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). And as complete neophytes in Buddhism, they were apt to believe most anything a teacher said: The Americans had no competing knowledge, no critical faculties, no grounds to challenge the teacher, no fixed point on which to stand. In Zen Buddhism, the story of Eido Shimanos abuse of power is so commonplace as to be banal, a clich. To see how the most prominent Japanese Zen roshi as well as some of the roshi associated with bringing Zen to America, in spite of the rhetoric of the standard model of Zen, functioned in Japan from roughly 1911 through WWII, see Victoria, Brian, Zen At War , Weatherhill, 1997. Kai C. Half Moon Bay, California. 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. 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. 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.. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. I dont know, he said. I assume that Downing would have included a broader view if he had heard it from any of the interviewees. 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. I have copies of these letters. 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. And what was Suzuki's intention here? His American students accept this theme unquestioningly. Importantly, the head of every Soto temple must have Dharma transmission. With this investment it is understandable that one might not want to question too closely the teacher's behavior. 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. See Alan Cole, "It's All in the Framing." Yet Baker certainly knew that, at best, few if any roshi are so fully realized. The deeper you go into practice, the deeper you find your teacher's mind is, until you finally realize that your mind and his mind are Buddha's mind. In the end, Baker's problems at the Zen Center weren't so much about his seven or eight sexual affairs over a 20-year span (Chapter 23, if you get impatient). Foulk gives translations of two versions of the text, side by side and analyses their internal structure and contents. His focus on having the Center grow quickly and on reforming Soto Zen in Japan may also have contributed to the problems. Yamada gave Dharma transmission to Robert Aitkin, though Aitkin and his Diamond Sangha later separated from the Sanbokyodan organization after Yamada's death. However Zen texts may define the role, Zen masters have not been fully enlightened beings beyond question. 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. Baker was a charismatic leader, brilliant lecturer and dedicated Buddhist. Baker and Suzuki themselves were rewarded by this system. Before long, Sokoji had non-Japanese Americans mostly beatniks coming to the temple to sit zazen with him in the morning. Interestingly, Suzuki did not mention "spiritual attainment," but rather commitment. Zen practice is not required to stay at Green Gulch, though guests are welcome to participate in zazen or any other activities. David Hume said in his Of the First principles of Government (1758) that "Nothing appears more surprising to those who consider human affairs with a philosophical eye than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few, and the implicit submission with which men resign their own sentiments and passions to those of their rulers." [21][22][23] Today SFZC is the largest Soto organization with a foothold in the West. These revelations led to community-wide pandemonium, and in 1984 Baker was forced to resign as abbot. Money, too, is worth something because we believe it iswe give the $20 bill the magical properties of being worth more than the $1 bill, even though the paper and ink are identical. Elizabeth is married to Jason Kibbey. Also see, The Sociology of Georg Simmel, Trans.and Ed. "[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. In 1983 Tenshin Reb Anderson received shih from Zentatsu Richard Baker, becoming Baker's first Dharma heir (though Baker disputes this). Zen Mind, Beginners Mind by Shunryu Suzuki buy this book He convinced the American Zen community that he was, in effect, the Second Coming of Suzukibut even better, because he was here to stay. 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. It was not mentioned in the interviews that Suzuki himself might be partially responsible for the ensuing trouble. In 1989, some six years after Baker was forced to leave, he threatened to take back Zen Center by going to court. The bakery was closed altogether in 1999. Unfortunately, this issue is not raised or considered by any of the Zen Center members interviewed in the book. 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. 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. 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. Baker Sums It Up Rather than report this to the police, Anderson returned to the body over several days to meditate over the corpse. The Zen Studies Society was marked by frequent turnover. [6] Baker was instrumental in orchestrating the acquisition of Tassajara, raising $150,000 for the purchase in a short period of time. Look, theres a certain type of person that is looking for something else in another culture, said Ed Glassing, the former resident monk at both Zen Studies Society locations, whom Shimano maligned as a homosexual. Sort of like, something they dont have, so its mysterious, exotic, its like whoa. Baker then quotes Trudy Dixon, the editor of the book, thus endorsing her words: "[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. Perhaps the biggest change is that the two current co-abbotts are women. An interesting debate between Victoria and members of the Deshimaru group (A.Z.I.) Analysis or active use of "the discriminating mind" is frowned upon, or worse, it is viewed as a sign of having too large an ego. Latest News. 