NYZ: The Pali Canon – TL;DR

A 5-week survey course from November 11th to December 16th, 2025

The Pali Canon is the oldest and most foundational collection of Buddhist scriptures, and our closest record of the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha. Yet it is vast, spanning dozens of volumes and thousands of pages, depending on the translation. Some texts remain untranslated into English even today.

In many American Zen sanghas, the Pali Canon is not often emphasized, as the focus tends to be on the teachings of later Zen ancestors. As a result, many Zen students in the West are relatively unfamiliar with its content and structure.

This five-week survey course offers a basic introduction to the Pali Canon and an overview of several of its central teachings. You may find that its style, tone, and approach offer a rich and complementary perspective to your existing Zen practice.

The fee for this online course is $50 for nonmembers and $40 for Zen Studies Society (ZSS) members, register by purchasing a series pass below. Note that the member price is for ZSS members only – please consider becoming a Supporting Member. Classes will be held on Zoom and facilitated by Giun Sensei. A meeting link will be shared in advance, and recordings will be made available to all participants after each session.  

The schedule will be as follows:

• Tuesday, November 11th, 8 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.
• Tuesday, November 18th, 8 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.
• Tuesday, November 25th, 8 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.
• Tuesday, December 2nd, NO CLASS (Rohatsu)
• Tuesday, December 9th, 8 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.
• Tuesday, December 16th, 8 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.