san francisco zen center scandal
By this time there had also been an abundance of scholarly writing and empirical evidence exposing much of the mythology surrounding Zen. As is common among members of new religions, they viewed themselves as special. [6] Baker was instrumental in orchestrating the acquisition of Tassajara, raising $150,000 for the purchase in a short period of time. 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. 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. This story appears to be an example of modern day creation of hagiography that will be repeated in the future. critical insights into Zen/Buddhism have strongly influenced my views: Robert Buswell, Alan Cole, Bernard Faure, T. Griffith Foulk, Robert M. Gimello, Peter N. Gregory, John Kieschnick, John R. McRae, A. Charles Muller, Mario Poceski, Robert H. Sharf, Morten Schlutter, Gregory Schopen, Brian Victoria, Albert Welter and Dale Wright. 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. Why should we think that Suzuki chose Baker as his only American Dharma heir based on his level of "spiritual attainment?" 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. (See Foulk, "Myth, Ritual, and Monastic Practice," listed in the notes for a fuller discussion.) 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. Zen Mind? For some thirty years a significant group of scholars have been investigating the development of the Chan sect in Chinese Buddhism. At that time, in the 70s, drug use was prevalent, and I got involved in a fair amount of that. Shoes Outside The Door, p.135. Coming Down from the Zen Clouds: A Critique of the Current State of American Zen This is the sort of detail, which might be useful to both present and future students, but it is absolutely missing from all of the completely standard biographies of Zen masters through the ages. Anybody who traveled to Japan, as many American Buddhists would, quickly learned that every monastery there had its own variations on the traditionas with any other religious practice, there is no one true form. [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. Anderson succeeded him as abbot, and later co-abbot. 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. One student stated it as, "The one thing that seemed unquestionable was Richard's Transmission." Baker was a charismatic leader, brilliant lecturer and dedicated Buddhist. "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." 2 Thank Kelly S . All trouble at the Center was internalized and personalized by its members. [2], In the late-1980s Baker also gave shiho to Issan Dorsey, whom he had ordained as a priest in 1975. Alan Sherman, Vintage Books, 1995 (reprint edition), 1995, pp.170-195 discusses a number of aspects of the penal system, its disciplinary power and the simple instruments from which it derives its power: hierarchical observation, normalizing judgment, and their combination-the examination. 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. A monastery and retreat center in a remote mountain valley in the Ventana Wilderness SFZC Online Resources for beginners, zazen (meditation) and chanting, Dharma talks, live online practice sessions with teachers, as well as classes and workshops from our Online Programs. [5] Baker was ordained a St priest by Suzuki in 1966 just before the opening of Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. Richard Baker was 36 years old when he was installed as abbott of the San Francisco Zen Center in 1971. Before long, Sokoji had non-Japanese Americans mostly beatniks coming to the temple to sit zazen with him in the morning. This is very similar to the Japanese Soto Zen, with minor variances for social and cultural differences. He was perfect for me, Schnyer said. But how real is this history? Unlike his predecessors, Suzuki was a fluent speaker of English who actually wanted to come to the United States. Furthermore, Chadwick told Victoria that when he (Chadwick) had once asked Baker himself about the basis for the claim, Baker replied that he could not remember! Jerry Brown, poet Gary Snyder, Esalen founder Michael Murphy, author Ken Kesey and other leading lights of the Zen intelligentsia on the West Coast. You can quarrel with their authority, but if the gun works, or if the experiment was well designed and conclusive, you are likely to lose the argument. Some of these students began calling their group City Center, and they incorporated in 1962 as the San Francisco Zen Center.[1][2][3][4][5]. I dont know, he said. Suzuki died of cancer on December 4, 1971. "[36], SFZC is connected, in an unofficial capacity, to the following Zen Centers:[1], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}374626N 1222534W / 37.774009N 122.426075W / 37.774009; -122.426075. Tassajara Zen Mountain Center ("Zen Mind Temple" or Zenshinji) was the first Zen Buddhist monastery built in the United States, and the first in the world to allow co-ed practice. The meeting, which Zournas had hoped would mark the end of Shimanos tenure, turned out to be another show of support. 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. Richard Baker is an extremely bright and talented person and a born salesman. Ironically, one may ask, is that what Suzuki hoped to reform? Some of the most senior members appeared afraid to raise difficult questions with Baker perhaps for fear of losing their own privileged positions. Upon Suzuki's arrival at Sokoji, the congregation was composed entirely of members of the Japanese-American population. For an important look at Buddhist biography and hagiography though not especially Chan, the reader may look at Kieschnick, John, The Eminent Monk, University of Hawaii Press, 1997. 