At the heart of all  genuine religions, profound philosophies and increasingly sophisticated  psychotherapies, lies the recognition that a nameless, unitary essence defines,  contains and creates all things; all phenomenon, all ideas, all existence. The  mystics and the wise, both religious and secular, have understood and tried to  explain this. But the difficulties in doing so reveal that this underlying  essence cannot be known through words or conceptions. The beauty and power of  Chan is that it points beyond these words, suggests much more behind any  conception.