Even though the bureaucratic "transmissions" in the Soto church have nothing to do with spiritual insight, the Soto institution does nothing to dissuade people thinking that there is a mind-to-mind connection between its "roshis" and the historical Buddha. This 1987 incident has had a damaging impact on Anderson's reputation as a teacher, since his arrest received national media coverage. Access SFZC Online wherever you are, anytime. These and any number of other questions, complaints, hurts or criticisms harbored by his disciples, were not raised. Even newer students, who come to Zen Center and find out about these incidents, are sometimes confused and question whether I can be their teacher. Stay connected. SFZC will continue to offer classes, talks, workshops, and sangha gatherings through the Online Practice Center and residential guest student practice opportunities at all three temples. Please see the Covid-Related Openings and Closings Updates page as well as the Calendar. Shimano was not the bad guy; rather, those who made too much noise, who refused to go quietly, and thus disturbed Schnyers and others Zen practice, were the blameworthy ones. His first wife contracted tuberculosis and returned to her parents shortly after marriage; his second wife was brutally murdered by an erratic, antisocial monk whom Suzuki had retained as a temple assistant, despite contrary advise from neighbors and colleagues. During Baker-roshi's tenure, San Francisco Zen Center, the most highly visible of all American Zen institutions, bought ever more real estate, transformed ever more Bay Area buildings. This group is by far the largest Zen group in France and is active in the U.S.A. as well as in other parts of Europe. Find classes, retreats, practice periods, and many more offerings in the San Francisco Zen Center calendar of events. [1][15], In 1983 Tenshin Reb Anderson received shih from Zentatsu Richard Baker, becoming Baker's first Dharma heir (though Baker disputes this). Good bread, fine wine and simple, yet elegant, dining were offered by Tassajara Bakery and by Greens, the gourmet restaurant at Fort Mason that dished out vegetarian cuisine and inspiring views of the bay. This is a very interesting piece of "history" which is no doubt destined to be repeated. The Zen institution requires the master because he is supposedly a living example of the ideal of Zen and, as such, represents all of its legitimacy and authority. It is mentioned often enough that Downing, interestingly calculates the hours that individual senior members had meditated. Yet, I have found that within the Zen community there is little self-examination about Zen as an institution and its self-definitions and what the effects of these are in the world of flesh and blood people. That's what we made of it." In addition, if there were something to reform in Japanese Soto Zen, the automatic Dharma transmission for virtually all priests, often between father and son, would be high on the list. Right now, Manhattans Zen Studies Society, perhaps the most prestigious Zen Buddhist center in the United States, is being torn apart by lawsuits, backstabbing, and infighting. Steve Hagen. I am greatly indebted to the works of the following scholars, among others, whose Anderson became entangled in an incident in 1987 that reached back to 1983 just after Zentatsu Richard Baker had resigned as abbot. In fact, Kapleau never received Dharma transmission in the first place, so there was nothing to rescind. More commonly it is bestowed or given by a teacher to some one with limited attainment in order to keep his lineage alive. pp.347-379. Located atop a bumpy 10-mile (16km) road which is difficult for some vehicles to climb, Tassajara offers shuttles to and from the retreat for those inclined to forgo trying to make the trek on their own. He was perfect for me, Schnyer said. In this scheme, each teacher can trace his lineage and hence, authenticity, back to the historical Buddha. According to the dust jacket, Downing spent three years interviewing 80 people at the center of the Zen Center scandal. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Suzuki, in so many ways an admirable person, had a large hand in the problems that followed his death. A pioneer of gourmet vegetarian cuisine in America, the restaurant's first chefs were Edward Espe Brown and Deborah Madison. In 1987 SFZC started the Zen Hospice Project, a volunteer hospice program run out of a guest house on Page Street with five residential beds. Why should we think that Suzuki chose Baker as his only American Dharma heir based on his level of "spiritual attainment?" And the teachings in it. Anderson became entangled in an incident in 1987 that reached back to 1983 just after Zentatsu Richard Baker had resigned as abbot. Trust me." It simply means that a power structure has evolved that will perpetuate itself even if it means imputing "attainment" to people who don't really have it. Definitely worth checking them out on their website and trying to attend the beginners lesson! In not clearly explaining the meaning, to his disciples at the SFZC, of his transmission to Baker, while stressing that it was "real;" Suzuki chose to perpetuate a fiction and to dishonor the trust they had given him. The student who enters the "practice" having read a myth will expect to find the myth, and will think they have found the myth. [6], San Francisco Zen Center expanded quickly with Baker at the helm. When Kelly grew frustrated with Shimanos womanizing, he made a proposition. The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion, Doubleday, 1967, pp. In his letter, Zournas, who had resigned the presidency in July, details for the lawyers benefit how the various board members reacted to a motion that Shimano and his wife, then the organizations treasurer, be fired. Public opinion shows that while parishioners are, of course, disturbed by priests' abuse of children and young teens, they are more upset by the institutional cover up and denial of that behavior. 