This "non-person" i.e., a roshi, is a generic person, who supposedly is a real member of the Buddha's family, the holder of absolute truth, whose function besides producing an heir to keep the lineage alive, is to wield authority: to be listened to, obeyed and bowed down to. Ungerleider.[26]. [5], In 1969, Sokoji's board of directors asked Suzuki to resign his position as the temple's priest, asserting that he was spending more time with his Western students than the Japanese-American congregation. For Suzuki Roshi's edited words see the well-known Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, Weatherhill, 1970. That "something else" is what Michael Downing tries to find in "Shoes Outside the Door: Desire, Devotion and Excess at the San Francisco Zen Center. " The admonition to "just sit," to "just practice," is one more way in which trust in one's discriminating faculties or any other Buddhist practice are cut off. The experience of legitimacy, realness and of being believable hides the underlying power relations. In July 1987 Baker gave Dharma transmission to Whalen; Whalen later became abbot of the Hartford Street Zen Center (following the tenure of Issan Dorsey) in the Castro district of San Francisco. And what was Suzuki's intention here? I think that really helped to put everybody on their best behavior. This necessitates the production of virtual quotas of such highly exalted people, while in the realm of "spiritual attainment" it is rare to produce just one such person. Ruling year info. Also see his Zen War Stories to be published December 2002. Interestingly, the later versions of the supposed events often have more detail than the earlier versions, implying that we are dealing with literary creations rather than historical biography. Likewise, Dharma transmission was as much about institutional prosperity, prestige, authority, continuity and acceptance and control by imperial authorities as it was about notions of enlightenment and spiritual perfection. It was more about power, about finding another way to govern and manage an operation that was never sure if it was a California commune, a Japanese monastery or a New Age business. In this sect, Dharma transmission is commonly a father-son transmission ritual culminating in the son's inheritance of the family temple. There is a whole lineage built on the idea that Kapleau had transmission. Anderson became entangled in an incident in 1987 that reached back to 1983 just after Zentatsu Richard Baker had resigned as abbot. Was he hypocritical for reprimanding his students for flirting while he carried on numerous affairs with his female students, including one that ruptured his best friend's marriage? At the time of the purchase, Baker claimed he needed so expensive a car because of the amount of driving he did. 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. Although Baker claimed that his relationship was a love-affair which had not yet been consummated, the outcry surrounding the incident led to accusations of impropriety, including the admissions by several female members of the community that they had had affairs with Baker before or during his tenure as abbot. It matters that we keep assenting to the stories. Understandably, Suzuki may not have been able to read across the Japanese-American cultural divide and therefore not see the character flaws of Baker that were obvious to some of his unenlightened American students. "The years people spent here were not wasted years of being duped. Andy Afable, one of Shimanos former head monks, called these four the major missionaries of Zen, as they had all received transmission from leading Japanese teachers: That is, they had been deemed worthy to be the heirs, to be responsible for the persistence of the teachings. It is possible that Suzuki had a paternal attachment to Baker. You wont find anybody within the Zen Studies Society who has tolerated this stuff from start to finish, Schnyer said. More commonly it is bestowed or given by a teacher to some one with limited attainment in order to keep his lineage alive. Trust me." [2] However, San Francisco Zen Center's website now comments: "Although the circumstances leading to his resignation as abbot in 1984 were difficult and complex, in recent years, there has been increased contact; a renewal of friendship and dharma relations. However Zen texts may define the role, Zen masters have not been fully enlightened beings beyond question. San Francisco Zen Center has begun to offer on-site meditation, Dharma talks, programs, classes, and other events. And perhaps most importantly, his authority will be understood with a taken-for-granted quality of being natural. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. Zen is a Chinese invention roughly beginning in the seventh or eighth century of this era. Join the San Francisco Zen Center Membership Program. One of the most interesting aspects of the Baker case is that the people at the SFZC did not change their fundamental understanding of the process they had gone through for, in some cases, twenty or more years. A Zen teacher can certainly assist his students in their practice, can encourage the students to be diligent, guide their meditation practice in both public and private meetings, offer aid in difficult times, talk about Zen texts to enrich the student's sense of the tradition and explicate Buddhist and Zen ideas. There he found the corpse of a man with a bullet wound to the head and a revolver nearby. In the future, his name will be used as proof of authenticity for someone else that is also claiming this authentic connection to the Buddha. This 1987 incident has had a damaging impact on Anderson's reputation as a teacher, since his arrest received national media coverage. He reported being mugged at knifepoint by a man just a block away from the San Francisco Zen Center at 300 Page Street. There appeared to be a vast cultural divide between the Zen Center students of Suzuki and Japanese Zen monks that showed itself both in America and in Japan. The idea and ritual of Dharma transmission rather than the meaning or content of that transmission, becomes the prominent and meaningful fact. The leadership of San Francisco Zen Center required Anderson to take a leave of absence from his position as abbot. Around 1970, he began sitting regularly with a group in Santa Cruz that went on to form the Santa Cruz Zen Center. Trouble At the San Francisco Zen Center This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. He does not sit zazen and only chants when he has a service to do for someone." And the teachings in it. From 1986 to 1988 he served as abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center, and from 1988 to 1995 he served there as co-abbot with Sojun Mel Weitsman. Learn and Practice at San Francisco Zen Center, residential guest student practice opportunities, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility, Conflict, Complaint, and Ethical Review Processes. 