John Tarrant
Encyclopedia
John Tarrant is a Western Zen teacher, currently director of the Pacific Zen Institute
in Santa Rosa, California
.
, Australia. This was for all practical purposes a nineteenth century upbringing, without the use of wired electricity or indoor plumbing. His earliest influences included the Catholic Church and particularly the Latin Mass, Australian Aboriginal culture, and a passion for English literature, especially poetry. Tarrant was awarded a scholarship to attend the Australian National University
, the premier Australian institution of higher learning, where he earned a dual degree in Human Sciences and English Literature.
Before and after his college experience, Tarrant worked at many jobs, ranging from working as a laborer in an open-pit mine, to commercial fishing the Great Barrier Reef. Eventually he also worked as a lobbyist for the Aboriginal land rights movement.
He was introduced to Buddhism
in the Tibetan tradition but quickly found his spiritual home in Zen Buddhism
. Tarrant moved to Hawaii to study Zen with the renowned social justice activist and Zen master, Robert Baker Aitken
. At about this time he moved to California to complete his PhD in Psychology from the Saybrook Institute and where he established the California Diamond Sangha, which would eventually become the Pacific Zen Institute.
Tarrant's own books include his controversial book The Light Inside the Dark and the widely received Bring Me the Rhinoceros.
Among Tarrant's Dharma heirs are:
David Weinstein
located at PZI
's Oakland
Zendo branch site;
Joan Iten Sutherland
, founder and head teacher of Awakened Life;
James Ishmael Ford
, founder and senior teacher of the Boundless Way Zen network;
Daniel Terragno, of Rocks and Clouds Zendo.
"What is the mind like if it’s not occupied with plans and schemes, and fears that the plans and schemes will fail? What if your unexamined beliefs were to fall away and you were to live without them, and also to live without the thought that you had given anything up?"
Pacific Zen Institute
The Pacific Zen Institute, previously California Diamond Sangha, is a Zen Buddhist practice center with several affiliate centers in the lineage of John Tarrant—formerly of the Sanbo Kyodan school of Zen...
in Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...
.
Biographical Portrait
Tarrant was raised in rural TasmaniaTasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, Australia. This was for all practical purposes a nineteenth century upbringing, without the use of wired electricity or indoor plumbing. His earliest influences included the Catholic Church and particularly the Latin Mass, Australian Aboriginal culture, and a passion for English literature, especially poetry. Tarrant was awarded a scholarship to attend the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
, the premier Australian institution of higher learning, where he earned a dual degree in Human Sciences and English Literature.
Before and after his college experience, Tarrant worked at many jobs, ranging from working as a laborer in an open-pit mine, to commercial fishing the Great Barrier Reef. Eventually he also worked as a lobbyist for the Aboriginal land rights movement.
He was introduced to Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
in the Tibetan tradition but quickly found his spiritual home in Zen Buddhism
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...
. Tarrant moved to Hawaii to study Zen with the renowned social justice activist and Zen master, Robert Baker Aitken
Robert Baker Aitken
Robert Baker Dairyu Chotan Aitken Roshi was a Zen teacher in the Harada-Yasutani lineage. He co-founded the Honolulu Diamond Sangha in 1959...
. At about this time he moved to California to complete his PhD in Psychology from the Saybrook Institute and where he established the California Diamond Sangha, which would eventually become the Pacific Zen Institute.
Dharma career
John Tarrant's reputation as a writer and poet grew with contributions to several publications, including among various journals the books Beneath a Single Moon: Buddhism in Contemporary American Poetry and What Book? Buddha Poems From Beat to Hiphop.Tarrant's own books include his controversial book The Light Inside the Dark and the widely received Bring Me the Rhinoceros.
Among Tarrant's Dharma heirs are:
David Weinstein
David Weinstein
David Weinstein may refer to:*David E. Weinstein, Carl S. Shoup Professor of Japanese Economy at Columbia University*David F. Weinstein, United States politician*David Weinstein , American musician and composer...
located at PZI
Pacific Zen Institute
The Pacific Zen Institute, previously California Diamond Sangha, is a Zen Buddhist practice center with several affiliate centers in the lineage of John Tarrant—formerly of the Sanbo Kyodan school of Zen...
's Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
Zendo branch site;
Joan Iten Sutherland
Joan Iten Sutherland
Joan Sutherland is a senior teacher of Zen Buddhism and the founder of The Open Source, a network of Zen Buddhist practice communities in New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she teaches through Awakened Life, the center of The Open Source...
, founder and head teacher of Awakened Life;
James Ishmael Ford
James Ishmael Ford
James Ishmael Ford is an American Zen Buddhist priest and Unitarian Universalist minister. He was born in Oakland, California on July 17, 1948...
, founder and senior teacher of the Boundless Way Zen network;
Daniel Terragno, of Rocks and Clouds Zendo.
Dharma Teaching
One popular quotation, which signifies Tarrant's contribution to Western Zen is:"What is the mind like if it’s not occupied with plans and schemes, and fears that the plans and schemes will fail? What if your unexamined beliefs were to fall away and you were to live without them, and also to live without the thought that you had given anything up?"