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
Abbot (Buddhism) Abbess also has spiritual responsibility for the monastics under their care, and is required to interact with the abbots or abbesses of other monasteries. Asian countries where Buddhism is still widely practiced have words in their own languages for the abbot of a Buddhist monastery or large temple: in Chinese Chan Buddhist monasteries, one word for abbot is "Fangzhang" meaning "ten feet square", a reference to the size of Vimalakirti's stone room. Another Chinese word for abbot is "Zhuchi"(住持), meaning dweller and upholder. In Zen Buddhism, the most commonly used Japanese words for the abbot of a large Zen temple