In its teachings, Chan emphasized the nonduality (unity) of form and emptiness, like Tiantai.
Also like Tiantai, Chan taught that all being have a Buddha-nature in them. The task for Chan practitioners, then, was to find a way to awaken that Buddha-nature.
Rather than taking a very gradual approach to awakening the Buddha-nature over many lifetimes through meditation and scriptural study, Chan Buddhism employed gong’an and religious shock therapy (shouting and beating) as a “short cut” to help the practitioner attain enlightenment quickly.