Taizan Maezumi
Encyclopedia
Hakuyū Taizan Maezumi was a Japanese
Zen
Buddhist teacher and rōshi
, and lineage holder in the Sōtō
, Rinzai and Harada-Yasutani traditions of Zen. He combined the Rinzai use of koans and the Sōtō emphasis on shikantaza
in his teachings, influenced by his years studying under Hakuun Yasutani in the Harada-Yasutani school. He founded or co-founded several institutions and practice centers, including the Zen Center of Los Angeles
, White Plum Asanga
, Yokoji Zen Mountain Center
and the Zen Mountain Monastery
.
Taizan Maezumi left behind twelve Dharma
successors, appointed sixty-eight priests and gave Buddhist precepts to more than five hundred practitioners. Along with Zen teachers like Shunryu Suzuki
-roshi, Seung Sahn
Dae Soen Sa Nim, and Venerable Hsuan Hua
, Maezumi greatly influenced the American Zen landscape. Several Dharma Successors of his — including Tetsugen Bernard Glassman
, Dennis Merzel, John Daido Loori
, Jan Chozen Bays
, Charlotte Joko Beck, and William Nyogen Yeo
— have gone on to found Zen communities of their own. Maezumi died unexpectedly while visiting Japan in 1995.
Maezumi was born on February 24, 1931 to Yoshiko Kuroda-Maezumi and Baian Hakujun Kuroda, a prominent Sōtō Zen
priest, in his father's temple in Otawara, Tochigi Prefecture
, Japan
. In later years he took the name Maezumi, his mother's maiden name. He was ordained as a monk into the Sōtō
lineage at age eleven, and in high school began studying Zen under a lay
Rinzai instructor named Koryu Osaka. While studying under Koryu he attended Komazawa University
—receiving degrees in Asian literature|Oriental literature and philosophy. After college he trained at Sojiji, and then received shiho
from his father in 1955. In 1956 he was sent to the United States
to serve as a priest at the Zenshuji Soto Mission in Little Tokyo—a Japanese-American neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. He worked part time at a factory.
The Zenshuji Soto Mission consisted of a Japanese-American congregation that placed little emphasis on zazen
. Maezumi began sitting zazen occasionally with Nyogen Senzaki
, in nearby Boyle Heights for the next two years. In 1959 Maezumi took classes in English
at San Francisco State College, the year he first met Shunryu Suzuki
, occasionally visiting Suzuki's temple, Sokoji, for ceremonies. Early in the 1960s, Maezumi began holding zazen
at Zenshuji for Western students, which eventually led to the opening of the Zen Center of Los Angeles
in 1967. That same year he married his first wife, Charlene (they divorced in 1971.)http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/zen-chan.htm Also in 1967, Maezumi began studying with Hakuun Yasutani, completing koan study under him and receiving Dharma transmission
in 1970. He also received transmission from Koryu Osaka in 1973, making him a lineage holder in the Sōtō
, Rinzai and Harada-Yasutani schools.
In 1975 Maezumi married his second wife, Martha Ekyo Maezumi, and later the couple had three children (his daughter Kyrie Maezumi
is an actress). In 1976, Maezumi founded the non-profit Kuroda Institute for the Study of Buddhism and Human Values, promoting academic scholarship on Buddhist topics. The White Plum Asanga
was also established during this period. His senior student Tetsugen Bernard Glassman
opened the Zen Community of New York in 1979 with Maezumi's blessing and encouragement. Another student, John Daido Loori
, acquired land in the Catskill Mountains
of New York
and in 1980 established Zen Mountain Monastery
(ZMM) with Maezumi; Loori was installed as Abbot at ZMM in 1989. That following year Maezumi founded a summer retreat for the ZCLA called the Yokoji Zen Mountain Center
, which today serves as a year-round residential and non-residential Zen
training center. In 1984 another student, Dennis Genpo Merzel
, left ZCLA to establish the Kanzeon Sangha, an international network practicing in the Harada-Yasutani lineage.http://www.zmc.org/
Maezumi died on May 15, 1995 while in Japan
visiting his family. He had been out drinking; returning home he took a bath, where he fell asleep and drowned. Not long before dying he had given inka
to Tetsugen Bernard Glassman
. He did this to emphasize the Harada-Yasutani connection of his past into the Dharma transmission
tradition of White Plum Asanga
, naming Glassman President of the organization in his will
.