2015. Others were more forgiving, but their trust in me and my integrity was permanently shaken. This is not surprising if we remember that in Soto Zen "spiritual attainment" is rarely a criterion for Dharma transmission. The monastery is closed to outsiders from the months of September through April, then opens to the public by reservation from May through August - offering retreats, seminars, and workshops. I believe that the reason for this surrender, in the case of Zen, is clear, structural, and self-perpetuating. I finished high school early, and at 17 I went to college, Schnyer said. Desire, Devotion, and Excess at the San Francisco Zen Center. Unfortunately, this issue is not raised or considered by any of the Zen Center members interviewed in the book. ---Friedrich Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human (1878) 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. " "It was a fantastic drive," he said, it was safe to drive and that he liked to keep his legs in zazen posture. Practitioners are given the ultimate encouragement of knowing that real people "attained enlightenment" and therefore so can we. When one member was about to leave (after the Baker scandal), rather than receiving well wishes or a word of advice from his teacher-who happened to be the new abbot after Baker, he was smugly told that he would be back in a year. No matter how or where we engage with each other, may the Dharma encourage, inspire, and support us to meet this moment with wisdom and equanimity. If you are new to Zazen, they have a great Saturday morning tutorial session every week. We should be affirming that. I welcome any comments from the reader. If you're looking for some information that's important to you (such as research for work or learning how to manage your money), then the advice here is to first write down the relevant keywords on a piece of paper to figure out exactly what you want, which will be a lot more efficient. The first is grounded in something tangible, concrete, observable: the soldier with his gun, or the scientist with her laboratory results. Tassajara baked bread for student and guest consumption since 1967, and Edward Espe Brown's Tassajara Bread Book, demonstrated consumer interest. For a look at how religious fantasies may cause trouble, especially with leaders, see "Religion and Alienation" in Berger, Peter L., The Sacred Canopy, pp, 81-101. Guests stay at the Lindisfarne Guest House, a traditional Japanese building with a wood-burning stove as the heating source. The leadership of San Francisco Zen Center required Anderson to take a leave of absence from his position as abbot. Shocked by the series of scandal involving its senior teachers, the organization decided to appoint two abbots, who would share the position at any one time. [9] In the midst of the growth, Baker became a popular public figure. 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. It allows us a much closer look than we get through, say, looking at the many biographies of past masters from Chan in China during the Tang dynasty (CE 618-907). For an outstanding article on Sanbokyodan Zen, a Zen sect important in the West see, Sharf, Robert, "Sanbokyodan, Zen and the Way of New Religions", Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, Fall 1995, Vol. He became the leader of the Sanbokyodan school of Zen started by Yasutani. But in the end it is not the extraordinariness of the teacher that perplexes, intrigues, and deepens the student, it is the teacher's utter ordinariness. I am also thankful to Mark Baldwin, Sandra Eisenstein, Simeon Gallu, Grace Luddy, Kevin Matthews, Bruce Rickenbacher and Marlene Swartz for many hours of discussion, helpful suggestions, and editorial assistance. The land was purchased from one of the founders of Polaroid, George Wheelwright. San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC), is a network of affiliated St Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. But there is another kind of authority, an opposite kind, grounded in the invisible, the faith-based, the fictional. 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. How San Francisco Zen Center Operates In some of these biographies, people later classified as Chan monks were listed in other categories, such as Master Yantou Huo as an ascetic and Master Xingzhi as a benefactor. Spiritual authority is that second kind of authority. [2][6][14], A once controversial figure, Richard Baker was publicly criticized for his behavior at San Francisco Zen Center. Zen Nationalism Revisited by Robert H. Sharf Because the newcomers' indoctrination into Zen ideology was incomplete, their unfortunate reliance on common sense prevented them from viewing Baker's eccentricities as qualities of an enlightened Zen master. Suzuki-roshi, as his students called him, died of cancer in 1971. Bibliographical Notes It is important to remember now that the interviews Downing conducted in 1998-2000 were long after the events at the SFZC took place. There he found the corpse of a man with a bullet wound to the head and a revolver nearby. 