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. But there are many lesser-known yet just as randy Zen teachers. Reviewed July 20, 2014 . Used with permission. Stay connected. While we remain committed to the health and safety of our residential and wider sangha, we deeply value the importance of gathering in person and sharing the Dharma in proximity with others. Original Dwelling Place by Robert Aitken book review by Robert Goss buy this book now There is a saying, "It is difficult to convince a man of something if his paycheck depends on his not understanding it." It means, "Don't ask. Latest News. Victoria describes how the most prominent roshis from all sects of Japanese Zen interpreted Zen's teachings to support the imperial and militaristic goals of Japan from the early twentieth century through the end of World War II and beyond. A number of Downing's interviewees spoke of receiving the true or pure Zen teaching from Suzuki Roshi. The deal I cut with him, Kelly told me, was that he stop sleeping with Western women and only sleep with Japanese women, because they dont tell.. Members along with Baker literally built their world based on the language and view of Zen accompanied by ritualized behavior that added to the sense of being embedded in and being an active participant of that sacred world. Introduction San Francisco Zen Center's purpose is to make the teachings and practice of Soto Zen Buddhism widely available, to train teachers, and to help cultivate mindfulness and compassion in the world. In the last few decades as opposed to the past, we have had a clear personal view of the actual people involved, Richard Baker being only one. The implications of this authority in some ways far outstrip that bestowed upon the highest secular authorities, since there is the implication that the Zen master is enlightened, a fully attained being. by Steven Heine and Dale S. Wright, Oxford University Press, 2000. 4.5. The other was to establish Chan's primacy over the indigenous teachings of Confucianism and Taoism in the eyes of the state and the elite of society. But during the 1960s, Suzuki attracted an eager flock of meditating Westerners, including Baker, who showed up in 1962 and was soon singled out as a possible successor. Another error is seen in the statement that Yasutani roshi rescinded the Dharma transmission he gave to Philip Kapleau. Their sins are far worse than what goes on in Zen circles. Suzuki or any other Zen master only looks this way if we avoid looking at their real life. [7] Thich Nhat Hanh wrote of Baker, "To me, he embodies very much the future of Buddhism in the West with his creative intelligence and his aliveness. I welcome any comments from the reader. I don't know for certain but Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind was published in 1970, only one year before Baker himself received Dharma transmission and the title, Zen master. We agree that the Constitutional Convention made law for all the people, and for all generations to come; we agree that the government will back up our money, if no longer with gold, then with its promises. 2 Thank Kelly S . At times, senior disciples needed to reassure newcomers who questioned Baker's behavior that all was in order. A good part of the goal of Buddhism is to reduce illusion and suffering. It is interesting to note that these beliefs persisted strongly even into the year 2000, roughly the time of Downing's interviews when there had been thirty-five years of sexual and financial scandals in the Zen community in America. Sarasota, Florida. I believe the trouble at the San Francisco Zen Center, and at many other prominent Zen Centers, across the country to this day, is caused by a lack of understanding as to how the ideas of Dharma transmission, unbroken lineage, and Zen master have been used historically. Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, shortly before his death in December 1971, gave him Dharma transmission in the Soto sect of Zen, thereby making Baker, for his students and for all future people in his lineage, an authentic link to the Buddha. 3. Had he misused confidences given to him in dokusan (a private meeting between teacher and student pertaining to the student's practice, an extremely important element in Zen training) for self-serving reasons? Katagiri would go on to establish his own practice centerthe Minnesota Zen Centerin 1972 in Minneapolis. He attended Harvard University, where he studied architecture and history. About. Writings featured as biography in Zen are most often an idealized presentation of how a master should perform his role rather than the life of a real person. A descendant of Thomas Dudley,[4] Baker was raised in a family of moderate wealth. This is a person without a defect, showing no self-interest, desire, interior calculation, or a shortcoming. ", Read more about this topic: San Francisco Zen Center, Problems, laws havent the slightest interest for meexcept in the world of science, in which they are always changing; or in the world of art, in which they are unchanging; or in the world of Being in which they are, for the most part, unknown.Margaret Anderson (18861973), One does not arrest Voltaire.Charles De Gaulle (18901970). Thanks to Mr. Oppenheimer's efforts, women have come forward, some even using their names; we think this kind of courage can only embolden other survivors of abuse to speak out. The Zen Institution For a view from the political perspective that has application in the religious arena see Edwards, David, "A Chest of Tools for Intellectual Self-Defense" in Burning All Illusions, South End Press, pp.177-224. 13 reviews of San Francisco Zen Center "This place is really awesome! This is also extremely disempowering which can lead to all sorts of problems, as the SFZC case clearly shows. 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