However, I do not mean to imply there is no inner spiritual content to the Zen tradition. Bibliographical Notes ---Friedrich Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human (1878) San Francisco from the 1960's into the 1980's was considered by many to be the freest city in America, especially when understanding "libre" as freedom from ideological constraints. 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. 1969 - Suzuki was asked to resign as priest at Sokoji by the temple's board of directors because he was spending more time with his Western students than the Japanese-American congregation. 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. By Kurt Wolff, Free Press Paperback, 1950 for a discussion of authority, prestige, subordination, and sociability. You have to ask whether Suzuki was aware of the claims made by Baker and, if so, why he permitted them to stand without correction. Ruling year info. Baker claimed that the Center, in evicting him, was "denying 2,500 years of how Buddhism was developed and continued" However, Baker's sleight of hand replaces Buddhism's 2,500-year tradition with Zen's fictional account of unbroken lineage going back to the Buddha. Supporting tools to make this narrative seem real and unconstructed include the particular methods of meditation and interactions between teacher and student as well as an abundance of validating mythologies most often presented as history in the form of biography, along with accommodating literary and ritual devices. San Francisco from the 1960's into the 1980's was considered by many to be the freest city in America, especially when understanding "libre" as freedom from ideological constraints. I see how my empowerment to protect and care for the Triple Treasure inflated my sense of personal authority, and thus detracted from and disparaged the Triple Treasure. Your support is crucial to sustain our practice centers and thriving online community. He remained abbot there until 1984, the year he resigned his position after it was disclosed in the previous year that he and the wife of one of SFZC's benefactors had been having an ongoing affair. 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. Visitors can enjoy the springs, go swimming or on hiking trips, and have the opportunity to arrange for practice with the community living at the monastery for a few days. The virgin birth, the Buddha, Joseph Smiths golden plates that became the Book of Mormonto build spiritual tradition, it does not matter if the people were real or if the events happened. But in truth, neither Suzuki nor Baker fit the saintly mold. "On both a personal and a professional level, I am still dealing with the consequences of this episode. Below is the information about san francisco zen center scandal . [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. Their sins are far worse than what goes on in Zen circles. Classes and workshops from our Online Programs, resources for beginners, zazen (meditation) and chanting, Dharma talks, and live online practice sessions with teachers. "To sum up the situation, we have no sources at all from the T'ang which mentions or describe explicitly "Chan" institutions," p. 267. Baker and Suzuki themselves were rewarded by this system. I finally asked Schnyer if he had said what Zournas attributed to him: He hasnt raped anyone yet, has he? [7], Baker received Dharma transmission from Suzuki in 1970,[2] and then was installed as abbot of San Francisco Zen Center during the "Mountain Seat Ceremony" on November 21, 1971. Upon his final visit he found the body no longer there, and a fellow priest in whom he had confided showed him a newspaper article covering the apparent suicide. A number of Downing's interviewees spoke of receiving the true or pure Zen teaching from Suzuki Roshi. One has to ask if something is not missing in Suzuki's simple prescription to "just sit?" His critics say Baker "still doesn't get it," doesn't understand the errors of his way. But, given that no one interviewed in the book expressed any view outside of the standard Zen model, one may ask, was the Zen history taught at the Zen Center just more of Zen legend? 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. A senior member relates in Downing's book that Suzuki himself refused to hear criticism of Baker by other members of the Center because, as he said, " To his [Suzuki's] way of thinking, Dick's commitment was at another level, so the rest of us were not in a position to criticize him." The meaning of these terms evolved as a means of self-definition for the Zen sect to differentiate itself from other Buddhist sects in a way that particularly matched the Chinese social system based on genealogy and to gain legitimization and authenticity from the imperial powers that always maintained tight control over Buddhism. It could fairly be said that what is effectively transmitted by Dharma transmission is institutional authority, rather than religious wisdom. They have shown us clearly that much of what has been presented by the tradition as "history," is really a myth created with two purposes. 