SO TO ZEN - Shasta Abbey

xSōtō ZenHole Buddhist Abbey in Northumberland, England, as well aspriories in the U.K., Canada and the U.S.A. Throughout theOrder the teachings of Koh‡ Zenji are being followed today.In originally publishing this book it was Koh‡ ZenjiÕswish that people in the West could study Buddhism in thecontext of their own language and culture. It is an easy andcommon mistake to get the culture and language confused withthe religion and adopt the cultural forms without understandingthe religious practice that underlies them. Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett, M.O.B.C., has manifested her teacherÕs wish inmaking the Buddhist teaching available in English throughoutthe English-speaking world. Out of gratitude to Koh‡ Zenji andRev. Master Jiyu-Kennett this book is being republished in thehope that others may wish to find in S‡t‡ Zen, or the SereneReflection Meditation tradition, the cure for suffering that theBuddha so compassionately offered to the world.The text has been edited for spiritual clarity, and some ofthe terminology revised to reflect current usage; unfortunatelythe original Japanese was not available for comparison. Manyof the original quotes from Great Master D‡gen, who broughtthis tradition from China to Japan in the 13th Century, havebeen replaced by Rev. Jiyu-KennettÕs translations from herbook, Zen is Eternal Life. Although the translations were notavailable in 1960 when S‡t‡ Zen was originally printed, theyare being used in this edition to better convey the meaning of