Zen school A reference to the Chinese Ch’an school and the Japanese Zen school. A school that maintains that enlightenment is not to be found in the pursuit of doctrinal studies but rather in the direct perception of one’s mind through the practice of seated meditation. Bodhidharma is regarded as the founder. In Japan, Zen enjoyed great favor with the Hōjō regents in the early Kamakura period (1185–1333), when Eisai went to Sung China and brought back the teachings of the Lin-chi (Jpn Rinzai) school of Zen.