In the early and middle Tang dynasty, a reform movement took place within Buddhism that resulted in the formation of a new sect, the Chan school. It was not a sect that paralleled the other schools, as did the Weishi School and the Huayan School. It claimed to be a "door of acceptance" and called other sects "doors of teaching." The two terms are opposed to and juxtaposed against each other. After the Chan sect became popular, the influence of other sects gradually declined or even faded entirely, and eventually "Chan" became a synonym for the religion and study of Buddhism.
