List of Dune Religions - Zen Hekiganshu

Zen Hekiganshu

This is Herbert's rendering of the Hekiganroku, a Chinese collection of Zen (i.e. Chan) koans compiled in China during the Song dynasty in 1125, which formed the basis of an associated cult in the Dune cosmos (or so we may infer). Curiously, Herbert renders the roku ending as shu, which appears to be the character 書, meaning "document" and is notably used in the alternate title for the Classic of History, Shangshu. Thus, in traditional Chinese the phrase Zen Hekiganshu would be Chán Bìyánshū (禪 碧巖書). The connection between Buddhislam and this sect is unexplained, but contextually, the inference is that the Zen Hekiganshu tradition rejected any fusion with Islam, thus retaining its purity and minority status.