Zen was at first a purely personal discipline, non-monastic, non-ethical, not demanding the acceptance of any Scripture or any tradition. In modern Japan it has to some extent regained this character. In China the habit of quoting written authority was too strong to be easily discarded. The Zen masters soon began to answer difficult questions by quoting from the Buddhist Scriptures. Convenience dictated that practicants of Zen should live in communities and monasticism was soon established in their sect, as in every other sect of Buddhism. Questions of conduct arose, and Zen was squared with the contemporary ethical outlook; though in medieval Japanese literature wicked and cynical persons are generally depicted as adepts of Zen. Bodhidharma denied the existence of Good and Evil; but it was pointed out by later apologists that the Zen adept, having viewed the Absolute, is convinced of the unreality and futility of those pleasures and possessions which are the incentive to sin. The Zen practicant, though he makes no moral effort, nevertheless is certain not to sin, because he is certain not to be tempted. Finally, Zen forged itself a tradition. Probably during the eleventh century a Scripture[5] was fabricated which recounts how once when Buddha was preaching, he plucked a flower and smiled. Only the disciple Kāshyapa understood the significance of this act. Between him and the Buddha there passed a wordless communication of Absolute Truths. This communication was silently passed on by Kāshyapa to his disciple, and so ultimately to Bodhidharma, who brought it to China. [5] _Dai Bonten Monbutsu Ketsugi Kyō._ The method of teaching by symbolic acts (such as the plucking of a flower) was extensively used by the Zen masters. For example, when a disciple asked Enkwan a question about the nature of Buddha, he answered, “Bring me a clean bowl.” When the priest brought the bowl, the master said, “Now put it back where you found it.” He signified that the priest’s questionings must return to their proper place, the questioner’s heart, from which alone spiritual knowledge can be obtained.