Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United States
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Dates with "?" are approximate.
Early history
- 1893: Soyen ShakuSoyen ShakuSoyen 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...
comes to the United States to lecture at the World Parliament of Religions held in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles... - 1905: Soyen ShakuSoyen ShakuSoyen 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...
returns to the United States and teaches for approximately one year in San Francisco - 1906: Sokei-anSokei-anSokei-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...
arrives in San Francisco - 1919: Soyen ShakuSoyen ShakuSoyen 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...
dies on October 29 in JapanJapanJapan 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... - 1922: Zenshuji Soto Mission is established in the Little Tokyo section of Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
- 1922: Nyogen SenzakiNyogen SenzakiNyogen 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:...
begins teaching in CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia 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...
with his "floating zendoZendoor is a Japanese term translating roughly as "meditation hall". In Zen Buddhism, the zen-dō is a spiritual dōjō where zazen is practiced...
" - 1930: Sokei-anSokei-anSokei-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...
establishes the Buddhist Society of America (now First Zen Institute of AmericaFirst Zen Institute of AmericaThe 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 . The emphasis on lay practice has its roots in the history of the organization...
) - 1945: Sokei-anSokei-anSokei-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...
dies - 1949: Soyu MatsuokaSoyu MatsuokaDr. Soyu Matsuoka , along with Sokei-an and Nyogen Senzaki, was one of the first Zen teachers to make the United States his home, and possibly the first official representative of the Sōtō tradition to do so. He established the Chicago Buddhist Temple in 1949 , and in the 1960s grew a following of...
establishes the Chicago Buddhist Temple (now the Zen Buddhist Temple of Chicago) - 1949: Soen NakagawaSoen NakagawaSoen Nakagawa was a Taiwanese-born Japanese rōshi and Zen Buddhist master in the Rinzai tradition...
makes his first trip to the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to meet with Nyogen SenzakiNyogen SenzakiNyogen 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:...
1950s
- 1951: DT Suzuki begins teaching seminars on Japanese culture, aesthetics, and ZenZenZen 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...
at Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York. Among the students are many influential artists and intellectuals, including Erich FrommErich FrommErich Seligmann Fromm was a Jewish German-American social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist. He was associated with what became known as the Frankfurt School of critical theory.-Life:Erich Fromm was born on March 23, 1900, at Frankfurt am...
, Karen HorneyKaren HorneyKaren Horney born Danielsen was a German-American psychoanalyst. Her theories questioned some traditional Freudian views, particularly his theory of sexuality, as well as the instinct orientation of psychoanalysis and its genetic psychology...
, John CageJohn CageJohn Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
, and Allen GinsbergAllen GinsbergIrwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
. - 1953: Philip KapleauPhilip KapleauPhilip Kapleau was a teacher of Zen Buddhism in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition, a blending of Japanese Sōtō and Rinzai schools.-Early life:...
begins formal ZenZenZen 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 in JapanJapanJapan 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...
. - 1956: Taizan MaezumiTaizan MaezumiHakuyū 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...
arrives in Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos 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...
to serve at the Zenshuji Soto Mission - 1956: The Zen Studies SocietyZen Studies SocietyThe Zen Studies Society was established in 1956 by Cornelius Crane to help assist the scholar Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki in his work and to help promulgate Zen Buddhism to Western countries. It is housed on East 67th Street, New York and serves as a Zen practice and training center...
is established by Cornelius Crane - 1957: Alan WattsAlan WattsAlan Wilson Watts was a British philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as an interpreter and popularizer of Eastern philosophy for a Western audience. Born in Chislehurst, he moved to the United States in 1938 and began Zen training in New York...
' "The Way of Zen" is published, the book first popularizing zen with an American audience - 1957: The Cambridge Buddhist AssociationCambridge Buddhist AssociationThe Cambridge Buddhist Association was informally founded in 1957 when D.T. Suzuki moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts and befriended John and Elsie Mitchell, who ran a vast library of books on Buddhism and held zazen for various practitioners. The institution was incorporated in 1959 and remains...
is founded by John and Elsie Mitchell in Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, MassachusettsCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent... - 1958: Nyogen SenzakiNyogen SenzakiNyogen 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:...
dies on May 7 - 1959: Shunryu SuzukiShunryu SuzukiShunryu 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...
arrives in San Francisco to lead Sokoji - 1959: Hsuan HuaHsuan HuaHsuan 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....
arrives in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and establishes the Dharma Realm Buddhist AssociationDharma Realm Buddhist AssociationThe Dharma Realm Buddhist Association is an international, non-profit Buddhist organization founded by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua in 1959 to bring the orthodox teachings of the Buddha to the entire world... - 1959: Robert Baker AitkenRobert Baker AitkenRobert Baker Dairyu Chotan Aitken Roshi was a Zen teacher in the Harada-Yasutani lineage. He co-founded the Honolulu Diamond Sangha in 1959...
and Anne Hopkins AitkenAnne Hopkins AitkenAnne Arundel Hopkins Aitken is considered by many to be one of the modern mothers of Zen Buddhism in the western world...
found the Diamond Sangha in Honolulu, HawaiiHonolulu, HawaiiHonolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
1960s
- 1962: Kyozan Joshu SasakiKyozan Joshu SasakiKyozan 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...
arrives in CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia 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... - 1962: Rinzai monk Eido Tai ShimanoEido Tai Shimanois a Rinzai Zen Buddhist roshi. He was the founding abbot of the New York Zendo Shobo-Ji in Manhattan and Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-Ji monastery in the Catskill mountains of New York; he retired from that position after 40 years amid controversy.-Biography:...
moves to Hawaii to assist Diamond Sangha and Robert Aitken. - 1962: The San Francisco Zen CenterSan Francisco Zen CenterSan Francisco Zen Center , is a network of affiliated Sōtō Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising the City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and the Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. The sangha was incorporated by Shunryu...
is incorporated, led by Shunryu SuzukiShunryu SuzukiShunryu 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... - 1964: Eido Tai ShimanoEido Tai Shimanois a Rinzai Zen Buddhist roshi. He was the founding abbot of the New York Zendo Shobo-Ji in Manhattan and Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-Ji monastery in the Catskill mountains of New York; he retired from that position after 40 years amid controversy.-Biography:...
moves to New York and becomes guiding teacher of the Zen Studies SocietyZen Studies SocietyThe Zen Studies Society was established in 1956 by Cornelius Crane to help assist the scholar Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki in his work and to help promulgate Zen Buddhism to Western countries. It is housed on East 67th Street, New York and serves as a Zen practice and training center... - 1965: Philip KapleauPhilip KapleauPhilip Kapleau was a teacher of Zen Buddhism in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition, a blending of Japanese Sōtō and Rinzai schools.-Early life:...
finishes The Three Pillars of Zen and returns to United States with permission from Haku'un YasutaniHaku'un Yasutaniwas a Sōtō Rōshi and the founder of the Sanbo Kyodan Zen Buddhist organization.-Biography:Ryōkō Yasutani was born in Japan in Shizuoka Prefecture....
to teach Zen to Westerners. - 1966: San Francisco Zen CenterSan Francisco Zen CenterSan Francisco Zen Center , is a network of affiliated Sōtō Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising the City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and the Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. The sangha was incorporated by Shunryu...
acquires Tassajara Zen Mountain CenterTassajara Zen Mountain Center-External links:*... - 1966: Philip KapleauPhilip KapleauPhilip Kapleau was a teacher of Zen Buddhism in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition, a blending of Japanese Sōtō and Rinzai schools.-Early life:...
establishes the Rochester Zen CenterRochester Zen CenterThe Rochester Zen Center is a Sōtō and Rinzai Zen Buddhist sangha in the Sanbo Kyodan lineage, located in Rochester, New York and established in 1966 by Philip Kapleau. It is one of the oldest Zen centers in the United States. The history of the Rochester Zen Center begins overseas with the...
with the help of Chester CarlsonChester CarlsonChester Floyd Carlson was an American physicist, inventor, and patent attorney born in Seattle, Washington....
(founder of Xerox), and Carlson's wife. Original SanghaSanghaSangha 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...
consisted of 22 members. - 1966: D.T. Suzuki dies on July 12 in JapanJapanJapan 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...
