SO TO ZEN - Shasta Abbey

. Development in Zen 119monasteries. The center point of the Zen monasteries is thezend‡ or sod‡ (meditation hall or monksÕ hall) in which serenereflection meditation is practiced. There is also a Hatt‡ orLecture Hall where the Buddha Dharma is taught by Zenmasters as representatives of the Buddhas and Ancestors.The sixth Ancestor of the Zen School is known in historyasHui-neng(J. En‡).Through his efforts, Zen wasfinally turnedinto a thoroughly Chinese school capable of reaching thecommon people. Hui-neng had a great number of disciples,but among them two are outstanding: Nan-yüeh Huaijang(J. Nangaku Ej‡, 677Ð744) and ChÕing-yuan Hsing-ssu(J. Seigen Gy‡shi, ?Ð740). The two schools of Zen founded byLin-chi (J. Rinzai) and Wei-yang (J. Igy‡) belong to the schoolof Nan-yüeh, while the three schools TsÕao-Tung (J. S‡t‡),Yün-men (J. Ummon), and Fa-yen (J. H‡gen) stem from theChÕing-yuan line. These are collectively known as the FiveHouses of Zen. Lin-chi is famous for his sharp wits and freedomof style. A sudden identity between master and discipleengaged in a serious exchange of questions and answers is characteristicof the Wei-yang School. TsÕao-Tung aims at the harmonizationof understanding and action by putting a strongemphasis on the manifestation of meditation in every activity(J. gy‡ji). It utilized the divination techniques * that flourishedin the Tang Dynasty and taught the theory of the Five Ranks(C.wuwei, J.goi). The Yün-men School achieves the cessation