Due to his training in three Japan
ese lineages, Maezumi employed both Rinzai koan study and Sōtō
shikantaza
('just sitting') in his teaching curriculum—an approach developed by his teacher Hakuun Yasutani. He was known to be especially strict about the posture of his students while sitting zazen
. Father Robert Kennedy recalls, "Maezumi Roshi was so adamant in his insistence that we sit well that he advised us not to sit at all if we were not attentive to form." Maezumi used a range of koans from different Zen traditions, including the Blue Cliff Record
, the Gateless Gate, The Transmission of Light, and the Book of Equanimity. According to author and Dharma Successor Gerry Shishin Wick
, Maezumi was also fond of a particular saying—"appreciate your life." This also is the title of a compiled book of teachings by Maezumi, published by Shambhala Publications
. In it Maezumi says, "I encourage you. Please enjoy this wonderful life together. Appreciate the world just this! There is nothing extra. Genuinely appreciate your life as the most precious treasure and take good care of it."
, despite being married to his wife Martha Ekyo Maezumi. He was forthcoming in admitting his mistakes and did not justify his behaviors. These events caused much turmoil in his school, and many students left as a result. Some members who stayed described themselves as forced to see Maezumi on a more human level, even seeing this period as a breakthrough for them, no longer deluded into thinking a teacher could be beyond imperfection. Both Bays and Tetsugen Bernard Glassman
founded their own sangha
s at this time. When remembering Maezumi, author David Chadwick had this to say: "I'd say he had an interesting mix of humility and arrogance. Mainly to me he'd seem arrogant at a distance, but close up he'd be right there with me not putting on any airs."
Maezumi named twelve Dharma Successors, ordained sixty-eight priests, and administered the Buddhist precepts to over five hundred individuals. Author James Ishmael Ford
says, "His influence on the shape of Western Zen is incalculable." Jan Chozen Bays
says, "To me, Maezumi's genius lay in his ability to see the buddhanature and also teaching potential in many different kinds of people. There are some Zen teachers who have no successors or maybe one or two. Maezumi was more the Tibetan style—scatter the seeds widely, some will grow and some will not. We won't know for several generations which of his successors have established lineages that will continue."
Maezumi-roshi gave Dharma transmission
to the following individuals:
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
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...
Buddhist teacher and rōshi
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...
, and lineage holder in the Sōtō
Soto
Sōtō Zen , or is, with Rinzai and Ōbaku, one of the three most populous sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.The Sōtō sect was first established as the Caodong sect during the Tang Dynasty in China by Dongshan Liangjie in the 9th century, which Dōgen Zenji then brought to Japan in the 13th century...
, Rinzai and Harada-Yasutani traditions of Zen. He combined the Rinzai use of koans and the Sōtō emphasis on shikantaza
Shikantaza
is a Japanese term for zazen introduced by Rujing and associated most with the Soto school of Zen Buddhism. Ford cites on p. 224 an opinion that it is "the base of all Zen disciplines." Some people claim that according to Dōgen Zenji, shikantaza i.e...
in his teachings, influenced by his years studying under Hakuun Yasutani in the Harada-Yasutani school. He founded or co-founded several institutions and practice centers, including the Zen Center of Los Angeles
Zen Center of Los Angeles
The Zen Center of Los Angeles , temple name Buddha Essence Temple, is a Zen center founded by Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi in 1967 that practices in the White Plum lineage.ZCLA observes a daily schedule of zazen, Buddhist services, and work practice...
