Resources

• Zazen InstructionPage
• Practice GuidelinesPDF
• Mettā PracticePage
• Roles at AppamadaPage
• Glossary of Zen TerminologyPDF
• Basic Background: Buddha's TeachingsPDF
• Zen Buddhism in a NutshellPDF
• The Learning RecordPage

• Appamada Chant BookPDF
• Appamada Chant Book (Large Print)PDF
• Daily Chants, Explained and AnnotatedPDF
• Chanting the AncestorsPDF

• Buddhist Precepts in Various FormsPDF
• Diamond Sutra (Paul Harrison, tr.)PDF
• Satipaṭṭhāna SuttaPDF
• Oxherding PicturesPDF
• Ethics for a New Millennium: Study GuidePDF
• Quotes for Practice, 2026PDF

• Appamada Practice MapPDF
• The Path PosterPDF
• Zazen PosterPDF
• Breathe PosterPDF
• Inquiry PosterPDF
• The Cradle of Buddhism MapPDF
• The Spread of Buddhism in India MapPDF

Any of these is a good place to begin. There's no particular order; pick the one that calls to you.

• Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind Shunryu Suzuki
  The most widely read introduction to Zen in English, and a key text in our lineage.
• Everyday Zen: Love and Work Charlotte Joko Beck
  One of our root teachers cuts through comfortable ideas and brings practice back to the life you're actually living.
• Nothing Special: Living Zen Charlotte Joko Beck
  Joko goes deeper into emotion, relationship and the ordinariness that is the real ground of practice.
• Buddhism Plain and Simple Steve Hagen
  The clearest, most accessible overview of what the Buddha actually taught.
• Bring Me the Rhinoceros John Tarrant
  A wild, beautiful introduction to koans, the old Zen stories that keep working on you.
• Living by Vow Shohaku Okumura
  A gentle guide to the chants we recite: what they mean, and how they come alive in daily life.
• The Feeling Buddha David Brazier
  A warm, surprisingly moving reading of the Buddha's teaching through the lens of human feeling.
• Waking Up to What You Do Diane Eshin Rizzetto
  The precepts not as rules, but as ways of paying attention to the choices you're already making.

Zen Practice and Teaching

• Not Always So Shunryu Suzuki
  More of Suzuki Roshi's talks, warm and practical, on the true spirit of practice.
• Opening the Hand of Thought Kōshō Uchiyama
  A clear, grounded guide to zazen and the Soto way from a modern Japanese master.
• Cultivating the Empty Field Hongzhi, tr. Taigen Dan Leighton
  Poetic instructions in silent illumination, the meditation at the root of Soto Zen.
• The Art of Just Sitting John Daido Loori, ed.
  Ancient and modern writings on shikantaza, the practice of just sitting.
• Being Upright Reb Anderson
  A thoughtful exploration of the bodhisattva precepts in meditation and daily life.
• Crooked Cucumber David Chadwick
  The beloved biography of Shunryu Suzuki, told with humor and affection.

Relationship and Community

• Liberating Intimacy Peter Hershock
  A philosophical reading of Chan that locates awakening in our relationships with others.
• Philosophical Meditations on Zen Buddhism Dale S. Wright
  A careful, illuminating look at language, freedom and awakening in Zen.
• Buddha's Brain Rick Hanson
  What neuroscience is learning about how practice shapes the mind.
• Instructions to the Cook Bernie Glassman & Rick Fields
  Zen lessons in living a life that matters, drawn from the kitchen and the street.
• Coming Back to Life Joanna Macy & Molly Young Brown
  Practices for reconnecting with one another and with the living world.

Koans and Classical Texts

• The Gateless Barrier Robert Aitken
  The classic Mumonkan koans, with clear and humane commentary.
• The Book of Serenity Thomas Cleary, tr.
  One hundred koans long treasured in the Soto tradition.
• The Blue Cliff Record Thomas & J.C. Cleary, tr.
  The great twelfth-century koan collection, with its layers of verse and commentary.
• The Hidden Lamp Florence Caplow & Susan Moon, eds.
  Koans and stories of awakened women across twenty-five centuries.

Compassion and the Heart

• Lovingkindness Sharon Salzberg
  A warm, practical introduction to mettā, the practice of lovingkindness.
• Training in Compassion Norman Fischer
  Zen teachings on lojong, the Tibetan practice of training the mind in compassion.
• Breath by Breath Larry Rosenberg
  A clear, steady guide to mindfulness of breathing.

Leadership and Service

• Impact Networks David Ehrlichman
  How networks of people working together can spark collaboration and lasting change.
• Right Use of Power Cedar Barstow
  A compassionate guide to the ethics of power in relationships of trust.
• The Appreciative Inquiry Handbook Cooperrider, Whitney & Stavros
  A practical guide to helping groups grow by building on what already works.
• The Art of Community Charles Vogl
  Seven principles for creating communities where people truly belong.
• Zen Lessons: The Art of Leadership Thomas Cleary, tr.
  Teachings from the old Chinese Zen masters on leading with integrity and humility.
• Leadership and the New Science Margaret Wheatley
  What living systems can teach us about leading through change and uncertainty.
• Dōgen’s Pure Standards for the Zen Community Taigen Dan Leighton & Shohaku Okumura, tr.
  Dōgen’s guidance for living together in a practice community, from the kitchen to the zendo.
• How to Cook Your Life Dōgen & Kōshō Uchiyama
  Instructions for the temple cook, and for bringing full attention to ordinary work.
• Friends on the Path Thich Nhat Hanh
  Building and caring for a community of practice, with warmth and patience.
• Community: The Structure of Belonging Peter Block
  How small, honest conversations create communities people feel part of.