SO TO ZEN - Shasta Abbey

d. What is Serene Reflection Meditation? 127of the k‡an, a classic dialogue between master and disciplewhich at times may appear quite irrational or irrelevant, butwhich ends in the enlightenment of the disciple. Enlightenmentis sought by meditation on the k‡an. The Serene ReflectionSchool, although it is the largest of the meditation schools inJapan and has penetrated deeply into the hearts of the people, islittle known abroad; however, there are increasing signs that itwill become better known in the West. Serene reflection claimsdescent from ChÕing-yuan Hsing-ssu (J. Seigen Gy‡shi), adisciple of the Sixth Ancestor Hui-neng (J. Daikan En‡). TungshanLian-chieh (J. T‡zan Ry‡kai, 807Ð869 C.E.) who camethree generations after ChÕing-yuan (J. Seigen Gy‡shi), and hisdisciple TsÕao-shan Pen-chi (J. S‡zan Honjaku, 840Ð901 C.E.)are considered founders of the S‡t‡ School in China.In the Sayings of Tung-shan (J. T‡zan Ry‡kai) the originof the name of the school is explained as follows: ÒAs theprofound style of Tung-shan made itself felt in all parts of theEmpire, masters of the school, in order to show their respect forhim, call the school the Tung-TsÕao (T‡s‡) school.Ó TÕung-TsÕao (J. T‡s‡) appears to have been the name by which theTsÕao-Tung (J. S‡t‡) School was first known. Later the characterswere reversed for euphonic reasons. This took place not toolong after the death of TsÕao-shan (J. S‡zan), which probablyoccurred about 915 C.E. According to another theory, however,the name came from TsÕao-chi Hui-neng (J. S‡kei En‡) and