The story goes that one day the Buddha sat silently twirling a flower between thumb and forefinger. One of his followers smiled at this, and the Buddha handed him the flower saying something like "With this flower I transmit to you the high truth".
Zen claims a direct transmission outside the sutras. This transmission is that of Enlightenment. Buddhism is to Enlightenment as a lantern is to a candle. The lantern protects the candle from vagaries of environment that the light be not extinguished. In Zen we find the candle ignited by the spark that was the historical Buddha becoming a self sustaining flame. Technologies of being evolving through centuries resulted in what is known as Zen, and now Zen has evolved to free its self from its religious cocoon and light the fire of Enlightenment in modern minds. The advancements of secular knowledge have created a rich nest of kindling that the right touch of meditation will bring to incandescence.
The What that is the Who is pure Awareness.
Meditate.