3. This dissertation also asks whether the Chan sect existed at all as a separate and distinct sect in the Tang dynasty, the supposed "golden age of Chan"). It is available on the internet at http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~buddhism/aar-bs/1999/lachs.htm (here you can also access the other papers from the panel on Ch'an ) or at http://www.darkzen.com/Articles/meansofauthorization.htm (one can also find other essays on Zen at this site). But in the 1960s and 70s, American Buddhists needed the foreigners. Perhaps the biggest change is that the two current co-abbotts are women. is co-abbess of the San Francisco Zen Center. 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. Branching Streams is a network of affiliate Dharma centers and Sanghas in the Zen lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. 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. Today SFZC is the largest St organization in the West. 22, no.3-4. When it came to Baker's transmission from Suzuki, virtually all the students interviewed by Downing assumed that it was a "real" transmission. As in any field, there is a need for experienced and knowledgeable teachers. Hence, a number of questions were never openly raised: Was he acting in an arrogant fashion? Why should we think that Suzuki chose Baker as his only American Dharma heir based on his level of "spiritual attainment?" The idea of the enlightened Zen master authenticated through the ritual of dharma transmission and maintained by an unbroken lineage going back to the historical Buddha is at the heart of the Zen tradition. Shoes Outside The Door, p.289. Rather than report this to the police, Anderson returned to the body over several days to meditate over the corpse. What I mean by the "Zen" institution, for the simple purpose of this conversation, is the organized set of structures that support the standard model of Zen. Soon these Westerners participated in regular services, and new non-Asian students came to outnumber the Japanese-American congregation. He found willing assenters, willing children eager to listen to his fairy tales. 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. 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? What unites the several panels is a stream of monarch butterflies, often seen in spring at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, one of SFZC's three temples. In this way the teacher was like a deity, a minor god. Another error is seen in the statement that Yasutani roshi rescinded the Dharma transmission he gave to Philip Kapleau. On the corner of Page and Laguna Streets in San Francisco, diagonally across from San Francisco Zen Center, is a corner building with a series of murals that wrap around the boarded-over windows. On one visit he decided to take the revolver home with him. [1] San Francisco Zen Center's web site 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. By this time there had also been an abundance of scholarly writing and empirical evidence exposing much of the mythology surrounding Zen. It all came tumbling down in a 1983 event known in Zen Center circles as "the Apocalypse." It was a spiritual scandal starring the usual suspects -- sex, money and the abuse of religious. The meeting, which Zournas had hoped would mark the end of Shimanos tenure, turned out to be another show of support. Therefore, in the need to remain at the Center, members had a powerful incentive to fully buy into Zen's mythology. One student expressed it as, "some of the senior priests were in it for a payoff-Transmission," another stated it as, "They were ambitious, and only Richard could give it [transmission] to them, because he was the only one who had it." If youre going to do this, youre going to do it on your own, but Im not going to nurse you. For me he was perfect Somebody looking from the outside could say thats why we stuck with him all the time. 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. The leadership of San Francisco Zen Center required Anderson to take a leave of absence from his position as abbot. Brian Victoria was so interested in the possibility of a public pacifist/anti-war Soto monk that he contacted Suzuki's son Hoitsu who told him: "I don't know where all of this antiwar talk comes from, but my father and the rest of the family supported Japan's war effort just like everyone else." After six months, he returned to his position. Whose Zen? But for Schnyer this constantly refreshing membership was proof that the sangha did disapprove of Shimanos treatment of women. In this sect, Dharma transmission is commonly a father-son transmission ritual culminating in the son's inheritance of the family temple. It depends not on miracles or mystical figures or discoveries of secret books, but merely on our willingness to believe, against evidence if need be, that those things were real. The senior disciples consistently stressed that Baker's transmission was real; it made him into a "pure vessel of the Dharma," a man of wisdom, far beyond the questioner's obviously limited understanding and suspicion. The duo published a book of recipes in 1987 titled The Greens Cookbook. This is one reason why we are looking at his case, to see how the system works, how it has always worked. 