- 1967: The Zen Center of Los AngelesZen Center of Los AngelesThe 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...
is founded by Taizan MaezumiTaizan MaezumiHakuyū 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...
and his students - 1967: Kobun Chino Otogawa arrives in San Francisco to assist Shunryu Suzuki
- 1967: Sojun Mel Weitsman and Shunryu SuzukiShunryu SuzukiShunryu 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...
co-found the Berkeley Zen CenterBerkeley Zen CenterBerkeley Zen Center , temple name , is a Sōtō Zen Buddhist practice center located in Berkeley, California led by Sojun Mel Weitsman. An informal affiliate to the San Francisco Zen Center , BZC was originally founded in 1967 by Weitsman and Shunryu Suzuki as a satellite group for the SFZC... - 1968: Samu SunimSamu SunimSamu Sunim , born Sam-Woo Kim, is a Korean Seon sunim of the Jogye Order. He received Dharma transmission from Zen Master Weolha Sunim in 1983...
founds the Zen Lotus Society in New YorkNew YorkNew 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...
(aka Buddhist Society for Compassionate Wisdom) - 1968: New York Zendo Shobo-JiNew York Zendo Shobo-JiNew York Zendo Shobo-Ji , or Temple of True Dharma, is a Rinzai zen practice facility located in the upper East Side of Manhattan, NY. It is part of the Zen Studies Society. Founded on September 15, 1968 by Japanese Zen master Soen Nakagawa, the building had been converted from a private home...
of the Zen Studies SocietyZen Studies SocietyThe Zen Studies Society was established in 1956 by Cornelius Crane to help assist the scholar Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki in his work and to help promulgate Zen Buddhism to Western countries. It is housed on East 67th Street, New York and serves as a Zen practice and training center...
of New YorkNew YorkNew 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...
is officially inaugurated by Soen NakagawaSoen NakagawaSoen Nakagawa was a Taiwanese-born Japanese rōshi and Zen Buddhist master in the Rinzai tradition...
on his 7th trip to the USA - 1969: Shunryu Suzuki gives Zentatsu Richard BakerZentatsu Richard BakerZentatsu Richard Baker , born Richard Dudley Baker, is an American Soto Zen master , the founder and guiding teacher of Dharma Sangha—which consists of Crestone Mountain Zen Center located in Crestone, Colorado and the Buddhistisches Studienzentrum in Germany's Black Forest...
Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
; begins transmission with Jakusho KwongJakusho KwongJakusho Kwong , born William Kwong, is a Chinese-American Zen Buddhist teacher in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. He serves as head abbot of Sonoma Mountain Zen Center, of which he is founder...
, but dies before completing process
1970s
- 1970: Edward Espe BrownEdward Espe Brown-External links:*...
publishes the Tassajara Bread Book - 1970: Shunryu Suzuki's book Zen Mind, Beginner's MindZen Mind, Beginner's MindZen Mind, Beginner's Mind is a book of teachings by the late Shunryu Suzuki, a compilation of talks given to his satellite Zen center in Los Altos, California. Published in 1970 by Weatherhill, the book is not academic. These are frank and direct transcriptions of Suzukis' talks recorded by his...
is published by Weatherhill - 1970: Shasta AbbeyShasta AbbeyShasta Abbey is a Zen Buddhist Monastery, established in 1970 by Houn Jiyu-Kennett in Mount Shasta, California, in the United States. It is a training monastery, and is open to visitors who want to learn about Buddhism....
is established in Mount Shasta, CaliforniaMount Shasta, CaliforniaMount Shasta is a city in Siskiyou County, California, located at around 3,600 ft on the flanks of Mount Shasta, a prominent northern California landmark. The city is less than southwest of the summit of its namesake volcano...
by Jiyu Kennett - 1970: James Ishmael FordJames Ishmael FordJames Ishmael Ford is an American Zen Buddhist priest and Unitarian Universalist minister. He was born in Oakland, California on July 17, 1948...
received Dharma transmission from Houn Jiyu Kennett 2 May 1971 - 1971: Shunryu SuzukiShunryu SuzukiShunryu 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...
dies. - 1971: Yamada KounYamada Koun, or Koun Yamada, was the former leader of the Sanbo Kyodan lineage of Zen Buddhism, the Dharma heir of his teacher Yasutani Haku'un Ryoko. Yamada was appointed the leader of the Sanbo Kyodan in 1967, 1970 or 1973 and continued to differentiate the lineage from other Japanese Zen traditions by...
moves to Diamond Sangha in HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
to lead sesshinSesshinA sesshin , literally "touching the heart-mind" , is a period of intensive meditation in a Zen monastery.... - 1971: Kobun Chino Otogawa becomes abbot of Haiku Zen Center
- 1971: Kyozan Joshu SasakiKyozan Joshu SasakiKyozan 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...
founds Mount Baldy Zen CenterMount Baldy Zen CenterMount 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... - 1972: Seung SahnSeung SahnSeung 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...
arrives from KoreaKoreaKorea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
in Providence, Rhode IslandProvidence, Rhode IslandProvidence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
and founds the Providence Zen CenterProvidence Zen CenterProvidence Zen Center is the international headquarters for the Kwan Um School of Zen and the first Zen center established by Seung Sahn in the United States in October 1972. The PZC offers residential training where students and teachers live together under one roof, which was one of the... - 1972: Green Gulch Farm opens in Muir Beach, CA as part of the San Francisco Zen CenterSan Francisco Zen CenterSan Francisco Zen Center , is a network of affiliated Sōtō Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising the City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and the Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. The sangha was incorporated by Shunryu...
- 1972 First meeting of the Zen Center of SyracuseZen Center of SyracuseThe Zen Center of Syracuse , temple name Hoen-ji, is a Rinzai Zen Buddhist practice center in Syracuse, New York, one of the oldest continuously running Zen centers in the United States. Founded in 1972, the center is currently led by Roko Sherry Chayat...
founded by graduate students of Syracuse University - 1972: Dainin KatagiriDainin KatagiriJikai Dainin Katagiri , aka Hojo-san Katagiri, was a Soto Zen roshi and the founding abbot of Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he served from 1972 until his death from cancer in 1990...
founds the Minnesota Zen CenterMinnesota Zen CenterMinnesota Zen Meditation Center was formed when the founding head teacher, Dainin Katagiri, was invited to come from California in 1972 to teach a small but growing group of Minneapolis students interested in the dharma. After his death, Shohaku Okumura served as interim head teacher until the... - 1972: Eido Tai ShimanoEido Tai Shimanois a Rinzai Zen Buddhist roshi. He was the founding abbot of the New York Zendo Shobo-Ji in Manhattan and Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-Ji monastery in the Catskill mountains of New York; he retired from that position after 40 years amid controversy.-Biography:...
receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
(Inka Shomei) from Soen NakagawaSoen NakagawaSoen Nakagawa was a Taiwanese-born Japanese rōshi and Zen Buddhist master in the Rinzai tradition...
at NY Zendo - 1973: Haku'un YasutaniHaku'un Yasutaniwas a Sōtō Rōshi and the founder of the Sanbo Kyodan Zen Buddhist organization.-Biography:Ryōkō Yasutani was born in Japan in Shizuoka Prefecture....
dies - 1973: Kyozan Joshu SasakiKyozan Joshu SasakiKyozan 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...
founds Bodhi Manda Zen CenterBodhi Manda Zen CenterThe Bodhi Manda Zen Center, founded in 1973, is a Myoshin-ji Rinzai Zen Buddhist center in Jemez Springs, New Mexico, in the United States. It was once part of a Catholic monastery, but has been converted to suit Buddhist monastic practices.... - 1973: Jakusho KwongJakusho KwongJakusho Kwong , born William Kwong, is a Chinese-American Zen Buddhist teacher in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. He serves as head abbot of Sonoma Mountain Zen Center, of which he is founder...
founds the Sonoma Mountain Zen CenterSonoma Mountain Zen CenterSonoma Mountain Zen Center is a Soto Zen practice center located on in the mountainous region of Sonoma County in California—near Santa Rosa—carrying on the tradition and lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. Founded by Jakusho Kwong and his wife Laura Kwong in 1973, Kwong-roshi is the current guiding... - 1973: The Cambridge Zen CenterCambridge Zen CenterCambridge Zen Center is an urban meditation center in Cambridge, Massachusetts close to Harvard University, part of the Kwan Um School of Zen. Free meditation training and dharma talks are offered to the public and the Zen Center also provides a large residential training program.-See also:*...
is founded as part of the Kwan Um School of ZenKwan Um School of ZenThe Kwan Um School of Zen is an international school of Zen centers and groups, founded in 1983 by Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim. The school's international head temple is located at the Providence Zen Center in Cumberland, Rhode Island, which was founded in 1972 shortly after Seung Sahn first came to... - 1973: The New Haven Zen Center is founded as part of the Kwan Um School of ZenKwan Um School of ZenThe Kwan Um School of Zen is an international school of Zen centers and groups, founded in 1983 by Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim. The school's international head temple is located at the Providence Zen Center in Cumberland, Rhode Island, which was founded in 1972 shortly after Seung Sahn first came to...
