Richard Dudley Baker (born March 30, 1936) is an American Soto Zen master (or roshi), the founder and guiding teacher of Dharma Sanghawhich consists of Crestone Mountain Zen Center located in Crestone, Colorado and the Buddhistisches Studienzentrum[1] (Johanneshof) in Germany's Black Forest. So it is natural to ask, why did Suzuki's and Baker's students mention this so often? The sangha was incorporated by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi and a group of his American students in 1962. San Francisco Zen Center has begun to offer on-site meditation, Dharma talks, programs, classes, and other events. Michael Downing's book, Shoes Outside the Door: Desire, Devotion, and Excess at San Francisco Zen Center (2001) describes much of the sexual scandal surrounding Richard Baker, as well as financial problems and Baker's generally arrogant behavior. 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. Shimanos womanizing is of the sleaziest sort: He is married, and he has often picked for his mistresses much younger and disturbed women, the kind particularly susceptible to his twisted charisma. This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. 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." Baker himself was quick to remind his flock that he was the only American to receive Dharma transmission from Suzuki Roshi. 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. By this time there had also been an abundance of scholarly writing and empirical evidence exposing much of the mythology surrounding Zen. His whole being testifies to what it means to live in the reality of the present. Used with permission. Rather than report this to the police, Anderson returned to the body over several days to meditate over the corpse. Baker presided over it all like a feudal lord, hosting dinner parties with then-Gov. The historical fact is that monasteries actively courted the state and elite elements of society, depended on donations from wealthy patrons and or the state, had tenant farmers work their often vast donated and inherited land holdings, etc. ---Friedrich Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human (1878) 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. 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. 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. [6] One student who followed him to his new community was the priest Philip Whalen (ordained by Baker as a priest in 1973), who became tanto (head monk) of the new center. Ask Kelly S about San Francisco Zen Center. #28 of 84 Specialty lodging in San Francisco. Coming Down from the Zen Clouds: A Critique of the Current State of American Zen 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." I think this happened because Zen's teaching to avoid words and explanation was taken too literally and has fostered an unfortunate narrowing of perspective. Sitting meditation (zazen) is available live online Monday through Friday mornings, Saturday mornings, and Monday through Friday evenings. Latest News. Some people felt that I had committed an irrevocable betrayal of trust, and have discounted me and my teaching ever since. 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? The flow of his consciousness is not the fixed repetitive patterns of our usual self-centered consciousness, but rather arises spontaneously and naturally from the actual circumstances of the present. This necessitates the production of virtual quotas of such highly exalted people, while in the realm of "spiritual attainment" it is rare to produce just one such person. 2002: 8-11. Unfortunately, this issue is not raised or considered by any of the Zen Center members interviewed in the book. This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. 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. 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). [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. 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. Mark Oppenheimeris the author of three other books, includinga memoir of high school debateand atravelogue about crashing bar mitzvahs. Was his lifestyle less than exemplary? According to the dust jacket, Downing spent three years interviewing 80 people at the center of the Zen Center scandal. [6] Baker also penned the introduction to Suzuki's famous book, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. This new Buddha is also alive and homegrown and hence more immediate and real. The idea and ritual of Dharma transmission rather than the meaning or content of that transmission, becomes the prominent and meaningful fact. He was doing what Japanese roshis are supposed to do, what they have done for centuries. Zen Center members did not think there was any thought control or propaganda necessary to escape when it came to Zen. This "history" has added weight because it is presented as biographical fact. The tension was alleviated when Suzuki's Western students began gathering for separate services, albeit still at Sokoji, in 1961. I dont know, he said. He became the leader of the Sanbokyodan school of Zen started by Yasutani. I have copies of these letters. Besides Suzuki's chosen heir Baker's questionable behavior, Downing reveals many of the senior people scrambling for positions of authority, power, money and perks. One component of Buddhism is to recognize cause and effect. Despite this, few people interviewed seemed to be aware that by continually repeating the transmission story without reflection and without making the effort to understand what they were part of, they were in fact becoming an integral component in the creation of a new myth-which was then used by people like Richard Baker. In 2003 Paul Haller, who received transmission from Sojun Mel Weitsman in 1993, was installed as co-abbot with her. He does not sit zazen and only chants when he has a service to do for someone." Suzuki-roshi, as his students called him, died of cancer in 1971. Katagiri would go on to establish his own practice centerthe Minnesota Zen Centerin 1972 in Minneapolis. It is clear that the senior members of Zen Center surrounding Baker were well-indoctrinated vessels of Zen ideology. He then arrived in San Francisco, California in 1960beginning to sit with Shunryu Suzuki in 1961. However, there is no surviving text of Pai-chang's Rules. Yet for reasons known only to him he proceeded to make Baker his only American Dharma heir. It was also mentioned that Suzuki believed that Dharma transmission must be "real", implying that there is "not real" Dharma transmission. In this regard Mr. Suzuki Roshi 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. In fifteen years, the Center's annual budget increased from $6,000, to $4 million. Zen ascribes to Pai-chang (died 814) its earliest monastic code that supposedly set Chan apart as a separate sect in the Tang dynasty. 