Purchase Publications

These publications are available for purchase from Sanshin Zen Community. While these publications are available from other vendors, purchasing directly from Sanshin provides significant support to both Sanshin and the Dogen Institute. To order, download the Sanshin Zen Community Order Form (PDF, 124k) and mail to Sanshin with your payment.

Zen of Four Seasons: Dogen Zenji’s Waka Translation and commentary by Shohaku Okumura Roshi, calligraphy by Kaz Tanahashi, photographs by Ai Takahashi. Building upon the Dōgen Institute’s popular postings, we have completed a beautiful, self-produced collection of 14 of Dogen Zenji’s waka poems based on the seasons. This limited edition book is printed on hand-made Nepalese Daphne paper, the binding is stitched around split bamboo splints, and the covers are handmade Daphne dyed with Catechu stamped in blind and gold. This book is not available through other outlets. Copies will be signed by Okumura Roshi. We now offer this book for sale at $75 in USA; $90 most countries out of USA. Please use our order form above. For additional information, please contact admin@sanshinji.org  As of June 2016, a limited quantity is again available for sale.

The Zen Teaching of Homeless Kōdō, by Kosho Uchiyama Roshi (Author), Jokei Molly Delight Whitehead (Editor), Shohaku Okumura (Translator, Commentary), Wisdom Publications, 2014, $18.50.Eschewing the entrapments of vanity, power, and money, Kōdō Sawaki Roshi lived a traveling and “homeless” life, going from temple to temple, student to student, teaching and instructing and never allowing himself to stray from his chosen path. Always clear, often funny, he jolts us into awakening. Paperback, 288 pages. See associated study page.

Living by Vow: A Practical Introduction to Eight Essential Zen Chants and Texts, by Shohaku Okumura, Wisdom Publications, 2012, $19.00. This immensely useful book explores Zen’s rich tradition of chanted liturgy and the powerful ways that such chants support meditation, expressing and helping us truly uphold our heartfelt vows to live a life of freedom and compassion. Paperback, 220 pages. Now in Italy from Ubaldini Editore — Introduzione in Italiano qui

Dogen’s Extensive Record: A Translation of the Eihei Koroku, by Eihei Dogen, trans. Shohaku Okumura, Wisdom Publications, 2010. Paperback, 824 pages. $25.00 Dogen’s Extensive Record is the first-ever complete and scholarly translation of this monumental work into English. This edition contains extensive and detailed research and annotation by scholar, translator, and Zen teacher Taigen Dan Leighton, as well as forewords by the 18th-century poet-monk Ryokan and Tenshin Reb Anderson, former abbot of the San Francisco Zen Centeri.

Dogen’s Genjo Koan–Three Commentaries, by Eihei Dogen, Nishiari Bokusan (Commentary), Shohaku Okamura (Commentary), Shunryu Suzuki (Commentary), Uchiyama Kosho (Commentary), Sojun Mel Weitsman (Commentary), Kazuaki Tanahasi (Commentary), Michael Wenger (Commentary), Counterpoint Press, 2012. Hardcover, 240 pages. $20.50 Dogen’s Genjo Koan is the first chapter of his Shobogenzo, and for many followers it might be thought to contain the gist of Dōgen’s work—it is one of the groundwork texts of Zen Buddhism. This unique edition contains three separate translations and several commentaries by a wide variety of Zen masters.

Realizing Genjo Koan, the Key to Dogen’s Shobogenzo, by Shohaku Okumura, Wisdom Publications, 2010, $17.50. A comprehensive introduction to the teachings and approach of Dogen Zenji. A thorough guided tour of the most important essay in Dogen’s seminal work, the Shobogenzo. This volume also includes an introduction to Dogen’s life from Hee-Jin Kim’s classic, Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist, with updated annotations by Okumura. Paperback, 328 pages.

Opening the Hand of Thought, by Kosho Uchiyama, editors:  Shohaku Okumura, Tom Wright, Jisho Warner, Wisdom Publications, 2004, $17.50. By turns humorous, philosophical, and personal, this is above all a great book for the Buddhist practitioner. It is specially useful for those who have not yet encountered a Zen teacher. This expanded edition includes new prefaces, an index, and extended end notes. Paperback, 256 pages.

The Wholehearted Way, by Eihei Dogen and Kosho Uchiyama, Translators: Shohaku Okumura, Taigen Dan Leighton, Tuttle Publishing, 1997, $19.50. A translation of Eihei Dogen’s Bendowa, one of the primary texts on Zen practice. Transcending any particular school of Buddhism or religious belief, Bendowa, or A Talk on the Wholehearted Practice of the Way, was written in 1231 A.D. and expresses Dogen’s teaching of the essential meaning of zazen (seated meditation) and its practice. This edition also contains commentary by Kosho Uchiyama Roshi, a foreword by Taigen Daniel Leighton, and an Introduction by Shohaku Okumura. Paperback, 224 pages.

The following books are now being offered at no cost except for $7.00 shipping and handling:

Soto Zen: An Introduction To Zazen Shobogenzo Zuimonki Heart of Zen (re-printing of Dogen Zen)