The Prajna nature of Chan is inherently immutable; therefore, there is not any so-called transformation with the thoughts of Chan. Due to the immutable nature of Chan, those ko-ans and wits employed to interpret its nature and instruct the students about Chan are always everlasting, as the main points of "Prajna Chan" rendered by those ko-ans and wits are changeless. But throughout the circulation of its different sects, the thoughts of Chan would vary due to the differences in the masters' ability and wisdom. The transformation of the thoughts of Chan is a result of these masters' diverse claims about its immanence. Tsao-Tong Chan, founded by Tong-shan Liang-jia and Tsao-shan Ben-ji, is a branch of the Chinese Chan School. The earliest masters still stuck to the themes of Tsao-Tong Chan when they taught the way of Chan. And yet, later on, some masters misunderstood the founding way of Chan of the Tsao-Tong Sect and failed to maintain its nature, which brought about the transformation of the thoughts of Tsao-Tong Chan. If one defines Tsao-Tong Chan as the way of Chan founded according to Tong-shan Liang-jia and Tsao-shan Ben-ji's themes, anything defecting from these themes shouldn't be called Tsao-Tong Chan anymore. And yet if Tsao-Tong Chan is defined as the sect of thought constructed by generations of masters of the Tsao-Tong Sect, it is fair to say that Tsao-Tong Chan has somewhat changed and evolved. But what has transformed is not the thoughts and claims of Tsao-shan and Tong-shan but those of their successors. However, in either case, all the thoughts and doctrines of the Tsao-Tong Sect always revolve around Prajna Chan and Samadhi Chan.