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. Examining the work of any of the above-mentioned scholars will greatly reward the interested reader who would like to explore contemporary Zen/Buddhist scholarship. This paper can also serve the non-scholar as an overview or introduction to modern Zen scholarship and introduce a critical view of the important Zen ideas of master, Dharma transmission, and unbroken lineage. All of this is in the context of Suzuki, the Zen master, being a man whose quality of life is described as: "buoyancy, vigor, straightforwardness, simplicity, humility, security, joyousness, uncanny perspicacity and unfathomable compassion." Guests are . They will sit for five days or longer in the zendo before they are formally admitted into the monasterya physically daunting challenge. He was doing what Japanese roshis are supposed to do, what they have done for centuries. #28 of 84 Specialty lodging in San Francisco. At a meeting of the Board of Directors of Lindisfarne at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, Thompson convinced the board to donate the campus that he had establishedwith its passive solar Lindisfarne Fellows House, Founder's House, and Lindisfarne Chapelto Baker-roshi's Dharma Sangha. There is a saying, "It is difficult to convince a man of something if his paycheck depends on his not understanding it." Not surprisingly, virtually 100% of the time these breaches of morality serve the pleasure and interests of the supposed enlightened one. Which means it's basically my fault. The current crisis in the Catholic Church proves the need for such an institutional analysis. About. Please send to slachs@worldnet.att.net. Ironically, what follows is in many ways a religious text. In this act lies the first step towards freedom." A pioneer of gourmet vegetarian cuisine in America, the restaurant's first chefs were Edward Espe Brown and Deborah Madison. [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. 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. Richard Baker was born in Biddeford, Maine, on March 30, 1936, the son of Harold Baker and Elisabeth Dudley. 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. is the head teacher at the Dharma Field Meditation and Learning Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. And after his death, several students of Dainin Katagiri, the founding abbot of the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center, in Minneapolis, reported having affairs with their teacher, who had been married. The question is: How do so many Zen Buddhist teachers get away with it, and for so long? Finally, as Suzuki apologized to Baker for what he was going to do to him, i.e., give him and only him Dharma transmission, Suzuki knew that all was not right or ripe or both with Baker. (It should also be noted that Victoria is fluent in Japanese while Baker and Chadwick are not.) 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. Read any of these texts of Zen, The Book of Serenity, a Soto sect koan collection, being one prominent example, and this will be abundantly clear. 2015. I have seen such a view expressed in four other major Zen communities as well as in a Tibetan community. Shoes Outside The Door, p.237. Institutional power, authority, hierarchy and order are, hence, accomplished through self-censorship by the members, a more effective method for controlling dissent and questioning than coercion by the leaders. 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. He was married three times. When Kelly grew frustrated with Shimanos womanizing, he made a proposition. And he was also just a guy, kind of like Bill Clinton was just a guy. In fact there are few major centers not touched by sexual or other scandals, but the SFZC case suffices for the discussion we will have here. Members soon raised funds for a zendo to be built there, and over time the farm transformed into a monastery and retreat center for residents and guests with an organic farm, flower gardens, a teahouse and a plant nursery. Months later Suzukiwith the help of his American studentspurchased the current (and larger) City Center building, located on 300 Page Street. This ancient twisted karma I now fully avow. 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. Original Dwelling Place by Robert Aitken book review by Robert Goss buy this book now 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. In fact, Kapleau never received Dharma transmission in the first place, so there was nothing to rescind. Downing has offered an excellent example in Richard Baker and the SFZC. A theme repeated in Downing's interviews is Suzuki's seemingly quirky idea of reforming Soto Zen in Japan by having his American students go there as living examples of reform. The experience of legitimacy, realness and of being believable hides the underlying power relations. 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. Peter L. Berger, the well- known American sociologist writes, "Unlike puppets, we have the possibility of stopping in our movements, looking up and perceiving the machinery by which we have been moved. The historical Zen masters we have all come to know are always presented in terms of supposedly real people, with names, dates, and locations, and reports of purportedly real conversations and interactions with other monks and sometimes lay people as if there is no doubt at all that we are dealing with historical individuals. 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. In Downing's book we see that much illusion, suffering and pain has been part of Zen in San Francisco, a situation that, unfortunately, has been repeated in most every other part of America over a thirty-five year period. Baker manifested his authority by giving his followers two choices: obey his words without question or be marginalized, which was tantamount to being forced to leave. I approached it with a searching spirituality aspect, reading Huxley and Timothy Leary, and that leads you down the road to the Beat generation and Zen. He exists freely in the fullness of his whole being. It will not do for future generations if there are gaps in the line of saintly figures. 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. Join the San Francisco Zen Center Membership Program. Baker also claimed that he was trying "to protect Suzuki Roshi's legacy and lineage." 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