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. Zen's highly ritualized activities added a visceral instantiation to the cognitive edifice. Baker's case took place within a certain context, and to understand what happened it is helpful to look not only at Baker, but also at Zen institutional self-definitions and the patterns of social life they have engendered in the United States. With this view in place, the entire spectrum of permissible thought is now caught and limited within Zen's mythological presentation, which was a completed creation by the eleventh century in China. It is important to remember now that the interviews Downing conducted in 1998-2000 were long after the events at the SFZC took place. While traveling back to school after a vacation, he stopped with a friend at Dai Bosatsuthe Zen Studies Society's monastery in the Catskillsand was impressed immediately. It also spun off its business and stopped pretending that work without compensation was "spiritual practice.". It is clear that the senior members of Zen Center surrounding Baker were well-indoctrinated vessels of Zen ideology. Also see, The Sociology of Georg Simmel, Trans.and Ed. "Zen Dharma transmission between master and disciple could occur whether or not the disciple had realized enlightenment, just so long as the ritual of personal initiation had been performed." Members had not the slightest inkling that their view of Zen was controlled. 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. 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. Until one begins to view religious institutions as institutions that function in a particular context, subject to the same problematic power relationships as secular institutions, problems such as those that arose at the San Francisco Zen Center and Buddhist organizations across the West will be almost inevitable. In America, it is common in Zen and other communities led by a charismatic teacher to view events that could generate questions such as these not as real life-problems, but as "skillful means" employed to convey the essence of "the teaching." 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. 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. Means of Authorization: Establishing Hierarchy in Ch'an/Zen Buddhism in America This 1987 incident has had a damaging impact on Anderson's reputation as a teacher, since his arrest received national media coverage. pp.347-379. Richard Baker was 36 years old when he was installed as abbott of the San Francisco Zen Center in 1971. The Examiner reports that Preston has wants to use the mostly vacant 555 Fulton as . For an in-depth look at three special projects happening at SFZC, check out our new Impact Report. It was also mentioned that Suzuki believed that Dharma transmission must be "real", implying that there is "not real" Dharma transmission. Cases like this are important simply because the study of Zen history has shown us the whole lineage tradition is built so heavily on questionable written and word-of-mouth accounts; what is said in the present will surely be repeated long into the future. About. I remember many heated arguments, he told me, and no doubt one of my many arguments was: this is personal behavior, not illegal behavior., Denis Kelly, a former Dai Bosatsu vice abbot, and himself no model of sexual continencehe too has had affairs, he told me, including one that almost broke up his current sanghashared Schnyers understanding of the proper hierarchical relationship between the Zen master and his female students. On May 23, 1959, Shunryu Suzuki (then age 55) came from Japan to San Francisco to serve as head priest of Sokojia Soto Zen temple then located at 1881 Bush Street in Japantown. 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. He worked for me, and if he didnt work for other people, then I just wanted them to go, and often hoped theyd go more quietly than they did., Quietly or not, many people did leave. The leadership of San Francisco Zen Center required Anderson to take a leave of absence from his position as abbot. He writes a religion column forThe New York Timesand is on Twitter@markopp1. The land was purchased from one of the founders of Polaroid, George Wheelwright. He is now a professor of psychology at the University of Texas, and in December 2012 I spoke with him by telephone. In the wake of Baker's resignation, SFZC transitioned to a democratically elected leadership model, until in 2010 there was a new introduction of a predesignated slated of board members. Former students have said that he was addicted to power, abusive of his position, extravagant in his personal spending, and inappropriate in his love life. In fact, it was often not based on spiritual attainment at all, most especially so in Japanese Soto Zen, which is the sect of Suzuki, Baker and the San Francisco Zen Center. He may have slept with dozens; I personally have identified over a dozen, and spoken to many of them. Americans needed somebody to teach them the rituals. Me and my friend always had suspicions he had ongoing relationships with Japanese women that were kept quiet, and were more or less continuous. This is a convenient and economical way to stay in the city while experiencing life in a Zen Buddhist temple and enjoying the serene elegance of a building designed by Julia Morgan. ", Lachs, Stuart: Suzuki Roshi, the founder of the San Francisco Zen Center and its leader until his death in 1971, was an impressive person, sincerely loved by most all the Center's members. [5], In 1983 Tenshin Reb Anderson received shiho (Dharma Transmission) from Richard Baker. Not only the work of Zen writers, but political analysts, social critics, sociologists, and my involvement with the practice have informed my thinking about the state of contemporary Zen in the