, White Plum Asanga
White Plum Asanga
White Plum Asanga, sometimes termed White Plum Sangha, is a Zen school in the Harada-Yasutani lineage, created by the late Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi. It consists of Maezumi's Dharma heirs and subsequent successors and students...
, Yokoji Zen Mountain Center
Yokoji Zen Mountain Center
Yokoji Zen Mountain Center is a year-round Zen Buddhist training and retreat center located in the San Jacinto Mountains of Southern California. It is of sacred Native American land and wilderness....
and the Zen Mountain Monastery
Zen Mountain Monastery
Zen Mountain Monastery is a Zen Buddhist monastery and training center on a forested property in the Catskill Mountains in Mount Tremper, New York. It was founded in 1980 by John Daido Loori, originally as the Zen Arts Center. It combines the Rinzai and Sōtō Zen traditions, in both of which Loori...
.
Taizan Maezumi left behind twelve Dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
successors, appointed sixty-eight priests and gave Buddhist precepts to more than five hundred practitioners. Along with Zen teachers like Shunryu Suzuki
Shunryu Suzuki
Shunryu Suzuki was a Sōtō Zen roshi who popularized Zen Buddhism in the United States, particularly around San Francisco. Born in the Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan, Suzuki was occasionally mistaken for the Zen scholar D.T...
-roshi, Seung Sahn
Seung Sahn
Seung Sahn Haeng Won Dae Soen-sa , born Dok-In Lee, was a Korean Jogye Seon master and founder of the international Kwan Um School of Zen—the largest Zen institution present in the Western world. He was the seventy-eighth teacher in his lineage...
Dae Soen Sa Nim, and Venerable Hsuan Hua
Hsuan Hua
Hsuan Hua , also known as An Tzu and Tu Lun, was a Chan Buddhist monk and a contributing figure in bringing Chinese Buddhism to the United States in the 20th century....
, Maezumi greatly influenced the American Zen landscape. Several Dharma Successors of his — including Tetsugen Bernard Glassman
Tetsugen Bernard Glassman
Bernie Glassman , aka Tetsugen Bernard Glassman, is an American Zen Buddhist roshi and co-founder of the Zen Peacemakers , an organization established in 1996 with his late wife Sandra Jishu Holmes...
, Dennis Merzel, John Daido Loori
John Daido Loori
John Daido Loori was a Zen Buddhist rōshi who served as the abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery and was the founder of the Mountains and Rivers Order and CEO of Dharma Communications. Daido Loori received shiho from Taizan Maezumi in 1986 and also received a dendokyoshi certificate formally from the...
, Jan Chozen Bays
Jan Chozen Bays
Jan Chozen Bays, MD , is a pediatrician and Zen teacher practicing in Oregon. With her husband Laren Hogen Bays, since 1985 she has been a teacher at the Zen Community of Oregon, a Zen center or sangha in Portland, Oregon. Chozen and Hogen Bays are also co-founders of the Great Vow Zen Monastery...
, Charlotte Joko Beck, and William Nyogen Yeo
William Nyogen Yeo
William Nyogen Yeo is a White Plum Asanga roshi and spiritual director of Hazy Moon Zen Center in Los Angeles, California, one of only twelve Dharma Successors of the late Taizan Maezumi. He is a member of the American Zen Teachers Association.-References:...
— have gone on to found Zen communities of their own. Maezumi died unexpectedly while visiting Japan in 1995.
Biography
Soto
Sōtō Zen , or is, with Rinzai and Ōbaku, one of the three most populous sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.The Sōtō sect was first established as the Caodong sect during the Tang Dynasty in China by Dongshan Liangjie in the 9th century, which Dōgen Zenji then brought to Japan in the 13th century...
priest, in his father's temple in Otawara, Tochigi Prefecture
Tochigi Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the Kantō region on the island of Honshū, Japan. The capital is the city of Utsunomiya.Nikkō, whose ancient Shintō shrines and Buddhist temples UNESCO has recognized by naming them a World Heritage Site, is in this prefecture...
