This publication represents an English rendering of one of the great classics of Japanese Buddhism, the Shobogenzo, by Dogen (1200-1253), founder of the Soto Zen school. The translation was produced by the Soto Zen Text Project, a team of scholars working under the auspices of the Administrative Headquarters of Soto Zen Buddhism. It is based on the Japanese edition of the Shobogenzo in Kawamura Kodo ed., Dogen zenji zenshu, volumes 1-2, which provides what are thought to be the most authoritative compilations of Dogen's Shobogenzo essays, in seventy-five and twelve chapters, supplemented by sixteen additional texts.

The translations, in seven volumes, are aimed at both professional and lay audiences. They are accompanied by the Japanese texts and by extensive annotation on the language, literary sources, and interpretations of those texts. An eighth volume provides a lengthy study of the history and contents of the Shobogenzo, supplementary notes to the translation, and an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary works.