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 A review of the early historical documents and literature of early Zen masters clearly reveals that they were well versed in numerous Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtras, including Madhyamaka.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
Zen Narratives "grand saga" of Zen appears not to be an accurate historical documentation, but a skillfully created narrative, meant to lend authority to the Zen school. The consequences of this critical narrative seem hardly to be recognized in the Western world. The romantic notion of enlightenment as a timeless insight into a transcendental essence has been thoroughly criticized. According to critics it doesn't contribute to a real insight into Buddhism: The introduction of Zen in the West has been accompanied by problems which seem to be connected to this "grand saga". The teacher scandals which have occurred in Western Zen have