Take part in the chanting service: sutras, dhāraṇīs, vows and bows
Join the morning or evening service — the chanting, bowing and dedication that both schools treat as practice alongside zazen.
Why it works
Zen calls itself a teaching not dependent on words, yet both schools chant daily. The Rinzai and Ōbaku council says that study and chanting of sacred texts are an important part of Zen practice and lists what its temples chant: the Heart Sūtra, dhāraṇīs such as the Dhāraṇī of Great Compassion, the Four Bodhisattva Vows, the Kannon sūtra, and Hakuin’s Song of Zazen, which teaches that the meditative mind is meant to continue in every activity. The Sōtōshū recites the Shushōgi (Meaning of Practice and Verification), the Heart Sūtra and two chapters of the Lotus Sūtra, and its central devotional phrase is Namu Shakyamuni Butsu, homage to Shakyamuni Buddha. Chanting is framed by gassho and full prostrations, done three times before and after the sutras, and a dedication (ekō) read after a sutra directs the merit of the recitation to others. Chanting with a group is sitting with the voice and body together, and it ties the individual sitter to the vows and lineage the community holds.
How to do it
- Ask the centre for its chant book or service card, and read the English translation of each text before you chant it.
- In the service, follow the people next to you for bows and for when to stand, sit and prostrate. Nobody expects a newcomer to know the forms.
- Chant from the belly, matching the pitch and pace of the group rather than leading.
- Let the meaning of one line stay with you. The Heart Sūtra page explains its lines and how it is chanted in Zen services.
- At home, you might begin or end your sitting with the Four Bodhisattva Vows or a single recitation of a short text your community uses.
Evidence
The list of texts chanted in Rinzai temples, and the description of Hakuin’s Song of Zazen, are from the Rinzai and Ōbaku council’s Sacred Texts page; ekō is defined in its terminology. The Sōtō sutras and devotional phrase are from the Sōtōshū’s Denomination page, and gassho and three prostrations (sanpai) before and after chanting from its Manners in the Zendo. The Sōtōshū also publishes the scriptures used in its daily services. In Korean Seon, Muller notes, scriptures such as the Diamond Sūtra have kept a central place in monastic and lay practice. (anecdotal)
Chanting is described here in the schools’ own terms, as devotion and practice; it has not been studied as a Zen practice. Western centres vary in whether they chant in Japanese, English or both.
Sources
- Joint Council for Rinzai and Ōbaku Zen. What is Zen? — Sacred Texts (the texts chanted in Rinzai temples, including Hakuin’s Song of Zazen). Rinnou.net.
- Joint Council for Rinzai and Ōbaku Zen. What is Zen? — Terminology. Rinnou.net.
- Sōtōshū (Soto Zen Buddhism). Denomination — tradition, founders, head temples, main image of worship, doctrine and sutras. SOTOZEN.COM.
- Sōtōshū (Soto Zen Buddhism). Manners in the Zendo — entering, the bell, kinhin, the kyosaku, gassho, shashu and prostrations. SOTOZEN.COM.
- Sōtōshū (Soto Zen Buddhism). Soto School Scriptures for Daily Services and Practice. SOTOZEN.COM.
- Muller, A. C. (2005). A Korean Contribution to the Zen Canon: The Oga Hae Seorui. In S. Heine & D. S. Wright (Eds.), Zen Classics, pp. 43–64. New York: Oxford University Press.
Common mistake
Treating the service as a quaint extra to sit through before the “real” meditation — or, in the other direction, deciding that bowing to a Buddha image makes Zen something you cannot take part in. Both schools present chanting and bowing as expressions of respect and practice, not as a test of belief.
Practice this with IX Coach
More practices for Zen Buddhism: Its History, the Rinzai and Sōtō Schools, and How to Begin
- Find a Zen community and a teacher
Zen is transmitted face to face, so the practice that opens the tradition is finding a sangha to sit with and, in time, a teacher to work with.
- Sit zazen at home: a short orientation to the two schools’ instructions
Begin a daily sitting at home, knowing where the Sōtō and Rinzai instructions agree and where they part.
- Attend a sesshin: what a Zen retreat is and what to expect
Join a sesshin — a period of intensive group sitting, usually up to a week — prepared for its schedule, forms and silence.
- Samu: join the work period as practice
Do the centre’s cleaning, cooking or garden work in silence and full attention, the way Zen monasteries have treated work as training.
- Oryoki and the Five Contemplations: eating as practice
Eat a formal Zen meal with nested bowls and verses — or bring its Five Contemplations to an ordinary meal at home.
- Read one foundational Sōtō text: Dōgen’s Fukanzazengi
Read Dōgen’s one-page Universally Recommended Instructions for Zazen, the text in which he set out why and how to sit.
- Read the Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch
Read the classic Chan text attributed to Huineng — its story of the verse contest and its teaching of sudden awakening and “nonthought” — knowing what kind of text it is.
Related concepts
- Zen Practice (Zazen and Beyond)
Zazen, shikantaza, koans, and beginner’s mind — mechanisms and honest evidence
- Zen Koans: Inquiry Beyond Reason
Rinzai inquiry practice — how koans work, how to approach them, and honest limits
- Shikantaza: Just Sitting
Dogen’s objectless meditation — how to sit, what to expect, and honest evidence
- The Heart Sutra: Its Lines, Its Structure and How It Is Practised
The shortest Perfection of Wisdom scripture, read line by line and practised the ways traditions practise it
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