Kanna Zen Jap. (Chin., K’an-hua-ch’an), lit. “Zen of the contemplation of words” ; an expression coined in the lifetime of the Chinese master Ta-hui Tsung-kao (Jap., Daie Sōkō, 1089-1163) to designate the style of Ch’an (Zen) that regarded the kōan as the most important means of training on the way to awakening (enlightenment, kenshō , satori).
Kōans were used as a means of training starting from the middle of the 10th century; however Ta-hui, a student and dharma successor (hassu) of Yuan-wu K’o-ch’in (Jap., Engo Kokugon), the compiler of the Pi-yen-lu, contributed significantly to the establishment of kōan practice as a means of training in the Rinzai school as well as to the definitive form it took. Since that time kanna Zen has been practically synonymous with the Zen of the Rinzai lineage. The practice of the Sōtō school became known as mokushō Zen.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
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