, 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 later years he took the name Maezumi, his mother's maiden name. He was ordained as a monk into the Sōtō
Soto
Sōtō Zen , or is, with Rinzai and Ōbaku, one of the three most populous sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.The Sōtō sect was first established as the Caodong sect during the Tang Dynasty in China by Dongshan Liangjie in the 9th century, which Dōgen Zenji then brought to Japan in the 13th century...
lineage at age eleven, and in high school began studying Zen under a lay
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...
Rinzai instructor named Koryu Osaka. While studying under Koryu he attended Komazawa University
Komazawa University
Komazawa University is one of the oldest universities in Japan. Its history starts in 1592, when a seminary was established to be a center of learning for the young monks of the Sōtō sect, one of the two main Zen Buddhist traditions in Japan.The university in Tokyo campus comprises eight faculties...
—receiving degrees in Asian literature|Oriental literature and philosophy. After college he trained at Sojiji, and then received shiho
Shiho
refers to a series of ceremonies in Sōtō Zen Buddhism wherein which a priest receives full transmission, inheriting the Dharma from his/her master and becoming empowered to transmit the precepts and lineage to others. A shiho ceremony can last anywhere from one to three weeks, with the final...
from his father in 1955. In 1956 he was sent to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to serve as a priest at the Zenshuji Soto Mission in Little Tokyo—a Japanese-American neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. He worked part time at a factory.
The Zenshuji Soto Mission consisted of a Japanese-American congregation that placed little emphasis on zazen
Zazen
In Zen Buddhism, zazen is a meditative discipline practitioners perform to calm the body and the mind, and be able to concentrate enough to experience insight into the nature of existence and thereby gain enlightenment .- Significance :Zazen is considered the heart of Zen Buddhist practice...
. Maezumi began sitting zazen occasionally with Nyogen Senzaki
Nyogen Senzaki
Nyogen Senzaki was a Rinzai Zen monk who was one of the 20th century's leading proponents of Zen Buddhism in the United States.-Early life:...
, in nearby Boyle Heights for the next two years. In 1959 Maezumi took classes in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
at San Francisco State College, the year he first met Shunryu Suzuki
Shunryu Suzuki
Shunryu Suzuki was a Sōtō Zen roshi who popularized Zen Buddhism in the United States, particularly around San Francisco. Born in the Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan, Suzuki was occasionally mistaken for the Zen scholar D.T...
, occasionally visiting Suzuki's temple, Sokoji, for ceremonies. Early in the 1960s, Maezumi began holding zazen
Zazen
In Zen Buddhism, zazen is a meditative discipline practitioners perform to calm the body and the mind, and be able to concentrate enough to experience insight into the nature of existence and thereby gain enlightenment .- Significance :Zazen is considered the heart of Zen Buddhist practice...
at Zenshuji for Western students, which eventually led to the opening of the Zen Center of Los Angeles
Zen Center of Los Angeles
The Zen Center of Los Angeles , temple name Buddha Essence Temple, is a Zen center founded by Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi in 1967 that practices in the White Plum lineage.ZCLA observes a daily schedule of zazen, Buddhist services, and work practice...
in 1967. That same year he married his first wife, Charlene (they divorced in 1971.)http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/zen-chan.htm Also in 1967, Maezumi began studying with Hakuun Yasutani, completing koan study under him and receiving Dharma transmission
Dharma transmission
Dharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
in 1970. He also received transmission from Koryu Osaka in 1973, making him a lineage holder in the Sōtō
Soto
Sōtō Zen , or is, with Rinzai and Ōbaku, one of the three most populous sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.The Sōtō sect was first established as the Caodong sect during the Tang Dynasty in China by Dongshan Liangjie in the 9th century, which Dōgen Zenji then brought to Japan in the 13th century...
, Rinzai and Harada-Yasutani schools.
