Archives

The First Zen Institute houses a substantial archive of letters, articles, photographs, tape recordings and notes of lectures by Sokei-an and others. Most of the holdings represent the period from the Institute's founding in 1930 through the 1960s.

The archive includes materials documenting the activities of many key figures in the early history of Zen in America, including Sokei-an and Ruth Fuller Sasaki, Mary Farkas, Alan Watts, Nyogen Senzaki, D.T. Suzuki, Gary Snyder, Joshu Sasaki, Soyen Shaku, Isshu Miura, and others. It also includes two unpublished manuscripts: The Three Hundred Mile Tiger: The Record Lin-Chi translation and commentary by Sokei-an, edited by Mary Farkas and Robert Lopez and Original Nature: Zen Comments on the Sixth Patriarch's Platform Sutra translation and commentary by Sokei-an, edited by Mary Farkas, Robert Lopez and Peter Haskel.

Serious researchers who wish to study this material at the Institute should write a letter, which will be reviewed by the Publications Committee, First Zen Institute, 113 East 30th, New York, NY 10016. It should state the researcher's credentials, the project for which the research is intended and any other details that may be relevant.