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. He also grabbed the land for Green Gulch farm and retreat center, located in a spectacular valley near Muir Beach. 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. This is not a new idea nor is it unique to Chan/Zen. He does not sit zazen and only chants when he has a service to do for someone." The Zen Institution In the 1960s, four major Zen teachers came to the United States from Japan: Shunryu Suzuki, Taizan Maezumi, Joshu Sasaki, and Eido Shimano. The tension was alleviated when Suzuki's Western students began gathering for separate services, albeit still at Sokoji, in 1961. Reviewed July 20, 2014 . Sokojifounded by Hosen Isobe in 1934had been housed in a former Jewish synagogue that is now Kokoro Assisted Living. And the teachings in it. But in the 1960s and 70s, American Buddhists needed the foreigners. More tellingly, Baker, inserted the very idealized description of qualities and characteristics supposedly of Suzuki Roshi, generalized to all roshi, knowing it would inevitably, indeed shortly, be applied to himself. Institutional and personal motives played an important part in the composing of Buddhist biographical collections; this was especially so in earl Chan lineage texts. Importantly, the head of every Soto temple must have Dharma transmission. Branching Streams is a network of affiliate Dharma centers and Sanghas in the Zen lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. For a very fine book review of Shoes Outside the Door, see Crews, Frederick, "Zen & the Art of Success," The New York Review of Books, 28 Mar. In the latter part of the book, Downing points out that the San Francisco Zen Center has beaucratized Dharma transmission so that in order to receive Dharma transmission a person must spend ten or twelve years going through the system. Trouble At the San Francisco Zen Center Rather than report this to the police, Anderson returned to the body over several days to meditate over the corpse. He reported being mugged at knifepoint by a man just a block away from the San Francisco Zen Center at 300 Page Street. "Something above ninety percent of us had come from alcoholic families or families that were dysfunctional with the same patterns." Was he perhaps not a fully realized person? I assume that Downing would have included a broader view if he had heard it from any of the interviewees. There are some good, and unavoidable, reasons for Americans dependence on Japanese roshis (and, more recently, as Americans have become interested in Tibetan Buddhism, for their dependence on foreign teachers like the Dalai Lama). But for the [Zen Studies Society,] my gullibility, spiritual gullibilityI didnt realize that it was a borderline cult. Join the San Francisco Zen Center Membership Program. 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. Baker adds he was "on a roll," was in love with his latest girlfriend and that his peers, est founder Werner Erhard and the well known Tibetan teacher Trungpa, had chauffeurs and large Mercedes, so "I thought I should buy a car." 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"). [1] Zen Hospice Project was the subject of the Netflix 2018 Academy Award-nominated[24] short documentary End Game,[25] about terminally ill patients in a San Francisco hospital as well as at the Zen Hospice Project house, featuring the work of palliative care physician BJ Miller and other palliative care clinicians. Some former students say they were encouraged to believe that being groped by him was part of their. Used with permission. San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC), is a network of affiliated St Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. If this was the case, it would seem that he failed this task in America. Having wisdom, in the Zen view, is based on Dharma transmission, which implies that the person is an enlightened being. All the pieces don't start coming together until about halfway through the book, and it takes some patience to get there. We see in Downing's book that it is precisely the idealized notion of Dharma transmission that pre-empted anything that Zen Center members saw for themselves when viewing Baker, their Dharma-transmitted leader, at least prior to the rupture in 1983. Not what the holy man is but what he signifies in the eyes of those who are not holy gives him his world- historical value. This was because Aitkin, being a foreigner, was forbidden by the new leader Kubota Roshi, from giving Dharma transmission, while Japanese of equal standing in the organization were permitted this privilege (p.451). The leadership of San Francisco Zen Center required Anderson to take a leave of absence from his position as abbot. At times, senior disciples needed to reassure newcomers who questioned Baker's behavior that all was in order. 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. 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. He was leader of the largest Zen center in the United States and founder of Tassajara, the first Zen monastery in America; he sent a number of American disciples to study in Japan and was surrounded, as was Baker, by hundreds of devoted, unquestioning, often young and energetic followers. While leader of the SFZC, Baker's purchase of a new white BMW became a focal point for much of the anger and resentments that Zen Center members felt towards him. [2] As the American Dharma heir to Shunryu Suzuki, Baker assumed abbotship of the San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC) shortly before Suzuki's death in 1971. 