Hogen Soren

Hogen Soren was a Soto Zen master in the lineage descending through the Eiheiji and Sojiji transmission lines. He maintained the school's emphasis on zazen practice and monastic training, contributing to the continuity of the Soto tradition in Japan.

Soren's teaching carried forward the Soto principle that practice itself is enlightenment—that sitting in zazen is not a means to some future goal but the direct expression of Buddha nature here and now. This understanding, central to Dogen's vision, was preserved and transmitted through each generation of Soto teachers.