- 1974: Robert Baker AitkenRobert Baker AitkenRobert Baker Dairyu Chotan Aitken Roshi was a Zen teacher in the Harada-Yasutani lineage. He co-founded the Honolulu Diamond Sangha in 1959...
receives teaching permission from Yamada KounYamada Koun, or Koun Yamada, was the former leader of the Sanbo Kyodan lineage of Zen Buddhism, the Dharma heir of his teacher Yasutani Haku'un Ryoko. Yamada was appointed the leader of the Sanbo Kyodan in 1967, 1970 or 1973 and continued to differentiate the lineage from other Japanese Zen traditions by... - 1974: The Chicago Zen CenterChicago Zen CenterThe Chicago Zen Center is a Harada-Yasutani Zen practice center located in Evanston, Illinois near Northwestern University currently led by Co-Abbots Elie Jishin Nijm and Yusan Graham. Established in 1974, the Chicago Zen Center formed around an interested group of students who had attended a...
is founded by Philip KapleauPhilip KapleauPhilip Kapleau was a teacher of Zen Buddhism in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition, a blending of Japanese Sōtō and Rinzai schools.-Early life:... - 1975?: Taizan MaezumiTaizan MaezumiHakuyū 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...
founds the White Plum AsangaWhite Plum AsangaWhite 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... - 1975: The Chogye International Zen CenterChogye International Zen CenterChogye International Zen Center is a Kwan Um School of Zen practice center founded by Seung Sahn in 1975, located in New York City. The center offers a daily practice regimen, as well as retreats and workshops...
is founded by the Kwan Um School of ZenKwan Um School of ZenThe Kwan Um School of Zen is an international school of Zen centers and groups, founded in 1983 by Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim. The school's international head temple is located at the Providence Zen Center in Cumberland, Rhode Island, which was founded in 1972 shortly after Seung Sahn first came to...
in New YorkNew YorkNew 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... - 1975: The Nebraska Zen CenterNebraska Zen CenterThe Nebraska Zen Center at the Heartland Temple is a Soto Zen Buddhist Temple located in the Bemis Park Landmark Heritage District of Omaha, Nebraska. Established for Zen practice in 1975, the Nebraska Zen Center follows the tradition established in Japan by Zen Master Eihei Dogen in the 13th...
is founded by Dainin KatagiriDainin KatagiriJikai Dainin Katagiri , aka Hojo-san Katagiri, was a Soto Zen roshi and the founding abbot of Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he served from 1972 until his death from cancer in 1990...
in Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, NebraskaOmaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, currently led by Rev. Nonin Chowaney - 1976: Shohaku OkumuraShohaku OkumuraShohaku Okumura is a Japanese Soto Zen priest and the founder and guiding teacher of the Sanshin Zen Community located in Bloomington, Indiana, where he and his family currently live...
helps found Pioneer Valley ZendoPioneer Valley ZendoPioneer Valley Zendo is a Soto Zen zendo established in 1976 in Charlemont, MA as a sister-temple to Antai-ji in Japan, where Kosho Uchiyama was roshi. Koshi Ichida, Eishin Ikeda and Shohaku Okumura were the zendo's original founders, and the place was run by Reverend Issho Fujita from 1987 until...
in Charlemont, MA - 1976: Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-JiDai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-jiDai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji, or International Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji, is a Rinzai monastery and retreat center located in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. Maintained by the Zen Studies Society, Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji is led by Shinge-Shitsu Roko Sherry Chayat...
opens in the Catskill MountainsCatskill MountainsThe 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 State - 1976: 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...
becomes Taizan MaezumiTaizan MaezumiHakuyū 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...
's first Dharma successor - 1976: The City of Ten Thousand BuddhasCity of Ten Thousand BuddhasThe City Of Ten Thousand Buddhas is an international Buddhist community and monastery founded by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua, an important figure in Western Buddhism...
is built, the first and still largest Chinese Ch'an community in the United States - 1976: Heng SureHeng SureHeng Sure is an American Buddhist monk, born and ordained in the United States. He is a senior disciple of the late Venerable Master Hsuan Hua, and is currently the director of the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, a branch monastery of the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association...
is ordained by Hsuan HuaHsuan HuaHsuan 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....
, becomes one of the first Western Chinese Ch'an monks - 1977: Kyogen Carlson receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Jiyu Kennett - 1977?: The Atlanta Soto Zen CenterAtlanta Soto Zen CenterThe Atlanta Soto Zen Center is an independent Soto Zen practice center founded in 1977 by Zenkai Taiun Michael Elliston-sensei, a student of the late Soyu Matsuoka.-Lineage:...
is founded by Zenkai Michael Elliston - 1978: The Buddhist Peace FellowshipBuddhist Peace FellowshipThe Buddhist Peace Fellowship is a nonsectarian international network of engaged Buddhists participating in various forms of nonviolent social activism and environmentalism with chapters all over the world...
is founded - 1978: Genki TakabayashiDai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen JiDai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen Ji is a Rinzai-style Zen temple,located on North Beacon Hill in Seattle, Washington. Its name translates from Japanese as "Listening to the Dharma Zen Temple on Great Plum Mountain."-History, lineage, and teachers:...
becomes resident teacher at the Seattle Zen Center - 1979: Maurine StuartMaurine StuartMaurine Stuart , a.k.a. Ma Roshi or Mother Roshi, was a Rinzai Zen roshi who was granted her teaching title during an informal ceremony in 1982 held by her teacher Soen Nakagawa. She was one of the first female Zen masters to teach in the United States, and in 1979 became president and spiritual...
becomes President of the Cambridge Buddhist AssociationCambridge Buddhist AssociationThe Cambridge Buddhist Association was informally founded in 1957 when D.T. Suzuki moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts and befriended John and Elsie Mitchell, who ran a vast library of books on Buddhism and held zazen for various practitioners. The institution was incorporated in 1959 and remains... - 1979: Omori SogenOmori Sogenwas a Japanese Rinzai Rōshi, a successor in the Tenryū-ji line of Rinzai Zen, a teacher of Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū swordsmanship, and a calligrapher in the Taishi school of Yamaoka Tesshū...
of Tenryu-jiTenryu-ji—more formally known as —is the head temple of the Tenryū branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism, located in Susukinobaba-chō, Ukyō Ward, Kyoto, Japan. The temple was founded by Ashikaga Takauji in 1339, primarily to venerate Gautama Buddha, and its first chief priest was Musō Soseki. Construction was...
founds Daihonzan Chozen-ji in Honolulu, the first Rinzai Zen temple headquarters established outside of Japan.
1980s
- 1980: Ch'an master Sheng-yenSheng-yenSheng-yen was a Buddhist monk, a religious scholar, and one of the mainstream teachers of Chinese Chan Buddhism. He was the 57th generational descendant of Linji in the Linji School and a 3rd generational descendant of Master Hsu Yun...
begins teaching in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... - 1980: 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...
receives shihoShihorefers 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...
(permission to teach) from Taizan MaezumiTaizan MaezumiHakuyū 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... - 1980: Hartford Street Zen CenterHartford Street Zen CenterThe Hartford Street Zen Center, temple name Issan-ji , is a Soto Zen practice-center located in the Castro district of San Francisco. Issan Dorsey brought the center from its early beginnings as The Gay Buddhist Club of 1980 to the modern-day Hartford Street Zen Center, becoming Abbot there in 1989...
is established - 1980: Zen Mountain MonasteryZen Mountain MonasteryZen 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...
in founded in Mount Tremper, New YorkMount Tremper, New YorkMount Tremper is a populated place in Ulster County, New York, USA. Mount Tremper is situated to the east of New York State Route 28 and to the north of New York State Route 212 within the Catskill Park. The community is located at...
by Taizan MaezumiTaizan MaezumiHakuyū 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...
and 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... - 1981: Toni PackerToni PackerToni Packer is the founder of Springwater Center, located in Springwater, in the finger lakes region of upstate New York, an hour south of Rochester. The center was founded in 1981 as the Genesee Valley Zen Center and has since been renamed...
leaves Rochester Zen CenterRochester Zen CenterThe Rochester Zen Center is a Sōtō and Rinzai Zen Buddhist sangha in the Sanbo Kyodan lineage, located in Rochester, New York and established in 1966 by Philip Kapleau. It is one of the oldest Zen centers in the United States. The history of the Rochester Zen Center begins overseas with the...
