We invite you to spend time with our Recommended Reading List. This document includes these categories: General reading about Zen, books of special interest to women, the socially engaged, koan collections, and books by or about Eihei Dogen (our 13th century Japanese ancestor).
General Reading
Finding the Still Point, by John Daido Loori (A Beginner’s Guide to Zen Meditation)
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
Zen Flesh Zen Bones, by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki
Everyday Zen, by Charlotte Joko Beck
Opening the Hand of Thought, by Kosho Uchiyama Roshi
On Zen Practice, by Maezumi and Glassman
The Roaring Stream: A New Zen Reader (Anthology of Poetry and Prose) by Nelson Foster
Waking up to What You Do, by Diane Rizetto (for study of the Buddhist precepts)
The Mind of Clover, Robert Aitken (for study of the Buddhist precepts)
Cultivating the Empty Field, Taigen Dan Leighton
Realizing Genjokoan, Shohaku Okumura & Taigen Dan Leighton
The Zen of Creativity, John Daido Loori (recommended for artists)
Of Special Interest to Women
The Hidden Lamp, Stories from 25 Centuries of Awakened Women (Anthology)
Zen Women, Grace Schireson
Receiving the Marrow, Teachings on Dogen by Soto Zen Women Priests
Buddha’s Daughters (Anthology edited by Andrea Miller)
Naked in the Zendo, Grace Schireson
For the Socially Engaged
Conflict, Culture, Change: Engaged Buddhism in a Globalizing World, Sulak Sivaraksa
The Buddha’s Teachings on Social and Communal Harmony: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon, Bhikkhu Bodhi
Awakening Together: The Spiritual Practice of Inclusivity and Community, Larry Yang
Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living with Fearlessness and Grace, Angel Kyodo Williams
A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn
Money, Sex, War, Karma: Notes for a Buddhist Revolution, David R. Loy
Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis, David R. Loy
Zen Teachings in Challenging Times (Anthology by contemporary women teachers)
Koan Collections (especially recommended for study by Zen students)
Mumonkan, Shibayama translation
Blue Cliff Record, Cleary translation
Transmitting the Light, Cook translation
The Book of Serenity, Cleary translation
The Hidden Lamp, Stories from 25 Centuries of Awakened Women
True Dharma Eye, Dogen/Loori translation
For Dogen Lovers
How to Cook your Life: Instructions to the Cook, by Eihei Dogen & Kosho Uchiyama Roshi
Shobogenzo, The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye, Kaz Tanahashi Translation
The Moon in a Dewdrop: Writings of Zen Master Dogen, by Kaz Tanahashi
The Mountains and Waters Sutra: A Practitioners Guide, by Shohaku Okumura
Dogen’s Extensive Record (Translation by Leighton and Okumura)
Being Time, Shinsu Roberts
Engaging Dogen’s Zen (Anthology edited by Wirth, Schroeder, and Davis)