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 A review of the early historical documents and literature of early Zen masters clearly reveals that they were well versed in numerous Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtras, including Madhyamaka.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
Toronto Zen Centre Graef (Dharma heir of Philip Kapleau ) is directing the centre's spiritual path while Sensei Taigen Henderson is the Abbot or Roshi of the centre. Toronto Zen Centre The Toronto Zen Centre (or, "Toronto Zen Center"), is a Sanbo Kyodan Zen Buddhist practice center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is modeled after the Rochester Zen Center. They offer introductory workshops in Zen Buddhism. The Toronto Zen Centre offers a couple of unique Buddhist course in Loving Kindness Meditation and periodically offers Mastering Breath Awareness or an MBA. Founded initially by Philip Kapleau in 1972 as the Toronto Buddhist Centre, the