What is Soto Zen?

There are three "schools" of Buddhism:

Theravāda, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna. These are Indian terminology.

Soto Zen is part of the Mahāyāna school.
Image: Soto Zen Crest

Where did it come from?

Soto Zen is a practice that arrived in Japan from China, brought by a man named Eihei Dogen in about 1223.

Soto Zen was first brought to the West at about the time of World War II and gained in popularity in the 1950s and 60s.

The traditional account is that Buddhism travelled from India, over the Himalayas via Tibet, and then on to China. Later it came to Japan and later still the West.

Who was Buddha?

The Buddha was a man called Siddhartha Gautama, who is said to have lived nearly 2,500 years ago in India.

How many Buddhists are there?

Today there are around 376 million Buddhists living around the world.

Traditional Japanese rendering of Dōgen watching the moon at Hōkyōji monastery, Fukui prefecture, circa 1250.

One of the many statues of Buddha.

Soto Zen Minimalism

Of all the Buddhist practices, Zen is considered a Minimalist. Our primary practice is called Zazen (literally “seated meditation''). All you have to do is to sit down, be still, and be quiet. Just breathe (easier said than done!).

Soto Zen Beliefs

We believe we manifest enlightenment through meditation and that enlightenment is available to us in this lifetime.

We also believe in taking Zen practice into life, and that in fact, Zen IS life.

So we practice Zen on our cushions and off, at work and at home, when we are angry and when we are joyful.

Kodo Sawaki practicing zazen

One symbol used within Buddism is the Enso, which is usually done with ink and brush, it's said to represent many things, including Zen is life

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