First Zen Institute of America
Encyclopedia
The First Zen Institute of America is a Rinzai institution for laypeople
established by Sokei-an
in New York, New York in 1930 as the Buddhist Society of America (changing its name after World War II
). The emphasis on lay practice has its roots in the history of the organization. In 1875, the Japanese Rinzai Zen master Imakita Kosen founded a Zen institute, Ryomokyo-kai, dedicated to reviving Zen in Japan by recruiting talented and educated lay people. Kosen's most celebrated disciple, Soyen Shaku
, visited America in 1893 to attend the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago. In 1902 he returned to America where he lectured and taught briefly. Soyen Shaku assigned responsibility for this lay Zen institute to his heir, Sokatsu Shaku. The First Zen Institute's founder, Sokei-an, was Sokatsu's student and came to America with him in 1906 to establish a Zen community. When Sokatsu returned to Japan in 1910, Sokei-an remained to season his Zen and familiarize himself with the American character. After wandering across America and perfecting his English, Sokei-an made several trips back to Japan and in 1924 received credentials from Sokatsu as a Zen master.
on East 30th Street. After Sokei-an died in 1945, the officers (George Fowler, president; Ruth Fuller Sasaki
, vice president; and Mary Farkas
, secretary) searched for a Japanese roshi who would go to New York to take up residence there. They particularly sought help from Goto Zuigan
, Sokei-an's dharma brother. Ruth Sasaki went to Japan, in part to find a roshi who would return to New York with her. But it was not until 1955 that she was able to bring Miura Isshu back with her. Miura Roshi spent some time with the Institute, exploring the possibility of becoming resident roshi, but felt uncomfortable working with female leadership, and sent a letter of resignation in November 1963. He continued to reside in New York and teach selected students on an independent basis until his death in 1976. The Institute also had a branch in Kyoto, the First Zen Institute of America in Japan or Nichibei Daiichi Zen Kyokai, founded by Ruth Sasaki in 1957.
Poet Gary Snyder
's study of Zen
in Japan
in 1956 was made possible by a grant from the First Zen Institute.
Roshi and Isshu Miura Roshi to provide instruction periodically.http://www.firstzen.org/history.php The institute holds public meditation once a week on Wednesday evenings, 7:30-9:30 p.m. and offers two-day meditation retreats, usually on the second weekend of each month."
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
established by Sokei-an
Sokei-an
Sokei-an Shigetsu Sasaki , born Yeita Sasaki, was a Japanese Rinzai roshi who founded the Buddhist Society of America in New York City in 1930. Influential in the growth of Zen Buddhism in the United States, Sokei-an was one of the first Japanese masters to live and teach in America...
in New York, New York in 1930 as the Buddhist Society of America (changing its name after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
). The emphasis on lay practice has its roots in the history of the organization. In 1875, the Japanese Rinzai Zen master Imakita Kosen founded a Zen institute, Ryomokyo-kai, dedicated to reviving Zen in Japan by recruiting talented and educated lay people. Kosen's most celebrated disciple, Soyen Shaku
Soyen Shaku
Soyen Shaku was the first Zen Buddhist master to teach in the United States. He was a Roshi of the Rinzai school and was abbot of both Kencho-ji and Engaku-ji temples in Kamakura, Japan...
, visited America in 1893 to attend the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago. In 1902 he returned to America where he lectured and taught briefly. Soyen Shaku assigned responsibility for this lay Zen institute to his heir, Sokatsu Shaku. The First Zen Institute's founder, Sokei-an, was Sokatsu's student and came to America with him in 1906 to establish a Zen community. When Sokatsu returned to Japan in 1910, Sokei-an remained to season his Zen and familiarize himself with the American character. After wandering across America and perfecting his English, Sokei-an made several trips back to Japan and in 1924 received credentials from Sokatsu as a Zen master.
History of the First Zen Institute
In 1930, Sokei-an opened an American branch of Ryomokyo-kai in New York City and called it the Buddhist Society of America. Originally located on West 70th Street, today the First Zen Institute of America occupies a brownstoneBrownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
on East 30th Street. After Sokei-an died in 1945, the officers (George Fowler, president; Ruth Fuller Sasaki
Ruth Fuller Sasaki
Ruth Fuller Sasaki , born Ruth Fuller, was an important figure in the development of Buddhism in the United States. As Ruth Fuller Everett , she met and studied with Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki in Japan in 1930...
, vice president; and Mary Farkas
Mary Farkas
Mary Farkas was the director of the First Zen Institute of America , running the center's administrative functions for many years following the death of her teacher in 1945...
