Download a printable PDF of the Recommended Reading list: Reading List
Stage I
Records of Ancient Masters
Yampolsky, Philip B., trans., The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch: The text of the TunHuang Manuscript. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998.
Records of Modern Masters
Aitken, Robert. Taking the Path of Zen. San Francisco: North Point Press, 1982.
Beck, Charlotte Joko. Everyday Zen: Love & Work. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1989.
Chödrön, Pema. Start Where You Are. Boston: Shambhala, 1994.
Kapleau, Roshi Philip, ed. The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment. New York: Anchor Books, 2000.
Loori, John Daido. Mountain Record of Zen Talks. Mt. Tremper, N.Y.: Dharma Communications, 1988.
Loori, John Daido. Path of Enlightenment: Stages in a Spiritual Journey. Mt. Tremper, N.Y.: Dharma Communications, 1999.
Loori, John Daido. The Still Point: A Beginner’s Guide to Zen Meditation. Mt. Tremper, N.Y.: Dharma Communications, 1996.
Master Sheng-yen. Getting the Buddha Mind. Edited by Ernest Heau. Elmhurst, N.Y.: Dharma Drum Publications, 1982.
Suzuki, Shunryu. Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. Trumbull, Conn.: Weatherhill, 2001.
History
Armstrong, Karen. Buddha. New York: Penguin, 2001.
Fields, Rick. How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in America. Boston: Shambhala, 1992.
Philosophy and Theology
Maguire, Jack. Essential Buddhism: A Complete Guide to Beliefs and Practices. New York: Pocket Books, 2001.
Rahula, Walpola. What the Buddha Taught. New York: Grove Press, 1989.
Stage II
Sutras
Price, A. F. and Wong Mou-lam, trans. “The Diamond Sutra.” In The Diamond Sutra and the Sutra of Hui-neng. Boston: Shambhala, 1990.
Records of Ancient Masters
Okumura, Shokahu, trans. Shobogenzo Zuimonki: Sayings of Eihei Dogen Zengi. Recorded by Koun Ejo. Tokyo: Soto-shu Shumucho, 1998.
Red Pine, trans. The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma. San Francisco: North Point Press, 1987.
Records of Modern Masters
Aitken, Robert. The Mind of Clover: Essays in Zen Buddhist Ethics. San Francisco: North Point Press, 2000.
Katagiri, Dainin. Returning to Silence: Zen Practice in Daily Life. Boston: Shambhala, 1988.
Loori, John Daido. Cave of Tigers: Modern Zen Encounters. Trumbull, Conn.: Weatherhill, 2000.
Loori, John Daido. Bringing the Sacred to Life: The Daily Practice of Zen Ritual. Mt. Tremper, N.Y.: Dharma Communications, 1999.
Loori, John Daido. Invoking Reality: Moral and Ethical Teachings of Zen. Mt. Tremper, N.Y.: Dharma Communications, 1998.
Maezumi, Hakuyu Taizan. The Echoless Valley. Mt. Tremper, N.Y.: Dharma Communications, 1998.
Master Sheng-yen. Faith in Mind: A Guide to Ch’an Practice. Elmhurst, N.Y.: Dharma Drum Publications, 1993.
Trungpa, Chögyam. Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism. Boston: Shambhala, 1973.
U Pandita, Sayadaw. In This Very Life: The Liberation Teachings of the Buddha. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1993.
History
Ch’en, Kenneth. Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1974.
Dumoulin, Heinrich. Zen Buddhism: A History—India and China. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1994.
Matthiessen, Peter. Nine-Headed Dragon River: Zen Journals. Boston: Shambhala, 1998.
Prebish, Charles S., ed. Buddhism: A Modern Perspective. University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1994.
Stage III
Sutras
Thurman, Robert A. F., trans. The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti: A Mahayana Scripture. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1976.
Records of Ancient Masters
Cook, Francis Dojun. How to Raise an Ox: Zen Practice as Taught in Zen Master Dogen’s “Shobogenzo.” Los Angeles: Center Publications, 1993.
Leighton, Taigen Dan with Yi Wu, trans. Cultivating the Empty Field: The Silent Illumination of Zen Master Hongzhi. Boston: Tuttle, 2000.
Okumura, Shohaku and Taigen Daniel Leighton. The Wholehearted Way: A Translation of Eihei Dogen’s “Bendowa.” Boston: Tuttle, 1997.
Yampolsky, Philip B., trans. The Zen Master Hakuin: Selected Writings. New York: Columbia University Press, 1985.
Records of Modern Masters
Kornfield, Jack. A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life. Tuttle Library of Enlightenment. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1993.
Loori, John Daido. Heart of Being: Moral and Ethical Teachings of Zen Buddhism. Boston: Tuttle, 1996.
Loori, John Daido. Teachings of the Insentient: Zen and the Environment. Mt. Tremper, N.Y.: Dharma Communications, 1999.
Loori, John Daido. Two Arrows Meeting in Mid-Air: The Zen Koan. Boston: Tuttle, 1994.
Miura, Isshū and Ruth Fuller Sasaki. The Zen Koan. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1966.
Sogyal Rinpoche. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993.
Trungpa, Chögyam. The Myth of Freedom and the Way of Meditation. Boston: Shambhala, 1988.
Dogen and Kosho Uchiyama. From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment: Refining Your Life. Translated by Thomas Wright. Trumbull, Conn.: Weatherhill, 1998.
Yasutani, Hakuun. Flowers Fall: A Commentary on Zen Master Dogen’s “Genjokoan.” Boston: Shambhala, 1996.
History
Prebish, Charles S. Luminous Passage: The Practice and Study of Buddhism in America. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1999.
Suzuki, Daisetz T. Zen and Japanese Culture. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993.
Philosophy and Theology
Chittister, Joan. The Rule of the Benedict: Insights for the Ages. New York: Crossroad, 1999.
Maguire, Jack. Waking Up: A Week Inside a Zen Monastery. Woodstock, Vermont: Skylight Paths, 2000.