Zen is not Japanese BUddhist teaching, techinically the lineage can
be traced to Bodhidharma who came to CHina to impart the school of
Zen.
but the jap embrace it...jap is original from China too. The
Chinese took the wrong interpretation of his teaching and when it
reached japan, it was reinterpreted to suit their society.
It help the jap society to rise up from poverty, if you are zen
zen poor, try to learn, educate, work and continous
improve yourself to reach the status of rich. It is thru Zen that
the japanese get motivated to strife for the best, Honda, Toyota,
and many things that they produced are out of Zen reality believe
and get motivated with tolerances, endurances and the do or
die attitude.
The Chinese or other typical asia people just depend on Buddha,
praying and praying for luck, goodness and happiness, but most dun
help themselves to alleviate their motivation and braincells to
achieve what they wish for, so in the end, they keep on
praying.