The Mountains and Waters Sutra: A Practitioner's Guide to Dogen's "Sansuikyo"

An indispensible map of a classic Zen text.

“Mountains and waters are the expression of old buddhas.”

So begins “Sansuikyo,” or “Mountains and Waters Sutra,” a masterpiece of poetry and insight from Eihei Dogen, the thirteenth-century founder of the Soto school of Zen.

Shohaku Okumura—renowned for his translations of and magisterial teachings on Dogen—guides the reader through the rich layers of metaphor and meaning in “Sansuikyo,” which is often thought to be the most beautiful essay in Dogen’s monumental Shobogenzo. His wise and friendly voice shows us the questions Dogen poses and helps us realize what the answers could be. What does it mean for  mountains to walk? How are mountains an expression of Buddha’s truth, and how can we learn to hear the deep teachings of river waters? Throughout this luminous volume, we learn how we can live in harmony with nature in respect and gratitude—and awaken to our true nature.

• Being-Time: A Practitioner's Guide to Dogen's Shobogenzo Uji
• Deepest Practice, Deepest Wisdom: Three Fascicles from Shobogenzo with Commentary
• Realizing Genjokoan: The Key to Dogen's Shobogenzo
• The Light That Shines through Infinity: Zen and the Energy of Life
• Opening the Hand of Thought: Foundations of Zen Buddhist Practice
• The Wholehearted Way
• Boundless Vows, Endless Practice: Bodhisattva Vows in the 21st Century
• Living by Vow: A Practical Introduction to Eight Essential Zen Chants and Texts
• The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan
• The World Could Be Otherwise: Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path