Their sins are far worse than what goes on in Zen circles. It is possible that Suzuki had a paternal attachment to Baker. Zen Center Members 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. All the pieces don't start coming together until about halfway through the book, and it takes some patience to get there. Not surprisingly, virtually 100% of the time these breaches of morality serve the pleasure and interests of the supposed enlightened one. [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. 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The issue here is not how individual students behave foolishly or even in a self-serving way, it is the admonition to "just sit" - even for twenty thousand hours - is no guarantee against foolishness or delusion. Steve Hagen. 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. 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. He then drove after the alleged mugger and followed him into a housing project with the revolver (unloaded) in hand, being arrested minutes later by a police officer with his own gun pointed at him. 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. I have copies of these letters. Hence, questioning and dissent became a shortcoming of the person expressing such a view. An interesting debate between Victoria and members of the Deshimaru group (A.Z.I.) 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. 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. 1969 - The current SFZC building was purchased with the help of American students. During his interview with Downing, Baker Roshi explains that having a "nice car," girlfriends and going out to dinner were implementations of Suzuki Roshi's commitment to lay practice. 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. I believe that the reason for this surrender, in the case of Zen, is clear, structural, and self-perpetuating. San Francisco Zen Center practitioners did make a serious commitment to their practice. Elizabeth is married to Jason Kibbey. There's too much court intrigue and "monastic" gossip, and not enough effort to put the Zen Center and its scandal in the larger story of American Buddhism and the spiritual supermarket's never-ending list of gurus-gone-bad. I took a course at Rochester, an overview of Eastern religion and Confucianism. 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. These events are a helpful reminderboth to me and to othersof my vulnerability to arrogance and inflation. Excellent. It also spun off its business and stopped pretending that work without compensation was "spiritual practice.". Ungerleider.[26]. He may have slept with dozens; I personally have identified over a dozen, and spoken to many of them. Founded in 1972 by the San Francisco Zen Center and Zentatsu Richard Baker, the site is located on 115 acres (0.47 km 2) in a valley seventeen miles (27 km) north of San Francisco [1] and offers a variety of workshops and classes throughout the year. This is not a new idea nor is it unique to Chan/Zen. Your support is crucial to sustain our practice centers and thriving online community. Some people felt that I had committed an irrevocable betrayal of trust, and have discounted me and my teaching ever since. (It should also be noted that Victoria is fluent in Japanese while Baker and Chadwick are not.) University of Michigan, 1987. These events are a helpful reminderboth to me and to othersof my vulnerability to arrogance and inflation. I finally asked Schnyer if he had said what Zournas attributed to him: He hasnt raped anyone yet, has he? Downing reveals that by 1969 Suzuki had made it known to Baker and others at the Center that Baker was to be his Dharma heir. Anderson succeeded him as abbot, and later co-abbot. While jogging through Golden Gate Park, Anderson deviated from the path to urinate in some bushes. Before our eyes we have a living person becoming a faceless, a-historical person. He jumps across decades, and sometimes seems to jump onto whatever thought crosses his mind. 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. San Francisco Zen Center students and other students throughout history were also one cause of the problem. Introduction Above all, we agree to the stories that prop up constitutions or money. Zen is a Chinese invention roughly beginning in the seventh or eighth century of this era. At the time of the purchase, Baker claimed he needed so expensive a car because of the amount of driving he did. 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. Despite the controversy connected with his resignation, Baker was instrumental in helping the San Francisco Zen Center to become one of the most successful Zen institutions in the United States. Religion occupies a distinctive place in this enterprise." You can see how much more potent it is to have a teacher presented as a living Buddha or at least Buddha-like, who, instead of simply interpreting and explaining the words of the Buddha, actually speaks with the same voice as the Buddha. Therefore, in the living world of flesh and blood we have people with some very limited level of attainment occupying a role that is defined as Buddha-like, actualizing perfect freedom and unfathomable compassion beyond the ordinary person's understanding and hence above question. In this scheme, each teacher can trace his lineage and hence, authenticity, back to the historical Buddha. I feel sorry for anybody who's bitter. After the founding of Dharma Sangha in New Mexico, Baker met with William Irwin Thompson, the founder of the Lindisfarne Association. There was a widespread conceit in their thinking that they were the center or "cutting edge" of Zen in America, not cognizant that many other Zen groups were forming city/country Centers and also experimenting with the ideas of setting up monasteries, group practice, communal living and forming a sangha. Explore and learn more about the San Francisco Zen Center community. But it always seemed as though the real story and the real scandal were about something else. Asia is filled with monks and priests who know how to sit, chant, eat, bow, walk, dress, and live as a Buddhist. Learn about the latest news from affiliate sanghas with Tova's newsettes and other timely articles. This formulaic collection of qualities of a Zen master, is not neutral. Unlike his predecessors, Suzuki was a fluent speaker of English who actually wanted to come to the United States. 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. This would have led any impartial observer to question the spiritual implications of Dharma transmission. After six months, he returned to his position. In 1971, he became resident priest at Haiku Zen Center, a practice center in Los Altos where Suzuki-roshi had been giving lectures, and soon after the sangha there grew and changed its name to Bodhi. When I heard about it, I was like, Thats for me. Soon, Schnyer was practicing Buddhism. Ruling year info. 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. With this investment it is understandable that one might not want to question too closely the teacher's behavior. 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. It matters that we keep assenting to the stories. Dharma transmission has been awarded and is still awarded for many reasons besides spiritual attainment. Five years later (in 1988), roughly fifteen months after Anderson had become abbot of the San Francisco, Anderson was arrested for brandishing this same firearm in public. "[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. 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 teacher] had been in a Zen monastery for a year in Japan. It should be kept in mind that the senior members, by 1982, were often over forty years old and had been practicing at Zen Center for fifteen or more years. Guests are . Senior members also appeared blind to the voices of others and closed to criticism. It is clear that the senior members of Zen Center surrounding Baker were well-indoctrinated vessels of Zen ideology. San Francisco is not mentioned in Newsom's plans, but Supervisor Dean Preston has proposed a similar action. Zen Center businesses embodied other Bay Area delights. Zen Mind? [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.

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