A is a recorded collection of dialogues between a pupil and a ''

rōshi (Japanese: "old teacher"; "old master") is a title in Zen Buddhism with different usages depending on sect and country. In Rinzai Zen, the term is reserved only for individuals who have received ''inka shōmei'', meaning they have completed th ...

'' (a

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

teacher). Zen tradition values direct experience and communication over

scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...

s. (Some teachers go so far as to instruct their pupils to tear up their scriptures.) However, sometimes the ''mondō'' acts as a guide on the method of instruction. One example of a non-Buddhist ''mondō'' is the ''Sokuratesu-no-mondō'', the Japanese translation of the "

Socratic method The Socratic method (also known as method of Elenchus, elenctic method, or Socratic debate) is a form of cooperative argumentative dialogue between individuals, based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to draw ...

", whereby

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

asked his students questions in order to elicit the innate truth from assumed facts

External links

A brief synopsis of Zen Buddhism from the BBC website
Zen Zen texts Japanese Buddhist literature {{Zen-stub