Zen personal trouble or crisis. Though Zen-narrative states that it is a "special transmission outside scriptures" which "did not stand upon words", Zen does have a rich doctrinal background, which is firmly grounded in the Buddhist tradition. It was thoroughly influenced by the Chinese understanding of Yogacara and the Buddha-nature doctrine, Zen integrates both Yogacara and Madhyamaka and the influence of Madhyamaka can be discerned in the stress on non-conceptual insight and the paradoxical language of the koans. Most essential are "the most fundamental teaching that we are already originally enlightened", and the Bodhisattva ideal, which supplements insight with Karuṇā, compassion
Buddhism in the West spiritual bankruptcy and complexity of Western life. In 1959, a Japanese teacher, Shunryu Suzuki, arrived in San Francisco. At the time of Suzuki's arrival, Zen had become a hot topic among some groups in the United States, especially beatniks. Suzuki's classes were filled with those wanting to learn more about Buddhism, and the presence of a Zen master inspired the students. Shunryu Suzuki's "Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind" (1970), quickly became one of America's Buddhist classics. He founded the San Francisco Zen Center during the middle of the 60s counterculture (1962). Another influential figure is the reformer Hakuun Yasutani, who founded