and founds her own non-Buddhist retreat - 1981: Taizan MaezumiTaizan MaezumiHakuyū 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...
founds Yokoji Zen Mountain CenterYokoji Zen Mountain CenterYokoji 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.... - 1982: Maurine StuartMaurine StuartMaurine Stuart , a.k.a. Ma Roshi or Mother Roshi, was a Rinzai Zen roshi who was granted her teaching title during an informal ceremony in 1982 held by her teacher Soen Nakagawa. She was one of the first female Zen masters to teach in the United States, and in 1979 became president and spiritual...
informally receives the title roshiRoshiis 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...
from Soen NakagawaSoen NakagawaSoen Nakagawa was a Taiwanese-born Japanese rōshi and Zen Buddhist master in the Rinzai tradition...
in a private ceremony - 1982: Rinzai temple DaiyuzenjiDaiyuzenjiDaiyuzenji is a Rinzai Zen Buddhist temple located on the north side of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States.Daiyuzenji began in 1982 as the Illinois betsuin of Daihonzan Chozen-ji, a Rinzai headquarter temple founded in 1979 in Honolulu, Hawaii by Omori Sogen Roshi , a successor in the...
is founded in Chicago, Illinois as a betsuin (branch) of Daihonzan Chozen-ji by Tenshin Tanouye and Fumio ToyodaFumio ToyodaFumio Toyoda, was a Japanese aikido teacher and lay Zen master who taught extensively in the United States and Europe....
. - 1983: 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...
receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Taizan MaezumiTaizan MaezumiHakuyū 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... - 1983?: Charlotte Joko Beck receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Taizan MaezumiTaizan MaezumiHakuyū 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... - 1983: The Kwan Um School of ZenKwan Um School of ZenThe Kwan Um School of Zen is an international school of Zen centers and groups, founded in 1983 by Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim. The school's international head temple is located at the Providence Zen Center in Cumberland, Rhode Island, which was founded in 1972 shortly after Seung Sahn first came to...
is established by Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim - 1983: Zentatsu Richard BakerZentatsu Richard BakerZentatsu Richard Baker , born Richard Dudley Baker, is an American Soto Zen master , the founder and guiding teacher of Dharma Sangha—which consists of Crestone Mountain Zen Center located in Crestone, Colorado and the Buddhistisches Studienzentrum in Germany's Black Forest...
confers Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
to Tenshin Reb Anderson - 1983: Dai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen JiDai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen JiDai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen Ji is a Rinzai-style Zen temple,located on North Beacon Hill in Seattle, Washington. Its name translates from Japanese as "Listening to the Dharma Zen Temple on Great Plum Mountain."-History, lineage, and teachers:...
is founded in Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, WashingtonSeattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
by Genki TakabayashiDai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen JiDai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen Ji is a Rinzai-style Zen temple,located on North Beacon Hill in Seattle, Washington. Its name translates from Japanese as "Listening to the Dharma Zen Temple on Great Plum Mountain."-History, lineage, and teachers:... - 1983: Zentatsu Richard Baker resigns as abbot of San Francisco Zen CenterSan Francisco Zen CenterSan Francisco Zen Center , is a network of affiliated Sōtō Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising the City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and the Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. The sangha was incorporated by Shunryu...
amidst controversy - 1983: Taizan MaezumiTaizan MaezumiHakuyū 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...
is confronted about his sexual relationships with some students and enters alcoholismAlcoholismAlcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
treatment - 1984: The Kanzeon Zen CenterKanzeon Zen CenterKanzeon Zen Center is a Zen Buddhist center located in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is an affiliate of the White Plum Asanga, an association of Zen centers stemming from the tradition of Taizan Maezumi. Currently, the Abbot of Kanzeon Zen Center is Dennis Genpo Merzel Roshi, and the Vice-Abbot is Rich...
is founded by 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...
in Salt Lake City, UtahSalt Lake City, UtahSalt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197... - 1984: Soen NakagawaSoen NakagawaSoen Nakagawa was a Taiwanese-born Japanese rōshi and Zen Buddhist master in the Rinzai tradition...
dies at Ryutaku-Ji - 1984: The New Orleans Zen TempleNew Orleans Zen TempleThe New Orleans Zen Temple is a dojo of the Soto Zen tradition in New Orleans, Louisiana. Robert Livingston Roshi is the abbot, and he founded the temple in 1984. He became a close disciple of Taisen Deshimaru, who made Livingston a Zen teacher. Before his death in 1982, Deshimaru asked him to go...
is founded by Robert LivingstonRobert Livingston (Zen teacher)Robert Livingston was born in New York City in January 1933. He grew up in New York, California and Texas, and graduated from Cornell University. He spent two years in Japan and Korea in the U.S. Army in the early 1950s, and studied and travelled in Europe after his Army discharge...
in New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population... - 1984: Sojun Mel Weitsman receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Hoitsu Suzuki, son of Shunryu SuzukiShunryu SuzukiShunryu 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... - 1985: Robert Baker AitkenRobert Baker AitkenRobert Baker Dairyu Chotan Aitken Roshi was a Zen teacher in the Harada-Yasutani lineage. He co-founded the Honolulu Diamond Sangha in 1959...
receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Yamada KounYamada Koun, or Koun Yamada, was the former leader of the Sanbo Kyodan lineage of Zen Buddhism, the Dharma heir of his teacher Yasutani Haku'un Ryoko. Yamada was appointed the leader of the Sanbo Kyodan in 1967, 1970 or 1973 and continued to differentiate the lineage from other Japanese Zen traditions by... - 1986: Bodhin KjolhedeBodhin KjolhedeBodhin Kjolhede is a Sōtō/Rinzai Zen roshi and Abbot of the Rochester Zen Center , a position he assumed when Philip Kapleau retired from teaching in 1986. He was ordained as a priest in 1976 and received Dharma transmission in 1986...
is installed as abbot of Rochester Zen CenterRochester Zen CenterThe Rochester Zen Center is a Sōtō and Rinzai Zen Buddhist sangha in the Sanbo Kyodan lineage, located in Rochester, New York and established in 1966 by Philip Kapleau. It is one of the oldest Zen centers in the United States. The history of the Rochester Zen Center begins overseas with the...
as Philip KapleauPhilip KapleauPhilip Kapleau was a teacher of Zen Buddhism in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition, a blending of Japanese Sōtō and Rinzai schools.-Early life:...
retires - 1986: Furnace MountainFurnace MountainFurnace Mountain is an American Zen Buddhist retreat center in Clay City, Kentucky, co-founded in 1986 by Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim and Dae Gak Soen Sa Nim as part of the international Kwan Um School of Zen; it is now unaffiliated with the school in an official capacity...
is founded in Clay City, KentuckyClay City, KentuckyAs of the census of 2000, there were 1,303 people, 543 households, and 367 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,199.5 people per square mile . There were 588 housing units at an average density of 541.3 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 99.08% White, 0.23%...
by Dae GakDae GakDae Gak , born Robert Genthner, is a Zen master and the guiding teacher of Furnace Mountain in Clay City, Kentucky, a Korean Buddhist temple and retreat center co-founded in 1986 with Seung Sahn . He received Dharma transmission from Seung Sahn in 1994. He also holds a Ph.D. in psychology and is...
and Seung SahnSeung SahnSeung 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...
as part of the Kwan Um School of ZenKwan Um School of ZenThe Kwan Um School of Zen is an international school of Zen centers and groups, founded in 1983 by Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim. The school's international head temple is located at the Providence Zen Center in Cumberland, Rhode Island, which was founded in 1972 shortly after Seung Sahn first came to... - 1986: Toronto Zen CenterToronto Zen CenterThe Toronto Zen Center , is a Sanbo Kyodan Zen Buddhist practice center in Toronto, Ontario. It is modeled after the Rochester Zen Center.They offer introductory workshops in Zen Buddhism...
is incorporated. - 1986: Village ZendoVillage ZendoVillage Zendo is a Soto Zen practice center originally located in the apartment of Enkyo Pat O'Hara, who founded the zendo in 1986. Formerly located in a red brick building, the Zen center took up the majority of space in O'Hara's apartment. The center has since moved to its new location on...
is established in New YorkNew YorkNew 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...
in the apartment of Pat Enkyo O'Hara - 1987: Maitri Hospice begins caring for AIDSAIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
patients at the Hartford Street Zen CenterHartford Street Zen CenterThe Hartford Street Zen Center, temple name Issan-ji , is a Soto Zen practice-center located in the Castro district of San Francisco. Issan Dorsey brought the center from its early beginnings as The Gay Buddhist Club of 1980 to the modern-day Hartford Street Zen Center, becoming Abbot there in 1989...
