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 Teachings 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.
———. Celebrating Everyday Life: Zen Home Liturgy. Mt. Tremper, N.Y.: Dharma Communications, 1999.
———. 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.
———. Teachings of the Insentient: Zen and the Environment. Mt. Tremper, N.Y.: Dharma
Communications, 1999.
———. 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,:
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.

Stage IV
Sutras
Watson, Burton, trans. The Lotus Sutra. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993.

Records of Ancient Masters

Leighton, Taigen Daniel and Shohaku Okumura, trans. Dogen’s Pure Standards for the Zen Community: A
Translation of “Eihei Shingi.” Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995.
Powell, William F., trans. The Record of Tung-shan. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1986.
Sasaki, Ruth Fuller, Yoshitaka Iriya, and Dana R. Fraser, trans. A Man of Zen: The Recorded Sayings of
Layman P’ang. Trumbull, Conn.: Weatherhill, 1992.
Tanahashi, Kazuaki, ed. Moon in a Dewdrop: Writings of Zen Master Dogen. San Francisco: North Point
Press, 1995.
Watson, Burton. The Zen Teachings of Master Lin-Chi. Boston: Shambhala, 1993.

Koan Collection
Shibayama, Zenkei. The Gateless Barrier: Zen Comments on the Mumonkan. Boston: Shambhala, 2000.

Records of Modern Masters

Aitken, Robert. Practice of Perfection: The Paramitas from a Zen Buddhist Perspective. Washington, D.C.:
Counterpoint, 1997.
Chödrön, Pema. The Places that Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times. Boston: Shambhala,
2001.
Loori, John Daido. Making Love with Light: Contemplating Nature with Words and Photographs. Mt.
Tremper, N.Y.: Dharma Communications, 2000.
Maezumi Roshi, Taizan. Appreciate Your Life: The Essence of Zen Practice. Botson: Shambhala, 2001.
Seung Sahn. Only Don’t Know: Selected Teaching Letters of Zen Master Seung Sahn. Boston: Shambhala,
1999.

History
Ferguson, Andy. Zen’s Chinese Heritage: The Masters and their Teachings. Boston: Wisdom, 2000.
Foster, Nelson and Jack Shoemaker, eds. The Roaring Stream: A New Zen Reader. New York: Ecco Press,
1996.
Queen, Christopher S., ed. Engaged Buddhism in the West. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2000.

Philosophy and Theology

Epstein, Mark. Thoughts Without a Thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective. New York:
HarperCollins, 1996.
Suzuki, Daisetz T. Essays in Zen Buddhism. New York: Grove/Atlantic Press, 1989.
———.  Essays in Zen Buddhism. 2d series. York Beach, Maine: Samuel Weiser, 1970.
———.  Essays in Zen Buddhism. 3d series. York Beach, Maine: Samuel Weiser, 1976.
Stage V
Sutras
Conze, Edward. Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines and Its Verse Summary. Columbia, Mo.: S.
Asia, 1994.
Suzuki, D. T. and Dwight Goddard, trans. “The Lankavatara Sutra.” In A Buddhist Bible, edited by Dwight
Goddard, 277-356. Boston: Beacon Press, 1994.

Records of Ancient Masters

Blofeld, John, trans. The Zen Teachings of Huang Po (Obaku): On the Transmission of Mind. New York:
Grove Press, 1958.
Cleary, Thomas, trans. Secrets of the Blue Cliff Record: Zen Comments by Hakuin and Tenkei. Boston:
Shambhala, 2000.
Cook, Francis H. Sounds of Valley Streams: Enlightenment in Dogen’s Zen: Translation of Nine Essays from
Shobogenzo. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1988.
Shantideva. The Way of the Bodhisattva: A Translation of the Bodhicharyavatara. New York: Random
House, 1997.
Tanahashi, Kazuaki, ed. Enlightenment Unfolds: The Essential Teachings of Zen Master Dogen. Boston:
Shambhala, 2000.
Waddell, Norman, trans. The Unborn: The Life and Teaching of Zen Master Bankei. San Francisco: North
Point Press, 1982.
———,  trans. Wild Ivy: The Spiritual Autobiography of Zen Master Hakuin. Boston: Shambhala, 1999.

Koan Collection
Cleary, Thomas and J. C. Cleary, trans. The Blue Cliff Record. Boston: Shambhala, 1977.

Records of Modern Masters

Jiyu-Kennett Roshi, P. Zen is Eternal Life. Mt. Shasta, Calif.: Shasta Abbey, 1987.
Trungpa, Chögyam. Dharma Art. Boston: Shambhala, 1996.

History
Bielfeldt, Carl. Dogen’s Manual of Zen Meditation. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988.
Conze, Edward. Buddhism: Its Essence and Development. Eagle Point: Coronet Books, 1994.
Kaza, Stephanie and Kraft, Kenneth, eds. Dharma Rain: Sources of Buddhist Environmentalism. Boston:
Shambhala, 2000.
Lopez, Donald S. The Heart Sutra Explained: Indian and Tibetan Commentaries. Albany: State University
of New York Press, 1988.

