---24. Do-gen.

The O Baku School is the amalgamation of Zen and the worship of
Amitabha, and different from the other two schools. The statistics
for 1911 give the following figures:

The Number of Temples:

The So To School 14,255
The Rin Zai School 6,128
The O Baku School 546

The Number of Teachers:

The So To School 9,576
The Rin Zai School 4,523
The O Baku School 349


It was also in this period that Zen gained a great influence on the
popular literature characterized by the shortest form of poetical
composition. This was done through the genius of Ba-sho,[FN#105] a
great literary man, recluse and traveller, who, as his writings show
us, made no small progress in the study of Zen. Again, it was made
use of by the teachers of popular[FN#106] ethics, who did a great
deal in the education of the lower classes. In this way Zen and its
peculiar taste gradually found its way into the arts of peace, such
as literature, fine art, tea-ceremony, cookery, gardening,
architecture, and at last it has permeated through every fibre of
Japanese life.