Soto Zen

The Caodong school of Chan Buddhism was founded in China the 9th century. Dogen introduced Soto (the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese graphs for Caodong) to Japan in the 13th century, where it quickly developed into one of the preeminent schools. In Soto Zen, the main form of practice is “just sitting,” in which one strives to erase the rigid categories associated with language so that the mind’s natural ability to illumine reality can shine forth.