Stage VI
Sutras
Wai-tao. “Surangama Sutra.” In A Buddhist Bible, edited by Dwight Goddard, 108-276. Boston: Beacon
Press, 1994.

Records of Ancient Masters

App, Urs, trans. Master Yunmen: From the record of the Chan Teacher “Gate of the Clouds.” Tokyo:
Kodansha International, 1994.
Cleary, Thomas, trans. Stopping and Seeing: A Comprehensive Course in Buddhist Meditation by Chih-i.
Boston: Shambhala, 1997.
 Nishijima, Gudo and Chodo Cross, trans. Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo—Book 1. Woods Hill, Mass.:
Windbell, 1998.

Koan Collection
Cleary, Thomas, trans. Book of Serenity: One Hundred Zen Dialogues. Boston: Shambhala, 1998.

Records of Modern Masters

Trungpa, Chögyam. Transcending Madness: The Experience of the Six Bardos. Boston: Shambhala, 1992.

Philosophy and Theology

Heine, Steven. Dogen and the Koan Tradition: A Tale of Two Shobogenzo Texts. Albany: State University of
New York Press, 1994.
Thurman, Robert A. F. Essential Tibetan Buddhism. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1995.
Wolters, Clifton, trans. The Cloud of Unknowing and Other Works. New York: Penguin Books, 1978.

Stage VII
Sutras
Nanamoli, Bhikkhu and Bhikkhu Bodhi, trans. The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A New
Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya. Boston: Wisdom, 1995.

Records of Ancient Masters

Buswell, Jr., Robert E., ed. Tracing Back the Radiance: Chinul’s Korean Way of Zen. Honolulu: University
of Hawaii Press, 1991.
Chung-Yuan, Chang, trans. Original Teachings of Ch’an Buddhism: Selected from the Transmission of the
Lamp. New York: Pantheon Books, 1969.
Nishijima, Gudo and Chodo Cross, trans. Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo—Book 2. Woods Hill, Mass.:
Windbell, 1996.

Koan Collections
Cleary, Thomas, trans. Transmission of Light: Zen in the Art of Enlightenment by Zen Master Kaizan.
Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2002.
Cook, Francis H., trans. The Record of Transmitting the Light: Zen Master Keizan’s “Denkoroku.” Los
Angeles: Center Publications, 1991.

History
Downing, Michael. Shoes Outside the Door: Desire, Devotion, and Excess at San Francisco Zen Center.
Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint, 2001.

Philosophy and Theology

Abe, Masao. Zen and Western Thought. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1984.
Thurman, Robert A. F., trans. The Tibetan Book of the Dead: Liberation through Understanding in the
Between. New York: Bantam Books, 1994.
Underhill, Evelyn. Practical Mysticism. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover, 2000.
———. The Spiritual Life: Great Spiritual Truths for Everyday Life. Oxford: One World, 1999
Stage VIII
Sutras
Walshe, Maurice, trans. The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Digha Nikaya. Boston:
Wisdom, 1995.

Records of Ancient Masters

Green, James, trans. The Recorded Sayings of Master Joshu. Boston: Shambhala, 2000.
Nishijima, Gudo and Chodo Cross, trans. Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo—Book 3. Woods Hills, Mass.:
Windbell, 1997.

Philosophy and Theology

Gregory, Peter N., ed. Traditions of Meditation in Chinese Buddhism. Kuroda Institute, Studies in East
Asian Buddhism, no. 4. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1986.
Kim, Hee-Jin, ed. Dogen Kigen: Mystical Realist. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1987.
LaFleur, William R., ed. Dogen Studies. Kuroda Institute, Studies in East Asian Buddhism, no. 2.
Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1985.
Lopez, Jr., Donald S., ed. Buddhist Hermeneutics. Kuroda Institute, Studies in East Asian Buddhism, no. 6.
Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1988.
McRea, John R. The Northern School and the Formation of Early Ch’an Buddhism. Kuroda Institute,
Studies in East Asian Buddhism, no. 3. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1987.
Underhill, Evelyn. Mysticism: The Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness. Oxford: One
World, 2000.

Stage IX
Sutras
Cleary, Thomas, trans. The Flower Ornament Scripture: A Translation of “The Avatamsaka Sutra.” Boston:
Shambhala, 1993.

Records of Ancient Masters

Nishijima, Gudo and Chodo Cross, trans. Master Dogen’s Shobogenzo—Book 4. Woods Hill, Mass.:
Windbell, 1999.
Yokoi, Yuho, trans. Eihei-Koroku. Tokyo: Sankibo, 1987.

Philosophy and Theology

Cook, Francis Dojun. Hua-yen Buddhism: The Jewel Net of Indra. University Park, Pa.: The Pennsylvania
State University Press, 1997.
Gimello, Robert M. and Peter N. Gregory, eds. Kuroda Institute, Studies in East Asian Buddhism,
no. 1. Studies in Ch’an and Hua-yen. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1984.