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Zen

Since the early '90s I dabbled in Zen without knowing much more about where it came from than India → China → Japan. This year it felt important to become familiar with the origins and eventual fusion into the form recognized and practiced in the West.

I have been exploring and collecting some relevant texts as they illuminate my path. This is the top page of my study framework. It is succinct according to my interest and connection to the material. It omits many key scholars/authors not because they are unimportant but because I did not [yet] connect with their texts/books in such a way that they currently fit in my personal core reference.

Although I provide some direct links to book text, I encourage you to purchase the books in which you are interested if they are in print and you can afford them.

Lucent Fusion

Indian Mahayana Buddhism + Chinese Taoism + Chinese Chan → the poem Trust in Mind:

… probably the first Chinese Zen document (6th century) … a creation arising from the blending of Indian Buddhist, Chinese Taoist, and Chinese Chan doctrine.
—Jan Chozen Bays

Propagation

As Chan matured it extended to the rest of East Asia, particularly Japan ("Zen"), Korea ("Seon"), and Vietnam ("Thiền").

The Rinzai School of Zen was introduced into Japan in 1191 by the Japanese T’ien-t’ai monk Eisai (1141–1215), who established monasteries at Kyoto and Kamakura under imperial patronage. The Soto School was introduced in 1227 by the extraordinary genius Dogen (1200–1253), who established the great monastery of Eiheiji, refusing, however, to accept imperial favors.
—Alan Watts

Zen extended to the West mainly from Japan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries via cultural exchange during the Meiji Restoration and by the work of Japanese scholar D.T. Suzuki.

Zen Books I have Most Enjoyed So Far

The Way of Zen by Alan Watts (1957) is the best introduction I've encountered. Concise, yet approachable; lucid and entertaining—both because of Watts' flair and because the ostensible contradictions in Zen are often hilarious (spoiler: there are no actual contradictions). A wealth to contemplate in a short volume (~200 pages before bibliography and index).

Trust in Mind: The Rebellion of Chinese Zen (PDF) by Mu Soeng (2004) alternate link (PDF)

Trying Not to Try by Edward Slingerland (2014)

Dogen Zenji Goroku: Sayings of Zen Master Dogen (PDF) by Thomas Cleary alternate link (PDF)

Eihei Kōroku (Dōgen's Extensive Record) (PDF) by Dōgen (1200-1253 CE), translated by Shohaku Okumura alternate link (PDF)