70. More on Zen, sutras, and philosophy:
The Hua-yen School of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy brought conceptual clarity and precision to the beautiful imagery and daring symbolism found in the Avatamsaka Sutras. Thus Indra's Net, made up of numerous gems and draped over Indra's palace, gets interpreted as representing the inter-relatedness and interpenetration of all things. The philosophy of this school, with its core meta-physical principles, was completely assimilated by the Chinese Zen masters. Indeed, not a few of the Zen koans can be read as concrete enactments of the basic Hua-yen principle that affirms sameness in difference and difference in sameness. Transmitted to Japan, the Hua-yen came to be known as the Kegon School. According to D.T. Suzuki, 'the philosophy of Zen is Kegon and the teaching of Kegon bears its fruit in the life of Zen'. This teaching of Kegon has it that all beings by nature are Buddha, that nirvana is samsara and samsara is nirvana, and that Bodhisattvas, endowed with prajna and karuna, guide all beings caught in the cycle of rebirths, to Buddhahood.
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