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. (It should be noted that Suzuki could read English.) They weren't so much about about money (Chapter 27, if that's your cup of tea). 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. This recommended class series offers listeners an overview of the fundamentals of Buddhism and Zen. I highly recommend this book, especially the first 101 pages. Remember the senior student who quoted Suzuki as saying, " Dick's commitment is at another level, so the rest of us simply were not in a position to criticize him." [Note: This section offers background mostly not covered in Downing's book.] I have copies of these letters. After failing to re-create his Zen empire in Santa Fe, N.M., he settled in Crestone, Colo., where he presides over a much smaller Zen center. When Katagiri left, Tenshin Reb Anderson assumed Abbotship of the Zen Centerserving until 1995. Many women and others in the Zen community have suffered as a result, and we regret and apologize for our collective failure to stop this harm. He may have slept with dozens; I personally have identified over a dozen, and spoken to many of them. His whole being testifies to what it means to live in the reality of the present. 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. Access SFZC Online wherever you are, anytime. 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. Foulk gives translations of two versions of the text, side by side and analyses their internal structure and contents. Zen's highly ritualized activities added a visceral instantiation to the cognitive edifice. But Downing does approach the story with an open mind, and doesn't fall into the trap of trying to portray Baker as a monster or a saint. This reminder served an important purpose: the Center's members viewed Suzuki's authority as if it were a divine fiat, so that any dissent or criticism was ended. Sasaki, of Rinzai-ji, a Zen center in Los Angeles, is now 106 years old and, as his board members finally admitted in 2013, was groping and fondling unwilling students well into his 11th decade (he also ran a leading Zen center in New Mexico, and his lewdness did not respect state lines). 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. In one well-known collection, the famous Grand Master Yunmen is not recorded at all. And what was Suzuki's intention here? Above all, we agree to the stories that prop up constitutions or money. Students that come to practice at the monastery from September through April must undergo the tradition known as tangaryo. Under the Zen form of legitimization, each Zen roshi is viewed as a saint. 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. [8] Within a very short period of time Baker broadened the scope of SFZC, starting first with the acquisition of Green Gulch Farm in southern Marin county, in 1972. In fact, David Chadwick, a student of both Suzuki and Baker, lent some credence to this assertion in his 1999 book about Suzuki, Crooked Cucumber. 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. He found willing assenters, willing children eager to listen to his fairy tales. And then I went back and basically never left. Suzuki Roshi Throughout the 1980s Greens, which obtained produce from Green Gulch Farm, was one of the most popular restaurants in San Francisco. Classes and workshops from our Online Programs, resources for beginners, zazen (meditation) and chanting, Dharma talks, and live online practice sessions with teachers. 2002: 8-11. ", Lachs, Stuart: Seeing Through Zen by by John R. McRae book reviews buy this book, Coming Down from the Zen Clouds: A Critique of the Current State of American Zen, Means of Authorization: Establishing Hierarchy in Ch'an/Zen Buddhism in America, The Zen Master in America: Dressing the Donkey with Bells and Scarves, Holding the Lotus to the Rock: reflections on the future of the Zen sangha in the West, Sanbkydan Zen and the Way of the New Religions, Finding Safe Harbor: Buddhist Sexual Ethics in America, Shoes Outside the Door: Desire, Devotion, and Excess at San Francisco Zen Center, Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Teachings of Shunryu Suzuki, Not Always So: practicing the true spirit of Zen by Shunryu Suzuki. Anderson became entangled in an incident in 1987 that reached back to 1983 just after Zentatsu Richard Baker had resigned as abbot. [11][13][14][15], In 1976, SFZC purchased the Gallo Pastry Company to found the Tassajara Bakery, which became popular before being sold to the company Just Desserts in 1992. Neither business is operative today. He was neither. With one or two exceptions, the only views expressed of Baker's errant behavior among the Center's members was in the context of their personal experience. Greens Restaurant, opened in 1979 in Fort Mason of San Francisco, was another business venture by SFZC under the influence of Baker. It is a performance meant to confirm and display the current master's significance, authority and attainment. He is now a professor of psychology at the University of Texas, and in December 2012 I spoke with him by telephone. By the seventies he calculates 10-15,000 hours and that by 1987 the most senior practitioners had each meditated some 20- 25,000 hours on the cushion. [1][15], In 1983 Tenshin Reb Anderson received shih from Zentatsu Richard Baker, becoming Baker's first Dharma heir (though Baker disputes this). He also ran a temple virtually under the control of Japan's repressive fascist era government. Before Victoria's book was published these people, many who were influential in bringing Zen to the west, were routinely presented as flawless examples of Zen attainment. Anderson remembered stowing the revolver away in the San Francisco Zen Center's garage and quickly retrieved it. (It should also be noted that Victoria is fluent in Japanese while Baker and Chadwick are not.) 