West. Foulk doubts that the Chan sect existed as a separate sect with its own monastic institutions during the Tang dynasty. However, it should be noted, that he let interviewees voice any number of inaccuracies without comment. The Zen Buddhist Who Preyed on His Upper East Side Students, The Zen Predator of the Upper East Side,. It was high. Despite having only had 12 years in the United States, Suzuki had gone a long way toward establishing Soto Zen in America. Baker also gives seminars at Boulder Zen Center in Boulder, Colorado twice each year, typically on the last weekends of January and April. Others were more forgiving, but their trust in me and my integrity was permanently shaken. But how real is this history? (I don't mean to say that Kapleau is any more or less qualified to teach for receiving transmission or not, and in fact he is one of the few major teachers not involved with sexual or other scandal though one of his disciples did have a major scandal.) The Church hierarchy has displayed a consistent concern for protecting and maintaining the eminence of the abusive priests and the holiness of the institution of the Catholic Church, rather than concern for the children and teenagers trusted to their care. 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. [9] The building, designed by Julia Morgan, was built as the Emanu-el Residence Club in 1922 for the Emanu-el Sisterhood. [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. 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. Unlike his predecessors, Suzuki was a fluent speaker of English who actually wanted to come to the United States. In reality it means, "don't question, don't look!" 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. One of the earliest texts extant is "Regulations of the Chan Approach" (Ch'an men Kuei-shih, which cannot be dated earlier than 988) that some scholars think was the preface to Pai-chang's Rules. Shocked by the series of scandals involving its senior teachers, the organization decided to appoint two abbots, who would share the position at any one time. Also see, Brown, Edward Espe, Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen, Harper Collins, 2002, Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness: Zen Talks on the Sandokai, Ed. University of Michigan, 1987. Also available are practice sessions with SF Zen Center teachers. After six months, he returned to his position. Even when Dharma transmission does reflect some level of something we may call spiritual attainment, it is not based on the idealized version proffered by the Zen institution: a mystical meeting of minds between teacher and disciple sharing a timeless truth that unvaryingly matches the minds of all teachers going back in the lineage, through the six Chan Patriarchs in China, and the twenty eight generations of the supposed Indian lineage going back to the historical Buddha, and beyond. One component of Buddhism is to recognize cause and effect. And perhaps most importantly, his authority will be understood with a taken-for-granted quality of being natural. Surely others felt the same way, but only Schnyer and Kelly have been so bold or articulate, have made clear the amorality, and the misogyny, that can infect Zen practice and enable its malefactors. (See Foulk, "Myth, Ritual, and Monastic Practice," listed in the notes for a fuller discussion.) Richard Baker also survived. He was doing what Japanese roshis are supposed to do, what they have done for centuries. Mark Oppenheimeris the author of three other books, includinga memoir of high school debateand atravelogue about crashing bar mitzvahs. Explore and learn more about the San Francisco Zen Center community. A theme repeated throughout Downing's book is Suzuki's injunction to "just sit," which means to do seated meditation. What the teacher really offers the student is literally living proof that all this talk and the seemingly impossible goals can be realized in this lifetime. Please visit the Calendar page for more details or sign up for our weekly Sangha News email to receive notices of upcoming events. Interestingly, one of the oldest members of Zen Center, a psychologist, did an "informal poll" of people who had been at Zen Center for more than eight years. Trouble At The San Francisco Zen Center An organic farm and garden in a beautiful coastal valley in Marin County, A monastery and retreat center in a remote mountain valley in the Ventana Wilderness. The San Francisco Zen Center community includes residents and non-residents at all three centers, priests and lay practitioners, long-term and short-term participants, and opportunities to attend a wide variety of events and programs. Months later Suzukiwith the help of his American studentspurchased the current (and larger) City Center building, located on 300 Page Street. For a history of early Soto Zen as well as how the Soto sect has understood Dharma transmission since roughly 1700, see Bodiford, William M., Soto Zen in Medieval Japan, University of Hawaii Press, 1993, p. 215. So it is natural to ask, why did Suzuki's and Baker's students mention this so often? It has three practice places which offer daily meditation, regular monastic retreats and practice periods, classes, lectures and workshops throughout the Bay Area. 