Summary Fayan School is the latest Zen school that emerged in response to the new challenges facing Zen Buddhism. In the Five Dynasties era, Zen became the mainstream school in Buddhism and became gradually secularized at the same time. Among the lineage masters of the Fayan Wenyi，Xuansha Shibei (玄沙師備) put great emphasis on ascetic dhuta practices (頭陀行) and celibacy (清修)，and was a prime example of "meditation with Dharma texts in embrace" (抱本參禪). There are considerable differences between his Zen methods and those of the Rinzai School.
Fayan Wenyi inherited Xuansha's unique Zen lineage through the Guichen (桂琛)，and established a new model on this basis. Among the Zen treatises of Fayan Wenyi，the Zongmen Shigui Lun (《宗門十規論》) probably provides the best reflections on the spirit of the times. Its "union of Zen and Doctrine" concept makes it clear："If one has not studied the doctrine and commentaries, it will be difficult to see through the emotions, " and when the time comes, one will still have to "fall into the cycle of birth and death."
The arguments contained in the ten chapters of Zongmen Shigui Lun can well reflect a critique of Prajna. Each of the chapters begin with the primary objective of the Zen school and then goes on to analyze the failings of the contemporary Zen schools. The treatise puts forth the view that the different styles of the various Zen schools have their own merits, and do not negate the reality that they all belong to the Zen lineage. The treatise's use of the term "Prajna student" (學般若人) to describe practitioners is especially noteworthy. In its usage，the treatise also takes references from the Huayan School.