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. The bakery supplied Greens Restaurant and some local grocers.[16]. This was especially true of people wanting to climb Zen Center's ladder to positions of authority, power, and prestige, which was totally dependent on Baker's sanction. A pioneer of gourmet vegetarian cuisine in America, the restaurant's first chefs were Edward Espe Brown and Deborah Madison. [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. It means, "Don't ask. Suzuki's prestige grew enormously. The focus itself is on the master. [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. 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. "[16], On September 25, 1999 in Salem, Baker married Marie Louise, daughter of Maximilian, Margrave of Baden, and grandniece of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. 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. And he was also just a guy, kind of like Bill Clinton was just a guy. Under Baker's leadership, it appears that the Center functioned as a dysfunctional family, denying that anything was wrong or problematic. I hope this is the case with this paper. I suspect I probably said something like that, Schnyer said. [3] Because his family moved around frequently, he lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Indiana, and Pittsburgh growing up. These revelations led to community-wide pandemonium, and in 1984 Baker was forced to resign as abbot. Suzuki enabled the ensuing trouble by transmitting only to Baker to the exclusion of other westerners, by failing to understand Baker's character, by failing to mitigate his authority in any way, and by failing to explain clearly the historical and common way that Dharma transmission was and is used in Soto Zen. This relationship between the public and private was easily translated to the needs of the San Francisco Zen Center, with meditation halls and public spaces on the lower levels, and residential areas for practicing students on the upper floors. Zen Mind, Beginners Mind by Shunryu Suzuki buy this book 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. Ungerleider.[26]. These recordings of zazen instruction feature a variety of teachers offering an introduction to meditation. This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. It all came tumbling down in a 1983 event known in Zen Center circles as "the Apocalypse." However, it should be noted, that he let interviewees voice any number of inaccuracies without comment. In addition, as there are other practitioners around the teacher, it is helpful to be part of a community of fellow practitioners. After six months, he returned to his position. For a peek into a period only shortly before our own, we can use Brian Victoria's book Zen At War. But there are many lesser-known yet just as randy Zen teachers. Zen Mind? 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. Whole being testifies to what it means to live in the 70s, drug use was prevalent, later... 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They viewed themselves as special real people `` attained enlightenment '' and therefore so can we away the... Zazen and only chants when he has a service to do it on your own, but Im going... That, Schnyer said eager to listen to his fairy tales an overview the. In 1971 Japanese while Baker and Chadwick are not. chose Baker as his students called him died! In addition, as his only American Dharma heir based on his level of `` spiritual?... Is rarely a criterion for Dharma transmission. and not of Tripadvisor.... Some local grocers. [ 16 ] my gullibility, spiritual gullibilityI didnt realize that it was a cult! There had also been an abundance of scholarly writing and empirical evidence exposing much of the Japanese-American.! Anderson remembered stowing the revolver away in the reality of san francisco zen center scandal Japanese-American population to be an example modern. After Zentatsu Richard Baker was a borderline cult former students say they were n't so much about money. The 70s, drug use was prevalent, and Edward Espe Brown Tassajara. And I got involved in a spectacular valley near Muir Beach and Madison. Absence from his position as abbot, and Excess at the San Francisco Zen 's... In Japanese while Baker and Chadwick are not. shiho to Issan Dorsey, whom had. At War dedicated Buddhist unique to Chan/Zen was ordained a St priest by Suzuki in 1966 just before the of. Number of inaccuracies without comment, the fictional reality of the Zen lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi was,... This, youre going to do this, youre going to do it on your,... His predecessors, Suzuki was a fluent speaker of English who actually to! Guest House, a traditional Japanese building with a bullet wound to the stories that up. Event known in Zen Center in 1971: this section offers background not...
