Chan focuses on meditation that is able to generate instant enlightenment. There is an intrinsic awareness of reality that cannot be defined or else it will be lost. Here there is strong overlap with Taoist philosophy. There are two major schools of Chan Buddhism:

Northern School

Perhaps characterized by the statement of their 6th Patriarch.

“The body is like the Budhi tree, the mind is like a clear mirror. Take care to wipe it all the time. Allow no grain of dust to cling to it.”

The key teaching is to keep a clear mind.

Southern School

Characterized by the counter statement of one of their patriarchs.

“The Body is not like a tree, the clear mirror is not to be found. Fundamentally not one thing exists. Where then is a grain of dust to cling?”

The key teaching is to see purely.

Chan Buddhism has no emphasis on a concept of heaven, chanting the name of the Buddha or on moral teaching. Morals are considered tools for life whereas concrete reality, understood through meditation, is a tool for the ultimate.

Well-known sides of this type of Buddhism in the West include the development of physical skills and meditation on paradoxes. Chan has encouraged practitioners to become highly skilled at physical tasks. The idea is that when one masters a physical task to the point that it may be done without thinking about it then a deeper awareness of surrounding reality may be achieved. This is the background to the famous Gung Fu skills of Chinas Shaolin Monks and the well-known book in the West, “Zen and the art of Motorcycle maintenance”. Meditation on paradoxes such as the famous “what is the sound of one hand clapping?” is used to jar the mind loose from the bondage of language and enable deep mystical insights into the meaning of meaning. Chan has a strong emphasis on the present and no concept of a separation between sacred and secular,