, secretary) searched for a Japanese roshi who would go to New York to take up residence there. They particularly sought help from Goto Zuigan
Goto Zuigan
was a Rinzai master and former chief abbot of Myōshin-ji and of Daitoku-ji, at that time the most important position in Rinzai. One of his students, of fifteen years, was author Huston Smith...
, Sokei-an's dharma brother. Ruth Sasaki went to Japan, in part to find a roshi who would return to New York with her. But it was not until 1955 that she was able to bring Miura Isshu back with her. Miura Roshi spent some time with the Institute, exploring the possibility of becoming resident roshi, but felt uncomfortable working with female leadership, and sent a letter of resignation in November 1963. He continued to reside in New York and teach selected students on an independent basis until his death in 1976. The Institute also had a branch in Kyoto, the First Zen Institute of America in Japan or Nichibei Daiichi Zen Kyokai, founded by Ruth Sasaki in 1957.
Poet Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder is an American poet , as well as an essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist . Snyder is a winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry...
's study of Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1956 was made possible by a grant from the First Zen Institute.
Lectures and Translations by Sokei-an Sasaki
Sokei-an died before leaving behind a Dharma heir, and the Institute relies heavily upon the writings and transcriptions of its founder as a guide in its practice. Sokei-an described his way of teaching as "a direct transmission of Zen from soul to soul." Many of Sokei-an's early lectures were originally published from 1940 to 1941 in the magazine, Cat's Yawn, and subsequently published as the First Zen Institute's first book, also titled Cat's Yawn. Sokei-an spent many productive years teaching Zen in English, and translating and commenting on important Zen texts, including the Sutra of Perfect Awakening, The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, and the Three Hundred Mile Tiger: The Record of Lin Chi. These have been published, almost in their entirety in the pages of Zen Notes, the First Zen Institute's quarterly publication. Collections of Sokei-an lectures have been published in The Zen Eye and Zen Pivots. His autobiography (as edited by Michael Hotz) has been published in Holding the Lotus to the Rock.Books Published by the First Zen Institute
Continuing in the tradition of its founder, the members of the First Zen Institute have published many important original translations from classical Chinese and medieval Japanese texts. Books include Zen Dust, by Isshu Miura and Ruth Fuller Sasaki, The Zen Koan, by Isshu Miura and Ruth Fuller Sasaki, Zen A Religion; A Method For Religious Awakening; Study for Foreigners in Japan, by Ruth Fuller Sasaki; The Development of Chinese Zen After the Sixth Patriarch, by Heinreich Dumulin and Ruth Fuller Sasaki; A Man of Zen, The Recorded Sayings of the Layman P'ang, translated from the Chinese by Ruth Fuller Sasaki, Yoshitaka Iriya and Dana R. Fraser; The Record of Lin Chi, translated from the Chinese by Ruth Fuller Sasaki; Bankei Zen, translations from the Record of Bankei, by Peter Haskel; Letting Go, The Story of Zen Master Tosui, translated and with an introduction by Peter Haskel; Great Fool: Zen Master Ryokan, Poems, Letters, and other Writings, translated with Essays by Ryuichi Abe and Peter Haskel, and Zen by the Brush, by Susan Morningstar. Manuscripts awaiting publication include the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, Three Hundred Mile Tiger: The Record of Lin Chi and Peter Haskel's new book on the Zen sword-master Takuan.Ongoing practice at the First Zen Institute
Despite having no teacher in residence, the institute does invite teachers such as Kyozan Joshu SasakiKyozan Joshu Sasaki
Kyozan Joshu Sasaki , Roshi is a Japanese Rinzai Zen teacher who has lived in the United States since 1962. Joshu Sasaki is the founder and head abbot of the Mount Baldy Zen Center, near Mount Baldy in California, and of the Rinzai-Ji order of affiliated Zen centers. As of , he is still actively...
Roshi and Isshu Miura Roshi to provide instruction periodically.http://www.firstzen.org/history.php The institute holds public meditation once a week on Wednesday evenings, 7:30-9:30 p.m. and offers two-day meditation retreats, usually on the second weekend of each month."
See also
- Buddhism in the United StatesBuddhism in the United StatesBuddhism is one of the largest religions in the United States behind Christianity, Judaism and Nonreligious, and approximate with Islam and Hinduism. American Buddhists include many Asian Americans, as well as a large number of converts of other ethnicities, and now their children and even...
- Mary FarkasMary FarkasMary Farkas was the director of the First Zen Institute of America , running the center's administrative functions for many years following the death of her teacher in 1945...
- Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United StatesTimeline of Zen Buddhism in the United StatesBelow is a timeline of important events regarding Zen Buddhism in the United States. Dates with "?" are approximate.-Early history:* 1893: Soyen Shaku comes to the United States to lecture at the World Parliament of Religions held in Chicago...