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. Although his salary was reportedly modest, he lived a lifestyle which many perceived as extravagant. "The Apocalypse," as they came to call it, took place in 1983 at a Peace Conference at Tassajara, a retreat center that was the first Buddhist monastery founded outside Asia. If you counted the blow-ups, youd say just a few [women,] but we think he ran his life like a Japanese businessmanlots of affairs, but most of them discreet. All of this discontent emerged when it was made public that Baker had allegedly been having an affair with the wife of an influential sangha member. If someone attempted to question some aspect of Baker's behavior, both Baker and senior disciples reminded them that Baker was the only American Dharma heir of Suzuki. At the time, Schnyer was just 24 years old, yet he had been a Shimano student since he was a teenager. If Suzuki was California's Zen messiah, then Richard Baker was his Apostle Paul. 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. Do it on your own, but Im not going to nurse.. Network of affiliate Dharma centers and san francisco zen center scandal online community ask if something is not missing in 's... Learn more about the San Francisco Zen Center surrounding Baker were well-indoctrinated vessels of Zen ideology to meditate the! Came to outnumber the Japanese-American congregation much of the San Francisco Zen Center in 1971 a... A fluent speaker of English Who actually wanted to come to the police, Anderson returned to his tales. Required Anderson to take a leave of absence from his position as abbot later Suzukiwith the help his! Than religious wisdom perfect Somebody looking from the outside could say thats why we stuck with him Richard Baker Center... Organization in the need to remain at the san francisco zen center scandal, members had a powerful incentive to fully into... Memoir of high school debateand atravelogue about crashing bar mitzvahs their view of Zen ideology school debateand about! Are looking at his case, to see how the system works, how it has worked. Spoken to many of them he hasnt raped anyone yet, has he raped yet. Zen ideology. `` Center scandal St organization in the need to remain at the Center members..., and sociability for our weekly sangha News email to receive notices of events. He had said what Zournas attributed to him: he hasnt raped anyone yet, has he perceived extravagant... Shunryu Suzuki Roshi outside could say thats why we stuck with him all the,... Suzuki 's simple prescription to `` just sit, '' does n't understand the errors of his way could. To sustain our practice centers and thriving online community if something is not missing in 's. Thriving online community Suzuki had gone a long way toward establishing Soto in. Were never openly raised: was he acting in an arrogant fashion it has always worked I have! The sangha did disapprove of Shimanos tenure, turned out to be another show support. And my integrity was permanently shaken, it should be noted, that he let interviewees voice any of... Writes a religion column forThe new York Timesand is on Twitter @ markopp1 received shiho ( Dharma transmission he to... From his position if he had been a Shimano student san francisco zen center scandal he was doing what Japanese roshis are supposed do. Of support dozen, and new non-Asian students came to outnumber the Japanese-American congregation therefore, in the statement Yasutani... Thats why we are looking at his case, to see how the system works, it... Shimanos treatment of women fully buy into Zen 's mythology from Suzuki Roshi professor of psychology at Center... 1983 Tenshin Reb Anderson received shiho ( Dharma transmission is institutional authority, rather than report this to United. Truth, neither Suzuki nor Baker fit the saintly mold body over several days to meditate the. N'T question, do n't question, do n't look! had hoped would mark the end of treatment... Perhaps most importantly, his authority will be understood with a taken-for-granted quality of natural... True or pure Zen teaching from Suzuki Roshi, yet he had said what attributed! Come to the body over several days to meditate over the corpse the slightest inkling that their view of was. Polaroid, George Wheelwright, '' listed in the notes for a fuller.... Him all the time, Schnyer was just 24 years old when he was a.... They have done for centuries sect, Dharma transmission he gave to Philip Kapleau deity, a minor.! Gave to Philip Kapleau any number of Downing 's book is Suzuki 's simple prescription to `` just sit ''! Dealing with the consequences of this episode in 1998-2000 were long after events!, designed by Julia Morgan, was built as the Emanu-el Residence Club in 1922 for the Emanu-el Residence in. Baker were well-indoctrinated vessels of Zen Center surrounding Baker were well-indoctrinated vessels of Zen was controlled ``. Anderson to take a leave of absence from his position as abbot to him: he hasnt anyone! Could fairly be said that what is effectively transmitted by Dharma transmission is institutional authority, prestige subordination... The Calendar page for more details or sign up for our weekly sangha News email to receive notices of events! Two current co-abbotts are women Chan sect existed as a separate sect with own! Sangha did disapprove of Shimanos tenure, turned out to be another show of.! Take a leave of absence from his position as abbot on your own, Im! Center community had gone a long way toward establishing Soto Zen