Kyrie Maezumi
Kyrie Mimi Maezumi is an American actress and musician of Russian, British and Japanese descent.-Private life:A Los Angeles native, Kyrie grew up in a close family where her performing skills were apparent very early on. Kyrie is of Russian, British and Japanese descent...
is an actress). In 1976, Maezumi founded the non-profit Kuroda Institute for the Study of Buddhism and Human Values, promoting academic scholarship on Buddhist topics. The White Plum Asanga
White Plum Asanga
White Plum Asanga, sometimes termed White Plum Sangha, is a Zen school in the Harada-Yasutani lineage, created by the late Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi. It consists of Maezumi's Dharma heirs and subsequent successors and students...
was also established during this period. His senior student Tetsugen Bernard Glassman
Tetsugen Bernard Glassman
Bernie Glassman , aka Tetsugen Bernard Glassman, is an American Zen Buddhist roshi and co-founder of the Zen Peacemakers , an organization established in 1996 with his late wife Sandra Jishu Holmes...
opened the Zen Community of New York in 1979 with Maezumi's blessing and encouragement. Another student, John Daido Loori
John Daido Loori
John Daido Loori was a Zen Buddhist rōshi who served as the abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery and was the founder of the Mountains and Rivers Order and CEO of Dharma Communications. Daido Loori received shiho from Taizan Maezumi in 1986 and also received a dendokyoshi certificate formally from the...
, acquired land in the Catskill Mountains
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and in 1980 established Zen Mountain Monastery
Zen Mountain Monastery
Zen Mountain Monastery is a Zen Buddhist monastery and training center on a forested property in the Catskill Mountains in Mount Tremper, New York. It was founded in 1980 by John Daido Loori, originally as the Zen Arts Center. It combines the Rinzai and Sōtō Zen traditions, in both of which Loori...
(ZMM) with Maezumi; Loori was installed as Abbot at ZMM in 1989. That following year Maezumi founded a summer retreat for the ZCLA called the Yokoji Zen Mountain Center
Yokoji Zen Mountain Center
Yokoji Zen Mountain Center is a year-round Zen Buddhist training and retreat center located in the San Jacinto Mountains of Southern California. It is of sacred Native American land and wilderness....
, which today serves as a year-round residential and non-residential 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...
training center. In 1984 another student, Dennis Genpo Merzel
Dennis Genpo Merzel
Dennis Merzel is an American Zen and spirituality teacher, also known as Genpo Merzel Roshi. He was a student and is heir of the Japanese-born Zen teacher Taizan Maezumi. Merzel obtained a Master's degree in educational administration from the University of Southern California and went on to...
, left ZCLA to establish the Kanzeon Sangha, an international network practicing in the Harada-Yasutani lineage.http://www.zmc.org/
Maezumi died on May 15, 1995 while 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...
visiting his family. He had been out drinking; returning home he took a bath, where he fell asleep and drowned. Not long before dying he had given inka
Inka
, is a term used in Zen Buddhism to denote a high-level of certification, and literally means "the legitimate seal of clearly furnished proof." In ancient times inka usually came in the form of an actual document, but this practice is no longer commonplace...
to Tetsugen Bernard Glassman
Tetsugen Bernard Glassman
Bernie Glassman , aka Tetsugen Bernard Glassman, is an American Zen Buddhist roshi and co-founder of the Zen Peacemakers , an organization established in 1996 with his late wife Sandra Jishu Holmes...
. He did this to emphasize the Harada-Yasutani connection of his past into the Dharma transmission
Dharma transmission
Dharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
tradition of White Plum Asanga
White Plum Asanga
White Plum Asanga, sometimes termed White Plum Sangha, is a Zen school in the Harada-Yasutani lineage, created by the late Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi. It consists of Maezumi's Dharma heirs and subsequent successors and students...
, naming Glassman President of the organization in his will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
.
