Goroku (a collection of sayings) (語録)
Generally, the term goroku indicates a collection of what a person said. Originally, it was a Zen sect-related term indicating the documents that a priest or priests wrote by hand, recording what his or their mentor priest said and preached, as well as the mentor's chronological list of the main events. However, the term has become used to generally indicate a collection of what a priest in religious sects other than Zen, a politician or an entertainer said.
In regard to the Zen sect
In the Zen sect, goroku started being generated around the middle of the Tang period.
Initially, a person's goroku was composed by collecting and compiling the person's Mondoshu (collection of dialogues), which had been written by his disciples, after the person died. However, in the Five Dynasties Period, a person's goroku was compiled while the person was still alive, and was audited by the person.
Typical goroku include "Rinzai Roku" (the record of Rinzai's teachings), "Hekiganroku" and "Kosonshukugoyo" (Summary of Kosonsyuku Analects).