The Institute For Zen Studies

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Present study groups:List of Zen sect sutra research groups

In addition to research on previously unstudied Zen texts, Institute-supported study groups have been reexamining commonly read sutras in order to make them more accessible to modern believers.

Rinzai School Sutra Study Group

Description This group is reconsidering the design and use of the daily sutras and dharanis chanted in the contemporary Rinzai school, with the intention of bringing them into closer accord with the preferences of ordinary people in the modern world.

Former study groups:List of Zen sect sutra research groups

Recently, the study group was being held at the Institute, but the list has already ended.

Lankavatara Sutra Study Group

Description Under the direction of Prof. Tokiwa, this group is examining the reconstructed Sanskrit text of the Lankavatara Sutra, together with the Lankavatara Sutra’s Chinese translation, Japanese kundoku reading, and English and Japanese translations.

Approaches to Training Acolytes Study Group

Description In a series of meetings held between September 1992 and July 1993, this group considered various issues relating to the education of Zen temple acolytes, a subject of central importance in producing successors to the priesthood.