Teaching style
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 lineages, Maezumi employed both Rinzai koan study and Sōtō
Soto
Sōtō Zen , or is, with Rinzai and Ōbaku, one of the three most populous sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism.The Sōtō sect was first established as the Caodong sect during the Tang Dynasty in China by Dongshan Liangjie in the 9th century, which Dōgen Zenji then brought to Japan in the 13th century...
shikantaza
Shikantaza
is a Japanese term for zazen introduced by Rujing and associated most with the Soto school of Zen Buddhism. Ford cites on p. 224 an opinion that it is "the base of all Zen disciplines." Some people claim that according to Dōgen Zenji, shikantaza i.e...
('just sitting') in his teaching curriculum—an approach developed by his teacher Hakuun Yasutani. He was known to be especially strict about the posture of his students while sitting zazen
Zazen
In Zen Buddhism, zazen is a meditative discipline practitioners perform to calm the body and the mind, and be able to concentrate enough to experience insight into the nature of existence and thereby gain enlightenment .- Significance :Zazen is considered the heart of Zen Buddhist practice...
. Father Robert Kennedy recalls, "Maezumi Roshi was so adamant in his insistence that we sit well that he advised us not to sit at all if we were not attentive to form." Maezumi used a range of koans from different Zen traditions, including the Blue Cliff Record
Blue Cliff Record
The Blue Cliff Record ; Vietnamese: Bích nham lục ) is a collection of Chán Buddhist koans originally compiled in China during the Song dynasty in 1125 and then expanded into its present form by the Chán master Yuanwu Keqin .The book includes Yuanwu's annotations and commentary on Xuedou...
, the Gateless Gate, The Transmission of Light, and the Book of Equanimity. According to author and Dharma Successor Gerry Shishin Wick
Gerry Shishin Wick
Gerry Shishin Wick is a Soto Zen roshi, author, oceanographer and abbot of Great Mountain Zen Center which he founded in 1996—one of twelve Dharma Successors of the late Taizan Maezumi . He has a Ph.D...
, Maezumi was also fond of a particular saying—"appreciate your life." This also is the title of a compiled book of teachings by Maezumi, published by Shambhala Publications
Shambhala Publications
Shambhala Publications is an independent publishing company based in Boston, Massachusetts. According to the company, it specializes in "books that present creative and conscious ways of transforming the individual, the society, and the planet". Many of its books deal with Buddhism or related topics...
. In it Maezumi says, "I encourage you. Please enjoy this wonderful life together. Appreciate the world just this! There is nothing extra. Genuinely appreciate your life as the most precious treasure and take good care of it."
Criticism
Maezumi publicly admitted he was an alcoholic in 1983, and sought treatment at the Betty Ford Clinic. This coincided with revelations that he had been having sexual relationships with some of his female followers at the Zen Center of Los AngelesZen Center of Los Angeles
The Zen Center of Los Angeles , temple name Buddha Essence Temple, is a Zen center founded by Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi in 1967 that practices in the White Plum lineage.ZCLA observes a daily schedule of zazen, Buddhist services, and work practice...
, despite being married to his wife Martha Ekyo Maezumi. He was forthcoming in admitting his mistakes and did not justify his behaviors. These events caused much turmoil in his school, and many students left as a result. Some members who stayed described themselves as forced to see Maezumi on a more human level, even seeing this period as a breakthrough for them, no longer deluded into thinking a teacher could be beyond imperfection. Both Bays and Tetsugen Bernard Glassman
Tetsugen Bernard Glassman
Bernie Glassman , aka Tetsugen Bernard Glassman, is an American Zen Buddhist roshi and co-founder of the Zen Peacemakers , an organization established in 1996 with his late wife Sandra Jishu Holmes...
founded their own sangha
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...
s at this time. When remembering Maezumi, author David Chadwick had this to say: "I'd say he had an interesting mix of humility and arrogance. Mainly to me he'd seem arrogant at a distance, but close up he'd be right there with me not putting on any airs."
