Abstract: Zen phrase books include books of proverbs or wise sayings, handbooks compiled by early Zen monks as aids to composing Chinese poetry, dictionaries of Chinese dialect or colloquial language, and guidebooks for reading tea ceremony scrolls. In a narrower sense, the Zen phrase book is the handbook that Japanese Rinzai Zen monks use for the “capping phrase” exercise in the Zen kan practice. This chapter describes two classic and three modern Zen Phrase Books. The classic ones are Kuzshi by Ty Eich Zenji and Zenrin Kushi by Ijshi. The new collections are: Zudokko Kush, compiled by Fujita Genro, Shinsan Zengosh, complied by Tsuchiya Etsud, and Kunch Zenrin Kush, edited and revised by Shibayama Zenkei Roshi. The chapter closes with some reflections on two broader questions: How can Zen, supposedly “not founded on words and letters” have a capping phrase practice? And what are the origins of the capping phrase exercise and how did it get incorporated into Zen meditation practice.

Keywords: capping phrase, kan, Kuzshi, Zenrin Kushi, Zudokko Kush, Shinsan Zengosh, Kuncho Zenrin Kush,