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 A review of the early historical documents and literature of early Zen masters clearly reveals that they were well versed in numerous Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtras, including Madhyamaka.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
An Introduction to Zen Buddhism An Introduction to Zen Buddhism An Introduction to Zen Buddhism is a 1934 book about Zen Buddhism by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki. First published in Kyoto by the Eastern Buddhist Society, it was soon published in other nations and languages, with an added preface by Carl Jung. The book has come to be regarded as "one of the most influential books on Zen in the West". The book grew out of Suzuki's 1914 publications for the Japanese journal "New East". Although the editor, Robertson Scott, suggested that Suzuki publish them in book form, he did not decide to do so until