(the first Buddhist hospice of its kind in the United States) - 1987: Issho FujitaIssho Fujitawas born in Niihama, Japan and was head teacher at Sōtō Zen practice center Pioneer Valley Zendo in Charlemont, MA. Fujita did studies in Child psychology at Tokyo University, but abandoned these studies and became a Zen monk...
becomes abbot of Pioneer Valley ZendoPioneer Valley ZendoPioneer Valley Zendo is a Soto Zen zendo established in 1976 in Charlemont, MA as a sister-temple to Antai-ji in Japan, where Kosho Uchiyama was roshi. Koshi Ichida, Eishin Ikeda and Shohaku Okumura were the zendo's original founders, and the place was run by Reverend Issho Fujita from 1987 until...
in Charlemont, MassachusettsCharlemont, MassachusettsCharlemont is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,358 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :... - 1988: Blanche HartmanBlanche HartmanZenkei Blanche Hartman is a Soto Zen teacher practicing in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. From 1996 to 2002 she served two terms as co-abbess of the San Francisco Zen Center. She was the first woman to assume such a leadership position at the center. Blanche Hartman is now living in retirement at...
receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Sojun Mel Weitsman - 1988: Yamada KounYamada Koun, or Koun Yamada, was the former leader of the Sanbo Kyodan lineage of Zen Buddhism, the Dharma heir of his teacher Yasutani Haku'un Ryoko. Yamada was appointed the leader of the Sanbo Kyodan in 1967, 1970 or 1973 and continued to differentiate the lineage from other Japanese Zen traditions by...
gives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
to Ruben HabitoRuben HabitoRuben L.F. Habito was born in the Philippines and is a former Jesuit priest turned master practicing in the Sanbo Kyodan lineage of Zen. In his early youth he was sent to Japan on missionary work where he began Zen practice under Yamada Koun-roshi, a Zen master who taught many Christians students,... - 1988: Zoketsu Norman FischerZoketsu Norman FischerZoketsu Norman Fischer is a Jewish-American Soto Zen roshi, poet and Buddhist author practicing in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. He is a Dharma heir of Sojun Mel Weitsman, from whom he received Dharma transmission in 1988. Having served as co-abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center from 1995—2000,...
receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Sojun Mel Weitsman - 1988: Hsi Lai TempleHsi Lai TempleFo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple is a traditional Chinese Buddhist mountain monastery in the United States. It is located on the foothill region of Hacienda Heights, California, USA, a suburb of Los Angeles County...
is built, the largest Chinese Chan community in Southern California, a Triple Platform Monastic Ordination is convened - 1988: The Kwan Um School of ZenKwan Um School of ZenThe Kwan Um School of Zen is an international school of Zen centers and groups, founded in 1983 by Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim. The school's international head temple is located at the Providence Zen Center in Cumberland, Rhode Island, which was founded in 1972 shortly after Seung Sahn first came to...
is rocked by revelations that Seung SahnSeung SahnSeung 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...
had sexual relationships with three students - 1989: Issan Dorsey becomes abbot of Hartford Street Zen CenterHartford Street Zen CenterThe Hartford Street Zen Center, temple name Issan-ji , is a Soto Zen practice-center located in the Castro district of San Francisco. Issan Dorsey brought the center from its early beginnings as The Gay Buddhist Club of 1980 to the modern-day Hartford Street Zen Center, becoming Abbot there in 1989...
- 1989?: The American Zen Teachers AssociationAmerican Zen Teachers AssociationThe American Zen Teachers Association was founded in the late 1980s as the Second Generation Zen Teachers Group. It is a peer-group organization of ordained and lay Zen Buddhist teachers, all of whom have received either teaching authorization or dharma transmission from the mostly Asian Zen...
is founded - 1989: Nonin ChowaneyNonin ChowaneyRev. Nonin Chowaney is an American Soto Zen priest, brush calligrapher, and the current abbot and head priest of the at the Heartland Temple in Omaha, Nebraska. A Dharma heir of the late Dainin Katagiri-roshi, Chowaney received Dharma transmission in 1989 and is the founder of an organization of...
receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Dainin KatagiriDainin KatagiriJikai Dainin Katagiri , aka Hojo-san Katagiri, was a Soto Zen roshi and the founding abbot of Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he served from 1972 until his death from cancer in 1990... - 1989: Yamada KounYamada Koun, or Koun Yamada, was the former leader of the Sanbo Kyodan lineage of Zen Buddhism, the Dharma heir of his teacher Yasutani Haku'un Ryoko. Yamada was appointed the leader of the Sanbo Kyodan in 1967, 1970 or 1973 and continued to differentiate the lineage from other Japanese Zen traditions by...
dies
1990s
- 1990: Issan Dorsey dies of AIDSAIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
- 1990: Maurine StuartMaurine StuartMaurine Stuart , a.k.a. Ma Roshi or Mother Roshi, was a Rinzai Zen roshi who was granted her teaching title during an informal ceremony in 1982 held by her teacher Soen Nakagawa. She was one of the first female Zen masters to teach in the United States, and in 1979 became president and spiritual...
dies of cancerCancerCancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the... - 1990: 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...
receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi - 1990: Joan HalifaxJoan HalifaxJoan Jiko Halifax is a Zen Buddhist roshi, anthropologist, ecologist, civil rights activist, hospice caregiver, and the author of several books on Buddhism and spirituality. She currently serves as abbot and guiding teacher of Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a Zen Peacemaker community...
receives "Lamp Transmission" from Thich Nhat Hanh - 1990: Dainin KatagiriDainin KatagiriJikai Dainin Katagiri , aka Hojo-san Katagiri, was a Soto Zen roshi and the founding abbot of Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he served from 1972 until his death from cancer in 1990...
dies - 1990: The Upaya Zen Center is founded by Joan HalifaxJoan HalifaxJoan Jiko Halifax is a Zen Buddhist roshi, anthropologist, ecologist, civil rights activist, hospice caregiver, and the author of several books on Buddhism and spirituality. She currently serves as abbot and guiding teacher of Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a Zen Peacemaker community...
in Santa Fe, New MexicoSanta Fe, New MexicoSanta Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census... - 1991: The Maria Kannon Zen CenterMaria Kannon Zen CenterMaria Kannon Zen Center is a non-profit practice center in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition of Zen Buddhism, located in Dallas, Texas and founded in 1991 by the guiding teacher Ruben Habito . MKZC derives its name by combining the names of the Virgin Mary of Christianity and Kannon bodhisattva of Buddhism...
is founded by Ruben HabitoRuben HabitoRuben L.F. Habito was born in the Philippines and is a former Jesuit priest turned master practicing in the Sanbo Kyodan lineage of Zen. In his early youth he was sent to Japan on missionary work where he began Zen practice under Yamada Koun-roshi, a Zen master who taught many Christians students,...
in Dallas, TexasDallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States... - 1991: Zenshin Philip WhalenPhilip WhalenPhilip Glenn Whalen was an American poet, Zen Buddhist, and a key figure in the San Francisco Renaissance and close to the Beat generation.-Biography:...
becomes the new abbot of Hartford Street Zen CenterHartford Street Zen CenterThe Hartford Street Zen Center, temple name Issan-ji , is a Soto Zen practice-center located in the Castro district of San Francisco. Issan Dorsey brought the center from its early beginnings as The Gay Buddhist Club of 1980 to the modern-day Hartford Street Zen Center, becoming Abbot there in 1989... - 1991: The Mount Equity Zendo is founded by Dai-En Bennage in Pennsdale, Pennsylvania
- 1992: 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...
of the First Zen Institute of AmericaFirst Zen Institute of AmericaThe 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 . The emphasis on lay practice has its roots in the history of the organization...
dies - 1992: Caitriona ReedCaitriona ReedCaitriona Reed is a trans woman sensei of Thiền Zen Buddhism who also has a background in Vipassana. She co-founded Ordinary Dharma in Los Angeles, California—as well as its rural retreat center Manzanita Village Retreat Center, located in San Diego County. Reed, a member of the American Zen...
receives teaching authorization from Thich Nhat Hanh - 1992: George BowmanGeorge BowmanGeorge Bowman, or Bo Mun Soen sa Nim, is a Zen master and licensed psychotherapist living at Furnace Mountain in Clay City, Kentucky . He received Dharma transmission from Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim in 1992, and is a former teacher in the Kwan Um School of Zen...
