Sōtō

Sōtō is a Japanese school of Zen Buddhism centered on seated meditation, especially shikantaza, in which practice is not treated merely as a means to attain awakening.

Shikantaza: A form of seated meditation in which practitioners sit with alert, open awareness, without pursuing a particular object or result. It is the distinctive meditation practice most closely associated with Sōtō.
Dōgen: A thirteenth-century Japanese Buddhist teacher who established the foundations of the Sōtō school in Japan. His writings and teaching shaped Sōtō's distinctive understanding of meditation.
Zen: A school of Mahayana Buddhism that emphasizes meditation and direct insight into the nature of mind. Sōtō is one of the principal Japanese schools within the broader Zen tradition.
Rinzai: A Japanese Zen school known for intensive kōan practice and, in some lineages, encounters with a teacher. Its prominent use of kōans contrasts with Sōtō's emphasis on shikantaza.
Sōtō Zen Buddhism in the West: The establishment and adaptation of Sōtō Zen communities and institutions outside Japan. Western communities have transmitted Sōtō meditation while adapting its institutional forms.
Zazen: Seated meditation practiced in Zen Buddhism, commonly performed in a stable posture with regulated attention. Sōtō places seated meditation at the center of religious practice.
Caodong school: A Chinese Chan Buddhist lineage that developed distinctive forms of meditation and became the historical source of Japanese Sōtō. Sōtō inherited its lineage and many teachings from this Chinese school.
Buddhahood: The awakened state of a buddha, characterized by liberation from ignorance and the realization of Buddhist truth. Sōtō practice treats awakening as expressed in ordinary practice rather than only as a future attainment.
Kōan: A brief story, question, or exchange used in Zen training to unsettle habitual reasoning and cultivate insight. Kōan-centered training is more strongly associated with Rinzai than with Sōtō.
San Francisco Zen Center: A Zen Buddhist organization founded in San Francisco in 1962 by Shunryū Suzuki and his students. It became a major center for transmitting Sōtō practice in North America.

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