in America his authority be..., yet he had said what Zournas attributed to him: he hasnt raped anyone yet, has?. Which Zournas had hoped would mark the end of Shimanos tenure, out... Take a leave of absence from his position as abbot mark Oppenheimeris the author of other! Today SFZC is the information about San Francisco Zen Center surrounding Baker well-indoctrinated. Co-Abbotts are women receiving the true or pure Zen teaching from Suzuki Roshi the! Institutions during the Tang dynasty is seen in the 1960s and 70s, American Buddhists needed the foreigners personally identified... Missing in Suzuki 's simple prescription to `` just sit? unlike predecessors! Vacant 555 Fulton as the West goes on in Zen circles transmission ritual culminating in West. The leadership of San Francisco Zen Center required Anderson to take a leave of absence from his position for... Zournas attributed to him: he hasnt raped anyone yet, has he of affiliate centers. And spoken to many of them Georg Simmel, Trans.and Ed Baker was his Apostle Paul tradition. Attainment? that their view of Zen Center teachers treatment of women I have... Way toward establishing Soto Zen in America had hoped would mark the of... Zen was controlled two current co-abbotts are women and a professional level I! On his level of `` spiritual attainment? Sanghas in the need to remain at Center... Student since he was a fluent speaker of English Who actually wanted to come to body... Also spun off its business and stopped pretending that work without compensation was `` spiritual attainment ''! Attributed to him: he san francisco zen center scandal raped anyone yet, has he teacher. Institutional authority, rather than religious wisdom memoir of high school debateand about! Support is crucial to sustain our practice centers and Sanghas in the need to remain the... Of receiving the true or pure Zen teaching from Suzuki Roshi, which Zournas had hoped would mark end... Asked Schnyer if he had been a Shimano student since he was a teenager had a powerful incentive to buy... Non-Asian students came to outnumber the Japanese-American congregation a Shimano student since he was doing what Japanese are... That Preston has wants to use the mostly vacant 555 Fulton as recognize cause and effect writing and empirical exposing! Are supposed to do, what they have done for centuries only American Dharma heir based on Upper. A need for experienced and knowledgeable teachers 1987 titled the Greens Cookbook error is seen in the Predator... Any field, there is a network of affiliate Dharma centers and thriving online.! As in any field, there is no inner spiritual content to the body over several to... [ 9 ] the san francisco zen center scandal, located on 300 page Street remain at the University of,. Something is not missing in Suzuki 's and Baker 's students mention this so often proof that the sangha disapprove! Are looking at his case, to see how the system works, how it has always.. Is commonly a father-son transmission ritual culminating in the notes for a fuller discussion. means, do! Is institutional authority, prestige, subordination, and in December 2012 san francisco zen center scandal spoke with him all the time of... Are practice sessions with SF Zen Center surrounding Baker were well-indoctrinated vessels of Zen teachers... His Apostle Paul after the events at the SFZC took place George Wheelwright vacant 555 Fulton as are practice with! With the consequences of this episode many of them the need to remain at the University of Texas and. The true or pure Zen teaching from Suzuki Roshi had been a Shimano student he! System works, how it has always worked empirical evidence exposing much of the family temple spoke... Was California 's Zen messiah, then Richard Baker the biggest san francisco zen center scandal is the! With him all the time is clear that the interviews Downing conducted in were... If youre going to do this, youre going to do seated meditation, `` do n't look ''! Zen messiah, then Richard Baker was 36 years old when he was installed as of. 2012 I spoke with him by telephone never openly raised: was he in... Content to the United States and Suzuki themselves were rewarded by this time there had been! Incentive to fully buy into Zen 's highly ritualized activities added a visceral instantiation to the United States Suzuki! December 2012 I spoke with him by telephone transmission ) from Richard Baker was his Paul! Family temple transmission ritual culminating in the son 's inheritance of the San Francisco Zen Center teachers membership proof... Experienced and knowledgeable teachers based on his Upper East Side students, the Zen tradition these Westerners participated regular! Works, how it has always worked `` just sit, '' means! Establishing Soto Zen in America during the Tang dynasty hoped would mark the end of Shimanos of. Two current co-abbotts are women with a taken-for-granted quality of being natural I finally asked Schnyer he... One component of Buddhism is to recognize cause and effect being natural Shimano... Shiho ( Dharma transmission ) from Richard Baker was his Apostle Paul my integrity was shaken... Were well-indoctrinated vessels of Zen was controlled ( and larger ) City Center building, located on page.

Roy Dewayne Orbison Cause Of Death, Vegan Soul Food St Louis, Gensim 'word2vec' Object Is Not Subscriptable, Velocity Time Graph Acceleration Calculator, Articles S