, Soeng HyangSoeng HyangSoeng Hyang Soen Sa Nim is a Zen Master and the Guiding Teacher of the international Kwan Um School of Zen, and successor to the late Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim.-Biography:...
, and Su BongSu BongSu Bong was a Soen Sa Nim in the Kwan Um School of Zen, the designated heir of Seung Sahn's lineage. Of both Korean and Chinese heritage, he was born in Kona, Hawaii. Su Bong began his practice with Seung Sahn in 1974, helping to establish many Zen groups and temples for the lineage in the years...
receive Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Seung SahnSeung SahnSeung 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... - 1992: Shi Yan MingShi Yan MingShi Yan Ming is a 34th generation Shaolin warrior monk, teacher and actor, best known as the founder of USA Shaolin Temple...
arrives in the United States - 1993: Wu BongWu BongWu Bong, born Jacob Perl, is a Soen Sa Nim in the Kwan Um School of Zen. Perl currently acts as the head teacher of the . As the first student of Dae Soen Sa Nim in the United States, he had previously practiced Zen Buddhism in the Sōtō tradition at the San Francisco Zen Center under Shunryu Suzuki...
, Wu KwangWu KwangWu Kwang Soen Sa Nim , born Richard Shrobe, is head Zen teacher at Chogye International Zen Center of New York, a practice center of the Kwan Um School of Zen. Before coming to Zen practice Richard studied Hinduism under Swami Satchidananda. He is a social worker who incorporates Gestalt therapy in...
, and Dae GakDae GakDae Gak , born Robert Genthner, is a Zen master and the guiding teacher of Furnace Mountain in Clay City, Kentucky, a Korean Buddhist temple and retreat center co-founded in 1986 with Seung Sahn . He received Dharma transmission from Seung Sahn in 1994. He also holds a Ph.D. in psychology and is...
receive Dharma transmission from Seung SahnSeung SahnSeung 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... - 1994: 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...
receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Taizan MaezumiTaizan MaezumiHakuyū 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... - 1994: Su BongSu BongSu Bong was a Soen Sa Nim in the Kwan Um School of Zen, the designated heir of Seung Sahn's lineage. Of both Korean and Chinese heritage, he was born in Kona, Hawaii. Su Bong began his practice with Seung Sahn in 1974, helping to establish many Zen groups and temples for the lineage in the years...
dies during a retreat in Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour... - 1994: Still Mind ZendoStill Mind ZendoStill Mind Zendo, a Zen meditation center formed in 1994, is in the Soto lineage of the late Taizan Maezumi Roshi and the White Plum Asanga. The founder and resident teacher of Still Mind Zendo, Sensei Janet Jiryu Abels, is a dharma successor of Roshi Robert Jinsen Kennedy as is Sensei Gregory...
founded by Janet Jiryu Abels and Father Robert Kennedy in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... - 1994: Enkyo Pat O'Hara receives shihoShihorefers 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 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... - 1994: Taigen Dan LeightonTaigen Dan LeightonTaigen Dan Leighton is a Soto Zen priest and teacher, academic, and author. He is an authorized lineage holder and Zen teacher in the tradition of Shunryu Suzuki, and is the founder and Guiding Teacher of Ancient Dragon Zen Gate in Chicago, Illinois.Leighton began his Zen practice in 1975 at the...
founds Mountain Source Sangha - 1994: Shi Yan MingShi Yan MingShi Yan Ming is a 34th generation Shaolin warrior monk, teacher and actor, best known as the founder of USA Shaolin Temple...
founds the USA Shaolin Temple - 1995: Taizan MaezumiTaizan MaezumiHakuyū 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...
dies May 15 - 1995: 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...
appointed abbot of Yokoji Zen Mountain CenterYokoji Zen Mountain CenterYokoji 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.... - 1995: The Ordinary Mind School is founded by Charlotte Joko Beck
- 1995: Hsuan HuaHsuan HuaHsuan 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....
dies June 7, age 77 - 1995: Taitaku Pat PhelanTaitaku Pat PhelanJosho Pat Phelan, Buddhist name Taitaku Josho, is a Sōtō Zen priest and current abbot of Chapel Hill Zen Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina—she has served as abbot there since 2000. Before coming to Chapel Hill, she practiced for twenty years at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center and the San...
receives shihoShihorefers 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 Sojun Mel Weitsman - 1995: Zoketsu Norman FischerZoketsu Norman FischerZoketsu Norman Fischer is a Jewish-American Soto Zen roshi, poet and Buddhist author practicing in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. He is a Dharma heir of Sojun Mel Weitsman, from whom he received Dharma transmission in 1988. Having served as co-abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center from 1995—2000,...
becomes abbot of San Francisco Zen CenterSan Francisco Zen CenterSan Francisco Zen Center , is a network of affiliated Sōtō Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising the City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and the Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. The sangha was incorporated by Shunryu...
, and serves until 2000 - 1995: Shodo HaradaShodo Harada, or Harada Rōshi, is a Rinzai priest, author, and head abbot of Sōgen-ji — a three hundred year old temple in Okayama, Japan. He has become known as a teacher of teachers, with masters from various lineages coming to sit sesshin with him in Japan or during his trips to the United States and Europe...
founds One Drop Zendo on Whidbey IslandWhidbey IslandWhidbey Island is one of nine islands located in Island County, Washington, in the United States. Whidbey is located about north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington...
in Washington stateWashington StateWashington State may refer to:* Washington , often referred to as "Washington state" to differentiate it from Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States* Washington State University, a land-grant college in that state- See also :...
. - 1996: Blanche HartmanBlanche HartmanZenkei Blanche Hartman is a Soto Zen teacher practicing in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. From 1996 to 2002 she served two terms as co-abbess of the San Francisco Zen Center. She was the first woman to assume such a leadership position at the center. Blanche Hartman is now living in retirement at...
becomes co-abbot of San Francisco Zen CenterSan Francisco Zen CenterSan Francisco Zen Center , is a network of affiliated Sōtō Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising the City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and the Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. The sangha was incorporated by Shunryu... - 1996: The Zen Peacemaker OrderZen Peacemaker OrderThe Zen Peacemakers is an organization of socially engaged Buddhists. It was founded by Zen Master Bernie Glassman and his wife Sandra Jishu Holmes in 1996, as a means of continuing the work begun with the Greyston Foundation in 1980 of expanding Zen practice into larger spheres of influence such...
is founded by Bernard Glassman and his wife, Sandra Jishu Holmes. - 1996: The Sanshin Zen CommunitySanshin Zen CommunitySanshin Zen Community is a Soto Zen sangha in Bloomington, IN founded in 1996 by Shohaku Okumura. The style of practice at this zendo follows the lineage of Kosho Uchiyama-roshi and his teacher, Kodo Sawaki-roshi, who founded Antaiji temple, and greatly simplified the Soto Zen forms used there...
is founded by Shohaku OkumuraShohaku OkumuraShohaku Okumura is a Japanese Soto Zen priest and the founder and guiding teacher of the Sanshin Zen Community located in Bloomington, Indiana, where he and his family currently live...
in Bloomington, IndianaBloomington, IndianaBloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census.... - 1996: Jiyu Kennett dies November 6
- 1996: Jiko Linda CuttsJiko Linda CuttsJiko Linda Ruth Cutts is a Sōtō Zen priest practicing in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki, a Senior Dharma Teacher at the San Francisco Zen Center. Cutts is a Dharma heir of Tenshin Reb Anderson, having received Dharma transmission from him in 1996...
receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Tenshin Reb Anderson - 1996: The Hazy Moon Zen CenterHazy Moon Zen CenterThe Hazy Moon Zen Center is a Soto Zen center in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1996 by William Nyogen Yeo Roshi through the honorary founder Taizan Maezumi Roshi...
is founded by 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:...
in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California... - 1996: Dae KwangDae KwangDae Kwang is a Soen Sa Nim and is the current guiding teacher of the Providence Zen Center. He was ordained as a monk in 1987 and received Dharma transmission from Seung Sahn in 1996. He also serves as head abbot of the entire lineage, ranking just below Soeng Hyang .-References:...
receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Seung SahnSeung SahnSeung 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... - 1996: Bonnie Myotai TreaceBonnie Myotai TreaceBonnie Myotai Treace, Sensei, is the founder and head Sensei of Hermitage Heart; she teaches at Gristmill Hermitage in Garrison, New York. Particularly known for her work in women's spirituality, poetry, and the nexus of mind and environment, she is the senior Dharma successor of John Daido Loori,...
receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from 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...
in the Mountains and Rivers Order - 1996: Bernard Glassman confers Dharma TransmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
to 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... - 1996: Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association is established by Sheng-yenSheng-yenSheng-yen was a Buddhist monk, a religious scholar, and one of the mainstream teachers of Chinese Chan Buddhism. He was the 57th generational descendant of Linji in the Linji School and a 3rd generational descendant of Master Hsu Yun...
