Soto

Zen

Soto

Branch of Caodong

The Soto school (曹洞宗) is the Japanese continuation of the Chinese Caodong tradition, founded by Eihei Dogen (1200–1253) after his training with Tiantong Rujing in China. It is the largest Zen denomination in Japan. Soto's central practice is shikantaza ('just sitting')—zazen practiced without koans, without seeking enlightenment, and without any object or technique, understood not as a means to awakening but as awakening's direct expression. Dogen articulated this in his masterwork the Shobogenzo, one of the most profound philosophical texts in world religious literature, and in his practical manual the Fukanzazengi. The school's second great figure, Keizan Jokin (1264–1325), founded Sojiji Temple and made Soto practice accessible to a broad Japanese population through the integration of esoteric ritual and ancestor veneration. Together, Eiheiji (Dogen's temple) and Sojiji serve as the school's two head monasteries. In the modern era, the Soto tradition has been carried to the West by teachers including Shunryu Suzuki (San Francisco Zen Center), Taisen Deshimaru (Association Zen Internationale, Europe), Taizan Maezumi (Zen Center of Los Angeles), and Dainin Katagiri (Minnesota Zen Center), establishing vibrant practice communities across North America and Europe.