4 Thank Kai C . For a most interesting examination of early Chan lineage and truth claims read from a critical textual analysis rather than reading them "for information about Truth and Practice" or about "historical claims to own truth", see Cole, Alan, "It's All in the Framing", a paper given at U.C. The first is grounded in something tangible, concrete, observable: the soldier with his gun, or the scientist with her laboratory results. How bad was Shimanos womanizing? I asked Schnyer. Kai C. Half Moon Bay, California. Most people think of Zen as being iconoclastic, anti-authoritarian, simple, direct, and unattached. According to this model, mind-to-mind transmission began with an encounter between the historical Buddha Sakyamuni and Mahakasyapa, and continued, in an unbroken lineage, through twenty-eight Indian Patriarchs. "To sum up the situation, we have no sources at all from the T'ang which mentions or describe explicitly "Chan" institutions," p. 267. Ironically, what follows is in many ways a religious text. Not only is the book a compelling read; it also, more importantly perhaps, provides raw data for observing Zen mythmaking in action. For a many sided view of the Zen koan see, The Koan, Ed. And then I went back and basically never left. This happened almost 20 years ago and has been written about over the years by numerous insiders, outsiders and apologists of varying kinds. Its waves of people who say, Im done with this, I got what I can out of it and then a new group comes in.. Perhaps tellingly, Baker made this claim at the height of the Vietnam War, when virtually 100% of Zen followers were opposed to the war and hence having an anti-war/anti -government roshi in his lineage was good currency. Over the past 10 years, San Francisco Zen Center has devoted time and energy to studying the best practices around conflict resolution, difficult conversations, sexual harassment prevention, appropriate teacher/student boundaries, giving and receiving feedback, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, working with trauma, and Right Use of Power trainings. Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Teachings of Shunryu Suzuki: this link will take you to the website buy this book now Katagiri would go on to establish his own practice centerthe Minnesota Zen Centerin 1972 in Minneapolis. [2][6][14], A once controversial figure, Richard Baker was publicly criticized for his behavior at San Francisco Zen Center. Yet Baker certainly knew that, at best, few if any roshi are so fully realized. According to a 1982 letter from George Zournas to Jack Clareman, the Zen Studies Societys lawyer, a litany of charges was read against Shimano at a board meeting on September 14 of that year. 1967 also saw the arrival of Kobun Chino Otogawa of Eiheiji, who served as assistant to Suzuki. For example there was the claim that Zen monasteries in China were self- sufficient, which makes it seem that they were not dependent on the state and elite elements of society and were not actively promoting themselves to get this support and patronage. His focus on having the Center grow quickly and on reforming Soto Zen in Japan may also have contributed to the problems. These revelations led to community-wide pandemonium, and in 1984 Baker was forced to resign as abbot. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. The Zen Buddhist Who Preyed on His Upper East Side Students, The Zen Predator of the Upper East Side,. This is the consistent view of the master presented by Zen, the pure, simple, desireless and self-contained roshi, and was accepted unquestioningly by Zen Center members. This is very similar to the Japanese Soto Zen, with minor variances for social and cultural differences. Tenshin Reb Anderson-roshi, former abbot of City Zen Center, is senior Dharma teacher at Green Gulchtraining priests and laypeople, leading sesshins, giving talks and conducting workshops while also living onsite. I have found the work of the following social analysts to be especially illuminating: Peter L. Berger, Pierre Bourdieu, Noam Chomsky, Edward Herman, David C. Korten, Thomas Lukach, Howard Zinn and Angela Zito. A good place to begin to examine the scholarly view of early Chan history and development is Foulk, T. Griffith, Myth, Ritual, and Monastic Practice in Sung Ch'an Buddhism in, Religion and Society in T'ang and Sung China, Ed by Patricia Buckley Ebrey and Peter N. Gregory, University of Hawaii Press, 1993, pp147-205. Zen Center Members He was married three times. This ancient twisted karma I now fully avow. However, this supposed wisdom is beyond words, is not understood by the unenlightened who are then not qualified to judge or evaluate it, whether expressed in the words or in the behavior of the wise one. Anti-Authoritarian, simple, direct, and many more offerings in the San Francisco Zen Center of... America, the koan, Ed as assistant to Suzuki his focus on having the Center grow quickly on... 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