Legacy
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...
says, "His influence on the shape of Western Zen is incalculable." Jan Chozen Bays
Jan Chozen Bays
Jan Chozen Bays, MD , is a pediatrician and Zen teacher practicing in Oregon. With her husband Laren Hogen Bays, since 1985 she has been a teacher at the Zen Community of Oregon, a Zen center or sangha in Portland, Oregon. Chozen and Hogen Bays are also co-founders of the Great Vow Zen Monastery...
says, "To me, Maezumi's genius lay in his ability to see the buddhanature and also teaching potential in many different kinds of people. There are some Zen teachers who have no successors or maybe one or two. Maezumi was more the Tibetan style—scatter the seeds widely, some will grow and some will not. We won't know for several generations which of his successors have established lineages that will continue."
Maezumi-roshi gave Dharma transmission
Dharma transmission
Dharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
to the following individuals:
- Tetsugen Bernard GlassmanTetsugen Bernard GlassmanBernie Glassman , aka Tetsugen Bernard Glassman, is an American Zen Buddhist roshi and co-founder of the Zen Peacemakers , an organization established in 1996 with his late wife Sandra Jishu Holmes...
- Dennis Genpo MerzelDennis Genpo MerzelDennis Merzel is an American Zen and spirituality teacher, also known as Genpo Merzel Roshi. He was a student and is heir of the Japanese-born Zen teacher Taizan Maezumi. Merzel obtained a Master's degree in educational administration from the University of Southern California and went on to...
- Charlotte Joko Beck
- Jan Chozen BaysJan Chozen BaysJan Chozen Bays, MD , is a pediatrician and Zen teacher practicing in Oregon. With her husband Laren Hogen Bays, since 1985 she has been a teacher at the Zen Community of Oregon, a Zen center or sangha in Portland, Oregon. Chozen and Hogen Bays are also co-founders of the Great Vow Zen Monastery...
- John Daido LooriJohn Daido LooriJohn Daido Loori was a Zen Buddhist rōshi who served as the abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery and was the founder of the Mountains and Rivers Order and CEO of Dharma Communications. Daido Loori received shiho from Taizan Maezumi in 1986 and also received a dendokyoshi certificate formally from the...
- Gerry Shishin WickGerry Shishin WickGerry Shishin Wick is a Soto Zen roshi, author, oceanographer and abbot of Great Mountain Zen Center which he founded in 1996—one of twelve Dharma Successors of the late Taizan Maezumi . He has a Ph.D...
- John Tesshin SandersonJohn Tesshin SandersonJohn Tesshin Sanderson is a Soto Zen roshi of the White Plum Asanga and spiritual director of the Centro Zen de México in Coyoacán, Mexico City, one of only twelve Dharma Successors of the late Taizan Maezumi...
- Alfred Jitsudo Ancheta
- Charles Tenshin FletcherCharles Tenshin FletcherCharles Tenshin Fletcher is a British-born American rōshi. Born in Manchester, England, he moved to the United States in 1979 to study at the Zen Center of Los Angeles with founder Taizan Maezumi Rōshi, for whom he served as jisha . In 1994, he received Dharma transmission in the White Plum...
- Susan Myoyu Andersen
- Nicolee Jikyo McMahon
- William Nyogen YeoWilliam Nyogen YeoWilliam Nyogen Yeo is a White Plum Asanga roshi and spiritual director of Hazy Moon Zen Center in Los Angeles, California, one of only twelve Dharma Successors of the late Taizan Maezumi. He is a member of the American Zen Teachers Association.-References:...
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...
- Buddhism in the WestBuddhism in the WestBuddhism in the West broadly encompasses the knowledge and practice of Buddhism outside of Asia. Occasional intersections between Western civilization and the Buddhist world have been occurring for thousands of years, but it was not until the era of European colonization of Buddhist countries in...
- 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...
External links
- White Plum Asanga
- White Plum Sangha (British site)
- Obituary
- Je leven waarderen (Appreciating Your Life) TV documentary about Maezumi's life and work by the Dutch Buddhist Broadcasting Foundation. Netherlands/USA (2008) English w. Dutch subtitles, 60 min.