Sandōkai 参同契

Sekitō Kisen · 700–790

The Accord of Difference and Equality. A foundational Sōtō Zen poem on the non-duality of the relative and the absolute. Chanted daily in monasteries.

Tōzan Goroku 洞山語錄

Dongshan Liangjie · 807–869 · original text

Sayings of Master Tōzan. Words and dialogues of Dongshan Liangjie, co-founder of the Caodong (Sōtō) school. Source of the Five Ranks and the Hōkyō Zanmai.

Hōkyō Zanmai 宝鏡三昧

Tōzan Ryōkai · 807–869

The Samadhi of the Jewel Mirror. A foundational poem of the Sōtō school, transmitted orally as a secret treasure, on the nature of the awakened mind.

Nyojō Goroku 如淨語錄

Tiantong Rujing · 1163–1228 · original text

Sayings of Master Nyojō. Teachings of Dōgen's Chinese master, on shinjin datsuraku and the direct practice of zazen.

Shōbōgenzō 正法眼蔵

Dōgen Zenji · c. 1231–1253 · 95 chapters

Treasury of the True Dharma Eye. The masterwork of Dōgen Zenji, one of the most philosophically profound texts in Buddhism.

Fukan Zazengi 普勸坐禪儀

Eihei Dōgen · 1227

Universal Instructions for Zazen Practice. Dōgen's first text on returning from China — the very essence of the Sōtō way in just a few pages.

Eihei Kōroku 永平廣錄

Eihei Dōgen · 1227–1252 · 10 volumes

Extensive Record of Eihei. Discourses, exchanges, koan commentaries and poems covering Dōgen's entire career as teacher and abbot.

Hōkyōki 寶慶記

Eihei Dōgen · 1223–1227

Notes of the Hōkyō Era. Dōgen's personal journal in China — intimate testimony of his encounter with Rujing and the Dharma transmission.

Kōmyōzō Zanmai 光明蔵三昧

Koun Ejō · 1198–1280 · 2nd abbot of Eiheiji

Samadhi of the Treasury of Light. A short treatise on meditation by Koun Ejō, Dōgen's successor — presenting samadhi as the very expression of enlightenment in zazen practice.

Shōbōgenzō Zuimonki 正法眼蔵随聞記

Dōgen · compiled by Koun Ejō · 1235–1238

Record of Things Heard from the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye. Dōgen's informal talks in six books — the most accessible entry point to his thought, captured by his successor Koun Ejō.

Denkōroku 伝光録

Keizan Jōkin · 1309 · 53 transmission cases

Chronicle of the Transmission of Light. Fifty-three cases of Dharma transmission, from Śākyamuni to Dōgen — the living pulse of the Sōtō lineage.

Zazen Yōjinki 坐禅用心記

Keizan Jōkin · 1268–1325

Notes on the Essential Points of Zazen. Practical and profound instructions on posture, mind, and the very nature of seated practice.

Jijuyū Zanmai 自受用三昧

Eihei Dōgen · 1200–1253

The Samadhi of Self-Fulfillment. A fascicle of the Shōbōgenzō expressing Dōgen's deepest vision: zazen as awakening itself, not as a means toward it.

Tōkai Wanki 東海丸記

Menzan Zuihō · Edo (18th c.)

Commentary on the Denkōroku by Menzan. The great Sōtō scholar of the Edo period analyzes and comments on Keizan's chronicle of transmission.

Kenzeiki 建撕記

Kenzei · Kamakura–Muromachi

Biography of Dōgen Zenji. Our primary source on the founder's life — his journey to China, his encounter with Rujing, and the founding of the Sōtō school in Japan.

Shushōgi 修証義

Dōgen Zenji · compiled 1890

The Meaning of Practice and Verification. Passages from the Shōbōgenzō compiled for lay practitioners: birth-and-death, repentance, precepts, and the four bodhisattva vows.

Shinjinmei 信心銘

Jianzhi Sengcan · Third Patriarch · died 606

Inscription on Trust in Mind. The Great Way is not difficult: stop choosing. One of the oldest poems of Chan, a radical pointer against all discrimination and dualism.

Shōdōka 証道歌

Yōka Daishi · 665–713

Song of Awakening to the Way. A long poem composed after confirmation of awakening by Huineng — a sovereign and free description of the reality of awakening.

Hannya Shingyō 般若心経

Mahāyāna tradition · trans. Xuanzang, 649

The Heart Sutra of Prajñā. In 260 characters, the essence of the teaching on emptiness: form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Chanted daily in all Zen monasteries.

Diamond Sūtra 金剛般若波羅蜜經

Mahāyāna · India · trans. Kumārajīva, 401

The sutra that awakened Huineng — the wisdom that cuts like a diamond.

Triṁśikā 唯識三十頌

Vasubandhu · 4th–5th c.

Thirty stanzas on consciousness-only — the quintessence of the Yogācāra school.

Mūlamadhyamakakārikā 中論頌

Nāgārjuna · c. 150–250

The stanzas of the Middle Way — excerpts from the key chapters on emptiness.

Ānāpānasati Sutta 安那般那念

Śākyamuni · Pali Canon

The sixteen steps of mindfulness of breathing — the ancestor of zazen.

Vimalakīrti Sūtra 維摩詰所說經

Mahāyāna · India

The silence of Vimalakīrti — the gate of non-duality.