Zen Buddhism is one of several sub-schools of Mahayana Buddhism, which is itself the larger of the two major interpretations of Buddhist philosophy. Historically, Zen developed as a blend of Chinese Buddhism and Taoism. Zen exerts an unusually large influence on the world’s perception of Buddhism; its distinct practices are often the ones Western audiences first think of when the word Buddha or Buddhist is mentioned. Beyond agreement with the basic tenets of Mahayana Buddhism, Zen is distinguished by three major points of emphasis: meditation (zazen), the master-student dynamic, and the use of koans. Zen is also unique among Buddhist schools for its exceptional disdain for “typical” religious questions and an especially heavy emphasis on living in “the now.”