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Zen Studies Society
The 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 in Western countries. It operates both New York Zendo Shobo-Ji in New York City and Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-Ji in the Catskills area of New York State. Influenced by the teachings of Soen Nakagawa Roshi and Nyogen Senzaki, ZSS is one of the oldest organizations dedicated to the practice of Rinzai Zen in the United States. The institution came under the leadership of Eido Tai Shimano in 1965. Allegations of sexual and financial improprieties surfaced regarding Shimano, causing controversy in the community. In July 2010 Shimano and his wife resigned from the board of directors following the revelation of his relationship with a female student, amid accusations that this was only the latest in series of such affairs. Shimano also resigned as abbot, and announced he would retire from teaching in any formal capacity. ...
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New York, NY
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the List of United States cities by population density, most densely populated major city in the United States, and is more than twice as populous as second-place Los Angeles. New York City lies at the southern tip of New York (state), New York State, and constitutes the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass. With over 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York is one of the world's most populous Megacity, megacities, and over 58 million people live within of the city. New York City is a global city, global Culture of New ...
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Nyogen Senzaki
Nyogen Senzaki (千崎 如幻, 1876–1958) was a Rinzai Zen monk who was one of the 20th century's leading proponents of Zen Buddhism in the United States. Early life Details of Senzaki's early life are unclear. Town records in Fukaura, Aomori state Senzaki was born on October 5, 1876 as the Senzaki family's first son. He was named Aizo Senzaki. As a youth, Senzaki's grandmother told him he had been abandoned as an infant and was discovered by a fisherman from Sakhalin island, Siberia who reportedly brought him back to Aomori Prefecture. His father is unknown, but he was either Russian or Chinese. Aizo's grandmother was perhaps misinformed in her version of events, because some accounts state young Senzaki was adopted by a travelling Kegon Buddhist priest and brought back to Japan. Early training When Senzaki was five years old his mother died. He was sent to a Pure Land temple run by his grandfather, with whom he began the study of many Chinese classics. The elderly prie ...
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Buddhist Temples In New York City
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia via the Silk Road. It is the world's fourth-largest religion, with over 520 million followers (Buddhists) who comprise seven percent of the global population. The Buddha taught the Middle Way, a path of spiritual development that avoids both extreme asceticism and hedonism. It aims at liberation from clinging and craving to things which are impermanent (), incapable of satisfying ('), and without a lasting essence (), ending the cycle of death and rebirth (). A summary of this path is expressed in the Noble Eightfold Path, a training of the mind with observance of Buddhist ethics and meditation. Other widely observed practices include: monasticism; "taking refuge" in the Buddha, the , and the ...
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Zen In The United States
Zen was introduced in the United States at the end of the 19th century by Japanese teachers who went to America to serve groups of Japanese immigrants and become acquainted with the American culture. After World War II, interest from non-Asian Americans grew rapidly. This resulted in the commencement of an indigenous American Zen tradition which also influences the larger western (Zen) world. History Late 19th century – The Parliament of Religions In 1893, the World Parliament of Religions was held in Chicago. It was a landmark event for the introduction of Asian religions to a western audience. Although most of the delegates to the Parliament were Christians of various denominations, the Buddhist nations of China, Japan, Thailand, and Sri Lanka sent representatives. In the January 1844, issue of ''The Dial'' magazine, the publication of the New England Transcendentalist Club, Henry David Thoreau, one of the great originals of the American Renaissance and author of ''Walden' ...
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Timeline Of Zen Buddhism In The United States
Below is a timeline of important events regarding Zen Buddhism in the United States. Dates with "?" are approximate. Events Early history * 1893: Soyen Shaku comes to the United States to lecture at the World Parliament of Religions held in Chicago * 1905: Soyen Shaku returns to the United States and teaches for approximately one year in San Francisco * 1906: Sokei-an arrives in San Francisco * 1919: Soyen Shaku dies on October 29 in Japan * 1922: Zenshuji Soto Mission is established in the Little Tokyo section of Los Angeles, California * 1922: Nyogen Senzaki begins teaching in California with his "floating zendo" * 1930: Sokei-an establishes the Buddhist Society of America (now First Zen Institute of America) * 1932: Dwight Goddard authors ''A Buddhist Bible'', an anthology focusing on Chinese and Japanese Zen scriptures * 1938: Ruth Fuller Sasaki became a principal supporter of the Buddhist Society of America (later known as the First Zen Institute of America), * 1939 ...
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Buddhism In The United States
The term American Buddhism can be used to describe all Buddhist groups within the United States, including Asian Americans, Asian-American Buddhists born into the faith, who comprise the largest percentage of Buddhists in the country. American Buddhists come from every ethnicity, nationality and religious tradition. In 2012, ''U-T San Diego'' estimated U.S. practitioners at 1.2 million people, of whom 40% are living in Southern California. In terms of percentage, Hawaii has the most Buddhists at 8% of the population, due to its large Asian-American community. Statistics US States by Population of Buddhists Hawaii has the largest Buddhist population by percentage, amounting to 8% of the state's population. California follows Hawaii with 2%. Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, New York (state), New York, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington ...
