scripture

Sacred writings of religions, comprising a large portion of the literature of the world. Scriptures vary in form, volume, age, and degree of sacredness. Nearly all scriptures were originally oral and were passed down as memorized texts through several generations before being put in writing. In some religions, notably Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, there is still strong emphasis on the value of reciting or chanting the scriptures aloud. The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) is the scripture of Judaism; the Bible (Old and New Testaments together) is the scripture of Christianity; and the Quhamzahrān is the scripture of Islam. Scriptures of Hinduism include the Vedas and Upanishads. Seealso Adi Granth; Avesta; Book of Mormon; sutra; Tripitaka.

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The Mondō (Japanese:問答, Mondō: "questions and answers"; Chinese: wèn-dá ) is a recorded collection of dialogues between a pupil and a rōshi (a Zen Buddhist teacher). Zen tradition values direct experience and communication over scriptures. (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", whereby Socrates asked his students questions in order to elicit the innate truth from assumed facts.

A brief synopsis of Zen Buddhism can be found on the BBC website: here