It was initially founded in China as the Caodong lineage of the Chan school of Buddhism and was later imported to Japan in the thirteenth century by Dogen Zenji, after which it was called Soto Zen. In the Soto school (曹洞宗) of Zen, Zazen, or sitting meditation, is the core of the practice. After all, Zazen was the vehicle of Buddha's Awakening. Shikantaza or "just sitting" is the essence of Soto Ze
n. There is no goal to be attained beyond the practice itself. Soto Zen practitioners do not actively seek Enlightenment or Satori (the Zen Buddhism term for enlightenment), but rather they seek to fully experience every moment; that is, to be acutely aware of every action in the here and now. As Zen Master Taisen Deshimaru once said, "Zazen has no object, it is purposeless, it only brings us back to ourselves."