3-101 applies the social construction of reality theory to religion. This is not a new idea nor is it unique to Chan/Zen. 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. Mark Oppenheimer hosts the podcast Unorthodox for Tablet magazine and writes for The New York Times Magazine, Mother Jones, and GQ, among other publications. And he found them quite easily, because Westerners practicing Zen have an almost infantile relationship to what they perceive to be the authentic, Oriental father. On one visit he decided to take the revolver home with him. We agree that the Constitutional Convention made law for all the people, and for all generations to come; we agree that the government will back up our money, if no longer with gold, then with its promises. Richard Baker was 36 years old when he was installed as abbott of the San Francisco Zen Center in 1971. And he was also just a guy, kind of like Bill Clinton was just a guy. At times, senior disciples needed to reassure newcomers who questioned Baker's behavior that all was in order. This "history" has added weight because it is presented as biographical fact. Zen Mind? In 1989, some six years after Baker was forced to leave, he threatened to take back Zen Center by going to court. Hence, questioning and dissent became a shortcoming of the person expressing such a view. 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." But the Americans didnt know that. Without our assent to those stories, the country would not work. Importantly, the head of every Soto temple must have Dharma transmission. Access SFZC Online wherever you are, anytime. This 1987 incident has had a damaging impact on Anderson's reputation as a teacher, since his arrest received national media coverage. Reviewed July 20, 2014 . 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. 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Branching Streams is a network of affiliate Dharma centers and Sanghas in the Zen lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. While jogging through Golden Gate Park, Anderson deviated from the path to urinate in some bushes. I took a course at Rochester, an overview of Eastern religion and Confucianism. 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. If Suzuki was California's Zen messiah, then Richard Baker was his Apostle Paul. 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. Unlike his predecessors, Suzuki was a fluent speaker of English who actually wanted to come to the United States. My view of Zen as an institution, some of its problems, and how it operates is most completely expressed in my paper, "Means of Authorization: Establishing Hierarchy in Zen Buddhism in America", delivered as part of a panel on Chan at the American Academy of Religion Conference in Boston in 1999. Explore San Francisco Zen Center's newsletters and blogs. 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). However, crediting a teacher, by definition of their role or title, with exalted qualities he does not really possess, is begging for trouble. This is one reason why we are looking at his case, to see how the system works, how it has always worked. But there are many lesser-known yet just as randy Zen teachers. Baker's use of Dixon's words begins the description of Suzuki Roshi, with the strange phrasing "a roshi is" This substitutes what is supposed to be a description of their close and beloved teacher Suzuki Roshi, a real person, with an abstraction, "a roshi." "[12] And Baker, for his part, is quoted as having said in a 1994 interview with Sugata Schneider: I don't think that the gossipy or official versions of what happened are right, but I feel definitely that if I were back in the situation again as the person I am now, it wouldn't have happened. 2015. These events are a helpful reminderboth to me and to othersof my vulnerability to arrogance and inflation. While we remain committed to the health and safety of our residential and wider sangha, we deeply value the importance of gathering in person and sharing the Dharma in proximity with others. Was he hypocritical for reprimanding his students for flirting while he carried on numerous affairs with his female students, including one that ruptured his best friend's marriage? When Kelly grew frustrated with Shimanos womanizing, he made a proposition. It all came tumbling down in a 1983 event known in Zen Center circles as "the Apocalypse." Obedience, subservience, and discipline were well rewarded at a large institution like the San Francisco Zen Center, as Downing's book amply shows. Used with permission. Katagiri would go on to establish his own practice centerthe Minnesota Zen Centerin 1972 in Minneapolis. There is a whole lineage built on the idea that Kapleau had transmission. Suzuki had asked Baker to locate a farm in the area for entire families to live a Buddhist life while working together. Spiritual authority is that second kind of authority. Religion occupies a distinctive place in this enterprise." Sanbkydan Zen and the Way of the New Religions by Robert H. Sharf [17], Last edited on 21 December 2022, at 18:50, Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United States, "The Long Learning Curve: An Interview With Richard Baker Roshi", Zentatsu Richard Baker page on the Crestone Mountain Zen Center website, Richard Baker and the Myth of the Zen Roshi, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_Baker_(Zen_teacher)&oldid=1128738434, This page was last edited on 21 December 2022, at 18:50. 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. Institutional mythology, which created a seamless picture of unbroken lineage along with pure, desireless perfection and attainment housed in the body of the master, was not questioned, and hence, remained intact. [5], In 1969, Sokoji's board of directors asked Suzuki to resign his position as the temple's priest, asserting that he was spending more time with his Western students than the Japanese-American congregation. This ancient twisted karma I now fully avow. Kobun was resident teacher at the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center until 1970. Another error is seen in the statement that Yasutani roshi rescinded the Dharma transmission he gave to Philip Kapleau. This article is not saying that there is no place for a Zen teacher. 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. Ironically, one may ask, is that what Suzuki hoped to reform? 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. Before long, Sokoji had non-Japanese Americans mostly beatniks coming to the temple to sit zazen with him in the morning. 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. Some former students say they were encouraged to believe that being groped by him was part of their. Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Teachings of Shunryu Suzuki: this link will take you to the website buy this book now [35] 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. "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. #28 of 84 Specialty lodging in San Francisco. Sitting meditation (zazen) is available live online Monday through Friday mornings, Saturday mornings, and Monday through Friday evenings. A roshi is a person who has actualized that perfect freedom which is the potentiality for all human beings. We seem to forget that we live with other humans and that society is a human product that we act upon and that acts upon us and in a sense produces us. The idea and ritual of Dharma transmission rather than the meaning or content of that transmission, becomes the prominent and meaningful fact. That little piece of paradise in the Marin County headlands is just a short drive from the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge, perfect for a quick retreat. 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 leadership of San Francisco Zen Center required Anderson to take a leave of absence from his position as abbot. Bibliographical Notes Zen Center members accepted and internalized most all of Zen's self definitions, history and social forms. "[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. Shoes Outside The Door, p.135. 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. 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. 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. And perhaps most importantly, his authority will be understood with a taken-for-granted quality of being natural. [9] The building, designed by Julia Morgan, was built as the Emanu-el Residence Club in 1922 for the Emanu-el Sisterhood. The Zen understanding of wisdom imputes Foucault's "single gaze to see everything constantly" to the Master. It did not matter that Baker did not appear to offer his students the "living proof that the seemingly impossible goal [of Zen] can be realized in this lifetime" as Baker himself described the function of the teacher. It was more about power, about finding another way to govern and manage an operation that was never sure if it was a California commune, a Japanese monastery or a New Age business. I hope this is the case with this paper. The center received significant media coverage concerning the 1984 resignation of then abbot Zentatsu Richard Baker, who was ousted after it was alleged that he had been having an affair with the wife of a prominent Zen Center member. Berkeley, March 17th, 2002. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. Was he perhaps not a fully realized person? 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