Zen, as a matter of record
People, texts, schools and the lines between them, from the sixth ancestor in China to teachers working now. Every date and every line of transmission has a source.
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AncestorsPeople of the tradition who have died, from Bodhidharma to the twentieth century. 58 entries so far, by school, country and era.FiguresPeople of the tradition outside the lineage charts: nuns, lay people, the unnamed. Where the women of the record are.TeachersLiving teachers whose authorization is published by the teacher or organization that gave it. Not yet open; see the page for the criteria.TextsSutras, recorded sayings, koan collections. Full text where it is free to share; facts and where to find it where it isn’t. 23 so far.StoriesWhat the tradition tells about its people, retold plainly with the source: encounters, exchanges, death scenes.SchoolsChan, Sōtō, Rinzai and modern lay lines: where each came from and how they differ in practice.LineagesWho taught whom, as a line, a tree or a timeline, with disputed and traditional links marked.GlossaryEvery Zen and Buddhist word used on the site, in plain English, with its original script and literal meaning. 35 terms.
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Term
Zen禅
What the word means, where it comes from, and what the schools that use it have in common.
Lineage
The two lines every Zen school descends from, and how they reached Japan and the West.
Text
Forty-eight short koan cases with comments, compiled in 1228. The original is free to read.