word, which is foundational to the conceptual frameworks of the Indian religions, refers in Buddhism to the system of natural laws which constitute the natural order of things. "Dharma" is therefore reality as-it-is ("yatha-bhuta"). The teaching of Gautama Buddha constituting as it does a method by which people can come out of their condition of suffering ("dukkha") involves developing an awareness of reality ("see" mindfulness). Buddhism thus seeks to address any disparity between a person's view of reality and the actual state of things. This is