- 1997: Dharma Drum Retreat CenterDharma Drum Retreat CenterDharma Drum Retreat Center was founded by renowned Chinese Ch'an Master, Master Sheng-yen. Its location is at the rural area of Pine Bush, New York, just about two hours drive or northwest of New York City...
is established in Pine Bush, New YorkPine Bush, New YorkPine Bush is a hamlet located in the Town of Crawford, and Shawangunk, New York, in Orange/Ulster Counties, New York, U.S., roughly coterminous with the 12566 ZIP code and 744 telephone exchange in the 845 area code Pine Bush is a hamlet (and census-designated place) located in the Town of...
by Sheng-yenSheng-yenSheng-yen was a Buddhist monk, a religious scholar, and one of the mainstream teachers of Chinese Chan Buddhism. He was the 57th generational descendant of Linji in the Linji School and a 3rd generational descendant of Master Hsu Yun...
and followers - 1996: Ji Bong receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Seung SahnSeung SahnSeung 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... - 1997: CatholicCatholicThe word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
priest Father Robert Kennedy receives inkaInka, 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...
from Bernard Glassman - 1997: Soyu MatsuokaSoyu MatsuokaDr. Soyu Matsuoka , along with Sokei-an and Nyogen Senzaki, was one of the first Zen teachers to make the United States his home, and possibly the first official representative of the Sōtō tradition to do so. He established the Chicago Buddhist Temple in 1949 , and in the 1960s grew a following of...
dies - 1997: Geoffrey Shugen ArnoldGeoffrey Shugen ArnoldGeoffrey Shugen Arnold is a sensei of the Mountains and Rivers Order founded by John Daido Loori, from whom Shugen received shiho in July 1997. As a lineage holder in the Sōtō tradition, Shugen currently serves as head of MRO and abbot of the Zen Center of New York City in Brooklyn...
receives shihoShihorefers 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 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... - 1998: Sherry ChayatSherry ChayatShinge-shitsu Roko Sherry Chayat Roshi is the first woman in the United States to have received Dharma transmission in the Rinzai school, though Maurine Stuart had received the unofficial title of roshi from Soen Nakagawa previously. She is the Abbot and guiding teacher of the Zen Center of...
receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Eido Tai ShimanoEido Tai Shimanois a Rinzai Zen Buddhist roshi. He was the founding abbot of the New York Zendo Shobo-Ji in Manhattan and Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-Ji monastery in the Catskill mountains of New York; he retired from that position after 40 years amid controversy.-Biography:...
, becoming the first officially sanctioned female Rinzai zen teacher in America - 1998: Maylie ScottMaylie ScottMaylie Scott , Buddhist name Kushin Seisho, was a Sōtō roshi who received Dharma transmission from Sojun Mel Weitsman in 1998 at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. She graduated from Harvard University in 1956 and obtained a masters degree in social work from the University of California, Berkeley...
receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Sojun Mel Weitsman - 1998: Hozan Alan Senauke receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Sojun Mel Weitsman - 1999: Genjo MarinelloDai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen JiDai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen Ji is a Rinzai-style Zen temple,located on North Beacon Hill in Seattle, Washington. Its name translates from Japanese as "Listening to the Dharma Zen Temple on Great Plum Mountain."-History, lineage, and teachers:...
founds Chobo-ji - 1999: Joan HalifaxJoan HalifaxJoan Jiko Halifax is a Zen Buddhist roshi, anthropologist, ecologist, civil rights activist, hospice caregiver, and the author of several books on Buddhism and spirituality. She currently serves as abbot and guiding teacher of Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a Zen Peacemaker community...
receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Bernard Glassman - 1999: John TarrantJohn TarrantJohn Tarrant is a Western Zen teacher, currently director of the Pacific Zen Institute in Santa Rosa, California.-Biographical Portrait:...
establishes the Pacific Zen InstitutePacific Zen InstituteThe 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... - 1999: Zen Center of Pittsburgh - Deep Spring Temple is founded by Nonin ChowaneyNonin ChowaneyRev. Nonin Chowaney is an American Soto Zen priest, brush calligrapher, and the current abbot and head priest of the at the Heartland Temple in Omaha, Nebraska. A Dharma heir of the late Dainin Katagiri-roshi, Chowaney received Dharma transmission in 1989 and is the founder of an organization of...
in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
2000—2009
- 2000: Deer Park MonasteryDeer Park MonasteryDeer Park Monastery is a Buddhist sanctuary in Escondido, California. It was founded in July 2000 by monastic and lay practitioners from Plum Village in France....
is founded in Escondido, CaliforniaEscondido, CaliforniaEscondido is a city occupying a shallow valley ringed by rocky hills, just north of the city of San Diego, California. Founded in 1888, it is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County. The city had a population of 143,911 at the 2010 census. Its municipal government set itself an operating...
as part of Thich Nhat Hanh's Order of InterbeingOrder of InterbeingThe Order of Interbeing, or Tiếp Hiện in Vietnamese, was founded between 1964 and 1966 by Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. Tiếp means "being in touch with" and "continuing." Hiện means "realizing" and "making it here and now." "Interbeing" is a word coined by Thich Nhat Hanh to represent... - 2000: Taigen Daniel Leighton receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Tenshin Reb Anderson. - 2000: Bon YeonBon YeonBon Yeon Soen Sa Nim is the dharma name and title of Jane McLaughlin-Dobisz. She is one of two guiding teachers of the Cambridge Zen Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, of the Kwan Um School of Zen...
receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Seung SahnSeung SahnSeung 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... - 2000: Sweetwater Zen Center established in National City, CaliforniaNational City, CaliforniaNational City is a city in San Diego County, California. The population was 58,582 at the 2010 census, up from 54,260 at the 2000 census. National City is the second oldest city in San Diego County and has a historic past.-History:...
- 2001: Maylie ScottMaylie ScottMaylie Scott , Buddhist name Kushin Seisho, was a Sōtō roshi who received Dharma transmission from Sojun Mel Weitsman in 1998 at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. She graduated from Harvard University in 1956 and obtained a masters degree in social work from the University of California, Berkeley...
dies May 10, age 66 - 2002: Peter SchneiderPeter SchneiderPeter Schneider may refer to:* Peter Schneider , German novelist* Peter Schneider , US movie executive, former president of the Walt Disney Studios...
receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Sojun Mel Weitsman - 2002: Zenshin Philip WhalenPhilip WhalenPhilip Glenn Whalen was an American poet, Zen Buddhist, and a key figure in the San Francisco Renaissance and close to the Beat generation.-Biography:...
, abbot of Hartford Street Zen CenterHartford Street Zen CenterThe Hartford Street Zen Center, temple name Issan-ji , is a Soto Zen practice-center located in the Castro district of San Francisco. Issan Dorsey brought the center from its early beginnings as The Gay Buddhist Club of 1980 to the modern-day Hartford Street Zen Center, becoming Abbot there in 1989...
, dies on June 26 - 2002: Great Vow Zen MonasteryGreat Vow Zen MonasteryGreat Vow Zen Monastery was founded in 2002 and is operated by Zen Community of Oregon under the leadership of abbots Chozen Bays, Roshi, and Hogen Bays...
founded by 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...
and Hogen Bays in Clatskanie, OregonClatskanie, OregonClatskanie is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. It was named for the Clatskanie River, which empties into the Columbia River within the city limits. The population was 1,528 at the 2000 census. The 2007 estimate is 1,710 residents.-History:... - 2002: Kobun Chino Otogawa drowns in SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
- 2002: Seirin Barbara KohnSeirin Barbara KohnSeirin Barbara Kohn is a Soto Zen sensei and head priest of The Austin Zen Center in Austin, Texas, practicing in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. She was ordained as a Soto priest by Reb Anderson and received Dharma transmission from Zenkei Blanche Hartman—Kohn being Hartman's first Dharma heir....
becomes head priest and guiding teacher of Austin Zen Center in Austin, TexasAustin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in... - 2003: Jy Din Shakya opens the Hsu Yun Temple in Honolulu before passing away on March 13
- 2003: Paul HallerPaul HallerRyushin Paul Haller, a Soto Zen roshi, is the current Abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center—a position he has held since 2003. Leaving his homeland of Belfast in Northern Ireland in the early 1970s, Haller spent time in Russia, Afghanistan and Japan. He then went to Thailand for two years where he...
