Resources
A few places to learn more
None of this is required, and the best teacher is the cushion. Still, if you would like to read or listen, here are a few quiet, trustworthy places to begin.
A Beginner’s Guide to Zen is the short introduction we wrote for first-timers: what to expect, how to sit, and how to begin. It is yours, free, with no sign-up.
There is no required order, and no rush. But if you would like a path: begin with a living voice, to absorb the spirit of the practice, then a practical guide for how to actually sit. Read the Fukanzazengi slowly, alongside your own sitting. Meet Dōgen first as a kindly teacher before meeting him as a philosopher, and enter the Shōbōgenzō at last through Genjōkōan and Bendōwa, with a good commentary at hand and no expectation of mastering it quickly. Then return to all of it, across the years, as the sitting deepens and the books say more.
To begin
- Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind Shunryu Suzuki The gentlest and most loved first book, the spirit of the practice in a living voice.
- Opening the Hand of Thought Kōshō Uchiyama A warm, practical guide to how to actually sit shikantaza, and the attitude behind it.
- Living by Vow Shōhaku Okumura A clear, plainspoken introduction to the chants and texts a Sōtō practice uses.
To go deeper
- Realizing Genjōkōan Shōhaku Okumura A patient, line-by-line opening of the central fascicle of Dōgen’s Shōbōgenzō.
- Cultivating the Empty Field Hongzhi, tr. Taigen Dan Leighton The silent illumination of the Caodong masters, the forerunner of just sitting.
- Treasury of the True Dharma Eye Dōgen, ed. Kazuaki Tanahashi Dōgen’s Shōbōgenzō, his masterwork, best met slowly and with a commentary at hand.
Whatever you read, the point is always the sitting. Reading can quietly become its own way of avoiding the cushion.
Great Tree Zen Temple, in Alexander, North Carolina, is an established Sōtō Zen temple, and we are grateful for the friendship beginning between our young group and theirs. Their Head of Practice, Genjo, will offer the Dharma talk at our first sitting, a generosity we do not take for granted.
Many fine talks and meditation instructions are also freely available online from established Zen centers and teachers. If you would like a pointer toward something in particular, write to us and we will gladly share what has helped us.
Meditation practice is not a substitute for medical or mental health care. If you are in crisis or need clinical support, please contact a qualified professional or emergency service.
