Buddhism and Zen: Suggested Readings

There are many books available on Zen and on Buddhism in general. The following works are recommended either because they are particularly informative, or because they are relevant to the Soto School of Zen as practiced by the Chapel Hill Zen Center.


Soto Zen

Chapel Hill Zen Center

Chant Book
(Click on link above to download as PDF)

Tenshin Reb Anderson

Bring Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts
The Third Turning of the Wheel, Wisdom of the Samdhinirmocana Sutra
Entering the Mind of Buddha, Zen and the Six Heroic Practices of Bodhisattvas

Charlotte Joko Beck

Everyday Zen
Nothing Special

Edward Espe Brown

The Most Important Point: Zen Teachings of Edward Espe Brown, edited by Danny S. Parker

David Chadwick

Crooked Cucumber, the Life and Zen Teachings of Shunryu Suzuki

Francis Cook

How to Raise an Ox
Sounds of Valley Streams: Enlightenment in Dogen's Zen

Dainin Katagiri

Returning to Silence, Zen in Daily Life
You Have to Say Something
Each Moment is the Universe: Zen and the Way of Being Time
The Light that Shines Through Infinity

Jakusho Kwong

No Beginning, No End: The Intimate Heart of Zen
Mind Sky, Zen Teaching on Living and Dying

Bokusan Nishiari, et al., translators

Dogen's Genjokoan: Three Commentaries

Shohaku Okumura

Realizing Genjokoan, the Key to Dogen's Shobogenzo
Living by Vow
Soto Zen, An Introduction to Zazen
Dogen's Shobogenzo Zuimonki: The New Annotated Translation — also including Dogen's Waka Poetry with Commentary

Heart of Zen — Practice without Gaining-mind
The Mountains and Waters Sutra, A Practitioner's Guide to Dogen's Sansuikyo

Shinshu Roberts

Being Time

Shunryu Suzuki

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness, Zen Talks on the Sandokai
not always so, practicing the true spirit of Zen

Kazuaki Tanahashi,
translator

Moon in a Dewdrop, Writings of Zen Master Dogen
Enlightenment Unfolds
Beyond Thinking
Treasury of the True Dharma Eye

Kosho Uchiyama

How to Cook Your Life
Opening the Hand of Thought
Deepest Practice, Deepest Wisdom

Other Buddhist Books

Pema Chodron

When Things Fall Apart
Places that Scare You
Practicing Peace in Times of War

Darlene Cohen

Turning Suffering Inside Out: A Zen Approach to Living with Physical and Emotional Pain

Henepola Gunaratana

Mindfulness in Plain English

Taigen D. Leighton with
Yi Wu, translators

Cultivating the Empty Field: The Silent Illumination of Zen Master Hongzhi
Just This is It

Walpola Rahula

What the Buddha Taught

Larry Rosenberg and
David Guy

Breath by Breath: The Liberating Practice of Insight Meditation

Thich Nhat Hanh

Miracle of Mindfulness
The Heart of Understanding
Old Path, White Cloud
The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching
Understanding Our Mind

Meditation Cushions, Benches, & Clothing

Micaville, NC

Carolina Morning Designs
P.O. Box 509
Micaville, NC 28755-0509
(888) 267-5366
www.zafu.net

Hillsborough, NC

Sitting Wear (meditation robes)
Hillsborough, NC 27278
(919) 732-3178
mositwear@gmail.com

Oryoki Practice Instruction

Online

Oryoki Instruction Book