 The Chinese term “Huayan” means “Flower Garland” and comes from the Avatamsaka Sutra (Flower Garland Sutra), an Indian Sanskrit text. Huayan also shows the influence of the Madhyamaka doctrine of Nagarjuna, the Yogacara School, and the teachings of Awakening of Faith in Mahayana. However, Huayan is a distinctively Chinese form of Buddhism, particularly for the way that it interprets “emptiness” in terms of “interdependence” and treats the natural world as possessing intrinsic value. Huayan spread to Korea (where it was known as “Hwaeom”) and to Japan (where it was called “Kegon”). Like other forms of Chinese Buddhism, Huayan identified a series of patriarchs who allegedly transmitted the orthodox teachings of the tradition from master to disciple. Of these, the two most important are Fazang and Zongmi.