Sōtō

Sōtō Zen (曹洞宗, Sōtō-shū) is the biggest of Japan’s three traditional Zen sects, alongside Rinzai and Ōbaku. It traces back to the Chinese Caodong school, which Tang-dynasty monk Dongshan Liangjie started in the ninth century. Its core practice is Shikantaza—sitting meditation without any object, anchor, or content, where the meditator simply notices thoughts as they come and go without interfering.

The Japanese version of this school was brought over in the 1200s by Dōgen Zenji, who had studied Caodong Buddhism in China. Along with Keizan Jōkin, Dōgen is honored as the founder of Sōtō Zen in Japan. Today, the sect runs about 14,000 temples, making it one of the country’s largest Buddhist organizations. It has also spread widely in the West; in 1996, Sōtō Zen priests in North America formed the Soto Zen Buddhist Association.

**History**

**Chinese origins**

The original Chinese Caodong school was founded by the ninth-century Tang monk Dongshan Liangjie. One common explanation for the name “Caodong” is that it combines one character from Dongshan’s name and one from his disciple Caoshan Benji’s name, originally in reverse order. But the *Dongshan Yulu* (“Record of the Dialogues of Dongshan”) says the name points to “colleagues of the teachings above the caves” who follow the “black wind” and admire masters of various schools. Dōgen and others later argued that “Cao” actually refers to Huineng of Caoxi temple, not Caoshan. The branch founded by Caoshan died out, and Dōgen studied in the surviving Chinese line.

An earlier figure linked to the school is Shitou Xiqian, who wrote the poem *Sandokai*. That poem became the basis for Dongshan Liangjie’s *Song of the Precious Mirror Samadhi* and the teaching of the Five Ranks.

**Kamakura period (1185–1333)**

Dōgen brought Caodong teachings to Japan in 1227 after studying Chan in China. He first settled at Kennin-ji in Kyoto. He had received Dharma transmission from Tiantong Rujing at Qìngdé Temple, where Hongzhi Zhengjue had once been abbot. Hongzhi’s writings on “silent illumination” strongly shaped Dōgen’s idea of Shikantaza. Dōgen also brought back koan collections and other texts, helping transmit the koan tradition to Japan. In his early works, he stressed zazen practice, which caused conflict at Kennin-ji: monks from Enryaku-ji were angered by his claim that Zen was supreme, and they drove him out of the temple.

In 1243, Dōgen founded Eihei-ji, now one of Sōtō’s two head temples. He chose to build new monasteries following Chinese models, even if it meant open hostility from established schools. Daily routines copied Chinese practices that themselves went back to Indian traditions. Key elements that helped Sōtō succeed in medieval Japan—like group meditation on long platforms in a sangha hall where monks also ate and slept—came straight from Indian Vinaya texts. The etiquette in Sōtō monasteries also traces to Indian Vinaya.

**Ejō**

Around 1236, Dōgen was succeeded by his disciple Koun Ejō (1198–1280). Ejō had originally belonged to Nōnin’s Daruma school but joined Dōgen in 1229. He began his Buddhist studies at Mount Hiei, the center of Tendai, then studied Pure Land Buddhism under Shōkū, before joining the Daruma school led by Kakuan. He later entered Dōgen’s community in 1234. Ejō wrote a journal in colloquial Japanese called the *Shōbōgenzō Zuimonki* (“The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Record of Things Heard”), or simply *Zuimonki*, recording conversations with Dōgen. These talks stress a strict Zen practice and resist adding other practices like building statues or new temples. This journal contrasts with the *Goyuigon Kiroku* (“Record of Final Words”), an apocryphal text attributed to Gikai.

**Gikai**

In 1241, a large group from the Daruma school, led by Ekan, joined Dōgen’s school after serious conflicts with Tendai and Rinzai schools. Among them were Gikai, Gien, and Giin, who became influential in Dōgen’s lineage. After Ejō’s death, a dispute called the *sandai sōron* broke out. Ejō had stepped down as abbot of Eihei-ji in 1267, handing the position to Gikai, whom Dōgen had favored. Gikai, originally from the Daruma school, had joined Dōgen in 1241 with Ekan’s group. He introduced esoteric elements like prayers and incantations into the practice. This caused opposition, and in 1272 Ejō returned as abbot. After Ejō died in 1280, Gikai became abbot again, backed by military support.