Kyozan Joshu Sasaki
Encyclopedia
Kyozan Joshu Sasaki, Roshi (born April 1, 1907) is a Japan
ese 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 teaching at the age of 104. Joshu Sasaki regularly offers formal training sessions at both the Mount Baldy Zen Center and the Bodhi Manda Zen Center, occasionally offering sesshin
at the Rinzai-Ji Zen Center in Los Angeles
and Haku-un-ji Zen Center in Tempe, AZ. Roshi's teaching schedule greatly depends on his health, however.
Joshu Sasaki became an ordained monk
at age thirteen under his teacher, Joten Soko Miura. Soon after, he followed Joten Soko Miura to Myoshin-ji
, the head temple of one of the largest branches of Rinzai. Having been awarded the title of roshi
in 1948, Kyozan Joshu Sasaki took the position of an abbot at Yotoku-in. In 1962, Joshu decided to travel across the Pacific Ocean
to teach students in the West. He has been one of the most influential teachers of Zen students in the USA and Europe
, and some of his students have gone on to become Zen teachers themselves.
One of his best known students is Canadian poet and singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen
, who served as personal assistant to Joshu Sasaki during his 1990s seclusion to the Mt. Baldy monastery. Many of the poems in Cohen's 2006 Book of Longing
refer to Mt. Baldy and Joshu Sasaki (mostly referred to as "Roshi").
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...
ese Rinzai 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...
teacher who has lived in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
since 1962. Joshu Sasaki is the founder and head abbot of the Mount Baldy Zen Center
Mount Baldy Zen Center
Mount Baldy Zen Center is a Rinzai Zen monastery of the Nyorai-nyokyo sect, located in the San Gabriel Mountains of the Angeles National Forest region on and founded in 1971 by Kyozan Joshu Sasaki. The monastery — once a Boy Scout camp — became famous when musician Leonard Cohen joined the...
, near Mount Baldy
Mount San Antonio
Mount San Antonio, commonly known as Old Baldy or Mt Baldy, at , is the highest peak in the San Gabriel Mountains, and the highest point in Los Angeles County...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and of the Rinzai-Ji order of affiliated Zen centers. As of , he is still actively teaching at the age of 104. Joshu Sasaki regularly offers formal training sessions at both the Mount Baldy Zen Center and the Bodhi Manda Zen Center, occasionally offering sesshin
Sesshin
A sesshin , literally "touching the heart-mind" , is a period of intensive meditation in a Zen monastery....
at the Rinzai-Ji Zen Center in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and Haku-un-ji Zen Center in Tempe, AZ. Roshi's teaching schedule greatly depends on his health, however.
Joshu Sasaki became an ordained monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
at age thirteen under his teacher, Joten Soko Miura. Soon after, he followed Joten Soko Miura to Myoshin-ji
Myoshin-ji
is a temple complex in Kyoto, Japan. The Myōshin-ji school of Rinzai Zen Buddhism is the largest school in Rinzai Zen. This particular school contains within it more than three thousand temples throughout Japan, along with nineteen monasteries. The head temple was founded in the year 1342 by the...
, the head temple of one of the largest branches of Rinzai. Having been awarded the title of roshi
Roshi
is a Japanese honorific title used in Zen Buddhism that literally means "old teacher" or "elder master" and sometimes denotes a person who gives spiritual guidance to a Zen sangha or congregation...
in 1948, Kyozan Joshu Sasaki took the position of an abbot at Yotoku-in. In 1962, Joshu decided to travel across the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
to teach students in the West. He has been one of the most influential teachers of Zen students in the USA and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and some of his students have gone on to become Zen teachers themselves.
One of his best known students is Canadian poet and singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
, who served as personal assistant to Joshu Sasaki during his 1990s seclusion to the Mt. Baldy monastery. Many of the poems in Cohen's 2006 Book of Longing
Book of Longing
Book of Longing is the first new poetry book by Leonard Cohen since 1984's Book of Mercy. First published in 2006 by McClelland and Stewart, Book of Longing contains 167 previously unpublished poems and drawings, mostly written at a Zen monastery on Mount Baldy in California, where Cohen lived from...
refer to Mt. Baldy and Joshu Sasaki (mostly referred to as "Roshi").
Praise
In a recent interview Eshin Godfrey, Abbot of the Zen Centre of Vancouver and a student of Sasaki-roshi, said of his teacher, "He has become a precious golden Buddha! You can only have great gratitude for your teacher, even though I’ve found it a bitter-sweet relationship. As the western styles of Zen develop I’m grateful to have started study in the traditional way."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...
- List of Rinzai Buddhists
- 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...