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. They will sit for five days or longer in the zendo before they are formally admitted into the monasterya physically daunting challenge. But for the [Zen Studies Society,] my gullibility, spiritual gullibilityI didnt realize that it was a borderline cult. In not clearly explaining the meaning, to his disciples at the SFZC, of his transmission to Baker, while stressing that it was "real;" Suzuki chose to perpetuate a fiction and to dishonor the trust they had given him. 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. And that gets the juices flowing. Upon Suzuki's arrival at Sokoji, the congregation was composed entirely of members of the Japanese-American population. Americans needed somebody to teach them the rituals. Learn about the latest news from affiliate sanghas with Tova's newsettes and other timely articles. 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. The duo published a book of recipes in 1987 titled The Greens Cookbook. As noted in the paper, senior members consistently reassured newer members that all was well when they raised questions about Baker's activities. Anderson remembered stowing the revolver away in the San Francisco Zen Center's garage and quickly retrieved it. Please visit the Calendar page for more details or sign up for our weekly Sangha News email to receive notices of upcoming events. The leadership of San Francisco Zen Center required Anderson to take a leave of absence from his position as abbot. 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. This is not to imply that there is no value to be gained in the practice of Zen. Institutional and personal motives played an important part in the composing of Buddhist biographical collections; this was especially so in earl Chan lineage texts. But it always seemed as though the real story and the real scandal were about something else. Sanbkydan Zen and the Way of the New Religions by Robert H. Sharf I welcome any comments from the reader. 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. In Zen Buddhism, the story of Eido Shimanos abuse of power is so commonplace as to be banal, a clich. Means of Authorization: Establishing Hierarchy in Ch'an/Zen Buddhism in America Suzuki had asked Baker to locate a farm in the area for entire families to live a Buddhist life while working together. One of the most interesting aspects of the Baker case is that the people at the SFZC did not change their fundamental understanding of the process they had gone through for, in some cases, twenty or more years. 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 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. When Katagiri left, Tenshin Reb Anderson assumed Abbotship of the Zen Centerserving until 1995. 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. Whose Zen? I have been involved with Zen in America for over thirty years during which time there have been many upheavals and problems, some similar to the Baker case described in Michael Downing's, Shoes Outside The Door, others more subtle and less obvious in nature. Some of the most senior members appeared afraid to raise difficult questions with Baker perhaps for fear of losing their own privileged positions. But the Americans didnt know that. 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. He was perfect for me, Schnyer said. Baker Sums It Up [31] The community's sense of crisis sharpened when the woman's husband, one of SFZC's primary benefactors, threatened to hold the organization legally responsible for its abbot's apparent misconduct. 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. The finances are terrible, and the beautiful carriage house on East 67th Street may have to be sold to pay legal debtsor, if he wins the lawsuit, to pay damages to Eido Shimano, the 82-year-old Zen master who built the society up but also, in a way, has destroyed it. 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. For more on the Soto Zen institution in Japan see Foulk, T. Griffith, "The Zen Institute in Modern Japan", pp.157-177, Zen, Tradition and Transition, Kenneth Kraft ed., NY, Grove Press, 1988. Furthermore this creation has to be ongoing. 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). 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. Asia is filled with monks and priests who know how to sit, chant, eat, bow, walk, dress, and live as a Buddhist. The first is grounded in something tangible, concrete, observable: the soldier with his gun, or the scientist with her laboratory results. 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. If you are new to Zazen, they have a great Saturday morning tutorial session every week. Nor did anyone even think to view the situation through the lens of the Buddhist teachings themselves or even the particular teachings of their beloved founder Suzuki. Branching Streams is a network of affiliate Dharma centers and Sanghas in the Zen lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. It is this idealized version of Dharma transmission that claims the master is an enlightened being that is the source of the Zen master's extraordinary claim to authority. The Zen Institution It may be Zen-like, but it can also be annoying. But in the 1960s and 70s, American Buddhists needed the foreigners. San Francisco Zen Center students and other students throughout history were also one cause of the problem. 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