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Roko Sherry Chayat
Shinge-shitsu Roko Sherry Chayat (born 1943) is the current abbot of the Zen Studies Society, based at the International Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji monastery, outside Livingston Manor, NY, and at the New York Zendo Shobo-Ji on the Upper east Side of Manhattan. She is also the abbot of the Zen Center of Syracuse Hoen-ji. Chayat is an advocate for the use of meditation in medical settings, with Hoen-ji running the program ''Well/Being Contemplative Practices for Healing'' for healthcare professionals. Biography Sherry Chayat was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1943 and grew up in New Mexico and New Jersey. She read her first book on Zen Buddhism while in the eighth grade, and decided she would one day study it abroad. During the 1960s, while attending college at Vassar College, she began an informal study of Buddhism by reading works by D.T. Suzuki, Alan Watts, and many others. She studied art at the New York Studio School for Drawing and Painting. In 1967 she joined the Zen Stu ...
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Eido Tai Shimano
was 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 was forced to resign from that position of 40 years after revelations of a series of sexual relationships with and alleged sexual harassment of female students. This case was never brought to court and Shimano never admitted any wrong doing. Biography Eido Shimano was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1932. His first encounter with a Buddhist scripture came at the age of nine, when his school teacher instructed his class to memorize the Heart Sutra. During the war the Shimano family moved to Chichibu, the mountain city where his mother was born. He died February 18, 2018 at Shogen-ji, Gifu, Japan, after having given a teisho (lecture) on Dogen's "Life and Death". Until his death, he held regular meetings with his sangha in both the US and Europe. In his youth Shimano was ordained as a novice monk by ...
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Soen Nakagawa
was a Taiwanese-born Japanese rōshi and Zen Buddhist master in the Rinzai tradition. An enigmatic figure, Nakagawa had a major impact on Zen as it was practiced in the 20th century, both in Japan and abroad. Early life Soen Nakagawa was born as Motoi Nakagawa on March 19, 1907, in Keelung, Taiwan as the eldest of three boys: ''Matoi, Tamotsu and Sonow''. His father, Suketaro Nakagawa, was an army medical officer and his mother's name was Kazuko. His family moved shortly after to Iwakuni, and then finally to Hiroshima. In 1917, at age 12, Nakagawa's father died, leaving his mother Kazuko a young widow. Soen's younger brother, Tamotsu, died soon after in his early childhood. His mother was forced to work to make ends meet and educate her young children herself. It was an unforgiving childhood for Soen. But Soen was much more interested in the arts, where at a young age he displayed a gift for poetry. Education In 1923, Soen (still Matoi) entered high school and became a boarder ...
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Rinzai
The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-shū, zh, t=臨濟宗, s=临济宗, p=Línjì zōng) is one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (along with Sōtō and Ōbaku). The Chinese Linji school of Chan was first transmitted to Japan by Myōan Eisai (1141 –1215). Contemporary Japanese Rinzai is derived entirely from the Ōtōkan lineage transmitted through Hakuin Ekaku (1686–1769), who is a major figure in the revival of the Rinzai tradition. History Rinzai is the Japanese line of the Chinese Linji school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Linji Yixuan (Japanese: Rinzai Gigen). Kamakura period (1185–1333) Though there were several attempts to establish Rinzai lines in Japan, it first took root in a lasting way through the efforts of the monk Myōan Eisai. In 1168, Myōan Eisai traveled to China, whereafter he studied Tendai for twenty years. In 1187, he went to China again, and returned to establish a Linji lineage, which is known in Japan as Rinzai. Decades ...
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Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-Ji
Dai 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 Roshi. It is part of the Zen Studies Society, founded in 1956 to support the work of D.T. Suzuki. Activities The site offers daily services which include zazen, chanting and samu (work). Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji also offers traditional kessei — a three-month period of intensive spiritual training in a Zen monastery — in addition to weeklong sesshins and weekend retreats throughout the year. Those students who wish to ordain with Shinge Roshi must live at the monastery for 1,000 days, after which they have the option of staying or going back out into the secular world. Location Located about a 3-hour drive north of New York City on near Beecher LakeWilson, 146–147 in a deciduous forest region,Ke ...
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New York Zendo Shobo-Ji
New York Zendo Shobo-Ji, or Temple of True Dharma, is a Rinzai zen practice facility located in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York, in the United States. It is operated by the Zen Studies Society. Founded on September 15, 1968, by Zen master Soen Nakagawa Roshi and Eido Tai Shimano Roshi, the building was converted from a garage, formerly a carriage house. Eido Tai Shimano Roshi, now deceased, was the founding abbot. He was succeeded on January 1, 2011, by the current abbot Roko Sherry Chayat Roshi. New York Zendo offers daily zazen and chanting services; monthly all-day sits and weekend sesshin providing teisho, dokusan, Dharma talks and practice interviews; and other related events. See also *Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United States Below is a timeline of important events regarding Zen Buddhism in the United States. Dates with "?" are approximate. Events Early history * 1893: Soyen Shaku comes to the United States to lecture at the World Parliament of Re ...
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