becomes abbot of San Francisco Zen CenterSan Francisco Zen CenterSan Francisco Zen Center , is a network of affiliated Sōtō Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising the City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and the Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. The sangha was incorporated by Shunryu... - 2003: Daniel Doen Silberberg receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from 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... - 2004: Philip KapleauPhilip KapleauPhilip Kapleau was a teacher of Zen Buddhism in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition, a blending of Japanese Sōtō and Rinzai schools.-Early life:...
dies on May 6 from complications of Parkinson's diseaseParkinson's diseaseParkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system... - 2004: Seung SahnSeung SahnSeung 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...
dies on November 30 in South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south... - 2004: Soeng HyangSoeng HyangSoeng Hyang Soen Sa Nim is a Zen Master and the Guiding Teacher of the international Kwan Um School of Zen, and successor to the late Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim.-Biography:...
succeeds Seung Sahn as Guiding teacher of the Kwan Um School of ZenKwan Um School of ZenThe Kwan Um School of Zen is an international school of Zen centers and groups, founded in 1983 by Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim. The school's international head temple is located at the Providence Zen Center in Cumberland, Rhode Island, which was founded in 1972 shortly after Seung Sahn first came to... - 2004: Angie BoissevainAngie BoissevainAngie Boissevain is a Sōtō Zen roshi currently leading the in San Jose, California. A Dharma heir of Vanja Palmers, for many years she was director and then teacher of in the Santa Cruz Mountains, which was founded by her main teacher Kobun Chino Otogawa in 1983...
receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Vanja Palmers, a Dharma heir of Kobun Chino Otogawa - 2004: Enkyo Pat O'Hara receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from 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... - 2004: Golden Wind Zen OrderGolden Wind Zen OrderThe Golden Wind Zen Order is an American Zen Buddhist Order with centers and groups, founded in 2004 by Zen Master Ji Bong Sonsa . A student of Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn, he was trained in the Kwan Um School of Zen.-History:...
is founded by Ji Bong in Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257... - 2005: Rinzai DaiyuzenjiDaiyuzenjiDaiyuzenji is a Rinzai Zen Buddhist temple located on the north side of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States.Daiyuzenji began in 1982 as the Illinois betsuin of Daihonzan Chozen-ji, a Rinzai headquarter temple founded in 1979 in Honolulu, Hawaii by Omori Sogen Roshi , a successor in the...
(formerly a branch temple of Daihonzan Chozen-ji in Hawaii) becomes independent - 2005 Harvey Daiho Hilbert receives Dharma transmission from Hogaku Shozen McGuire and founds Order of Clear Mind Zen.
- 2006: 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...
receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Bernard Glassman - 2006: Merle Kodo BoydMerle Kodo BoydMerle Kodo Boyd is the first ever African-American woman to have received Dharma transmission in Zen Buddhism, a Dharma heir of Wendy Egyoku Nakao in the White Plum Asanga...
becomes first African-American woman to receive Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
, from Wendy Egyoku NakaoWendy Egyoku NakaoWendy Egyoku Nakao is currently the abbot of the Zen Center of Los Angeles, having moved into the center in 1978 and later receiving Dharma transmission and inka from Bernard Glassman. She assumed her abbotship in 1999... - 2006: The Nashville Mindfulness Center is founded by Tiếp Hiện
- 2007: Rochester Zen CenterRochester Zen CenterThe Rochester Zen Center is a Sōtō and Rinzai Zen Buddhist sangha in the Sanbo Kyodan lineage, located in Rochester, New York and established in 1966 by Philip Kapleau. It is one of the oldest Zen centers in the United States. The history of the Rochester Zen Center begins overseas with the...
completes country zendoZendoor is a Japanese term translating roughly as "meditation hall". In Zen Buddhism, the zen-dō is a spiritual dōjō where zazen is practiced...
in BataviaBatavia (city), New YorkBatavia is a city in Genesee County, Western New York, USA, located near the middle of Genesee County, entirely within the Town of Batavia. Its population as of the 2000 census was 16,256...
New York called Chapin MillChapin MillChapin Mill Buddhist Retreat Center is the Buddhist Retreat center of the Rochester Zen Center located at 8603 Seven Springs Rd, Batavia, NY, between Buffalo, NY and Rochester, NY. Ralph Chapin, a member and friend of the Center donated the property to the Center in 1996. The retreat center held a...
Zen Retreat Center. - 2008: Roko Sherry Chayat is formally recognized as a "Zen master"
- 2008: Genjo MarinelloDai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen JiDai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen Ji is a Rinzai-style Zen temple,located on North Beacon Hill in Seattle, Washington. Its name translates from Japanese as "Listening to the Dharma Zen Temple on Great Plum Mountain."-History, lineage, and teachers:...
receives Dharma transmissionDharma transmissionDharma transmission refers to "the manner in which the teaching, or Dharma, is passed from a Zen master to their disciple and heir...
from Eido Tai ShimanoEido Tai Shimanois a Rinzai Zen Buddhist roshi. He was the founding abbot of the New York Zendo Shobo-Ji in Manhattan and Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-Ji monastery in the Catskill mountains of New York; he retired from that position after 40 years amid controversy.-Biography:... - 2008: Hsi Lai TempleHsi Lai TempleFo Guang Shan Hsi Lai Temple is a traditional Chinese Buddhist mountain monastery in the United States. It is located on the foothill region of Hacienda Heights, California, USA, a suburb of Los Angeles County...
celebrates 20th anniversary - 2009: Sheng-yenSheng-yenSheng-yen was a Buddhist monk, a religious scholar, and one of the mainstream teachers of Chinese Chan Buddhism. He was the 57th generational descendant of Linji in the Linji School and a 3rd generational descendant of Master Hsu Yun...
dies on February 3 at age 80 in TaiwanRepublic of ChinaThe Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor... - 2009: Ancient Dragon Zen Gate is founded by Taigen Daniel Leighton in Chicago.
- 2009: 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...
dies in New York at age 78 in Mount TremperMount Tremper, New YorkMount Tremper is a populated place in Ulster County, New York, USA. Mount Tremper is situated to the east of New York State Route 28 and to the north of New York State Route 212 within the Catskill Park. The community is located at...
2010-Present
- 2010: Robert AitkenRobert Baker AitkenRobert Baker Dairyu Chotan Aitken Roshi was a Zen teacher in the Harada-Yasutani lineage. He co-founded the Honolulu Diamond Sangha in 1959...
dies in Hawaii at age 93 - 2010: Eko Little resigns as abbot of Shasta AbbeyShasta AbbeyShasta Abbey is a Zen Buddhist Monastery, established in 1970 by Houn Jiyu-Kennett in Mount Shasta, California, in the United States. It is a training monastery, and is open to visitors who want to learn about Buddhism....
due to misconduct and subsequently disrobes - 2010: Eido Shimano resigns from the board of the Zen Studies SocietyZen Studies SocietyThe Zen Studies Society was established in 1956 by Cornelius Crane to help assist the scholar Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki in his work and to help promulgate Zen Buddhism to Western countries. It is housed on East 67th Street, New York and serves as a Zen practice and training center...
due to misconduct in July; retires as abbot of the Zen Studies SocietyZen Studies SocietyThe Zen Studies Society was established in 1956 by Cornelius Crane to help assist the scholar Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki in his work and to help promulgate Zen Buddhism to Western countries. It is housed on East 67th Street, New York and serves as a Zen practice and training center...
in December - 2011: Roko Sherry Chayat was installed as the second Abbot of Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-jiDai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-jiDai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji, or International Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji, is a Rinzai monastery and retreat center located in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. Maintained by the Zen Studies Society, Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji is led by Shinge-Shitsu Roko Sherry Chayat...
on New Year's Day. - 2011: February, 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...
steps down as abbot of the Kanzeon Zen CenterKanzeon Zen CenterKanzeon Zen Center is a Zen Buddhist center located in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is an affiliate of the White Plum Asanga, an association of Zen centers stemming from the tradition of Taizan Maezumi. Currently, the Abbot of Kanzeon Zen Center is Dennis Genpo Merzel Roshi, and the Vice-Abbot is Rich...
and resigns as elder of the White Plum Asanga due to sexual misconduct - 2011: Joko BeckJoko BeckCharlotte Joko Beck was an American Zen teacher and the author of the books Everyday Zen: Love and Work and Nothing Special: Living Zen. Born in New Jersey, she studied music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and worked for some time as a pianist and piano teacher...
dies