White Plum Asanga, sometimes termed White Plum Sangha, is a

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

school in the Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi lineage, created by Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi. It consists of Maezumi's

Dharma heirs In Chan and Zen Buddhism, dharma transmission is a custom in which a person is established as a "successor in an unbroken lineage of teachers and disciples, a spiritual 'bloodline' ('' kechimyaku'') theoretically traced back to the Buddha hi ...

and subsequent successors and students. A diverse organization spread across the United States and with a small presence in Europe, the White Plum Asanga Conceived of informally in 1979 by Maezumi and

Tetsugen Bernard Glassman Bernie Glassman (January 18, 1939 – November 4, 2018) was an American Zen Buddhist roshi and founder of the Zen Peacemakers (previously the Zen Community of New York), an organization established in 1980. In 1996, he co-founded the Zen Peace ...

, the White Plum Asanga was named after Maezumi's father Baian Hakujun Dai-osho and then later incorporated in 1995 following Maezumi's death.

was the White Plum Asanga's first President and his successor was

Dennis Genpo Merzel Dennis Merzel (born June 3, 1944 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American Zen and spirituality teacher, also known as Genpo Merzel. Biography Early life Dennis Paul Merzel was born on June 3, 1944 in Brooklyn, New York and was raised and schoo ...

. Following Merzel's term, in May 2007,

Gerry Shishin Wick Gerry Shishin Wick is a Soto Zen roshi, author, oceanographer and abbot of Great Mountain Zen Center in Berthoud, Colorado, which he founded in 1996. He is one of the twelve Dharma Successors of the late Taizan Maezumi, receiving Dharma transmis ...

served as elected President of White Plum, until 2013 when Anne Seisen Saunders became the current president."Roshi Anne Seisen Saunders voted in as the new President of the White Plum Asanga". Zen Peacemaker Order. Retrieved 9 January 2016.

Notable members

Jan Chozen Bays Jan Chozen Bays (born 1945), is a Zen teacher, author, mindful eating educator, and pediatrician specializing in work with abused children. Biography Jan Chozen Bays was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 9, 1945. She grew up in East Greenbus ...

Merle Kodo Boyd Merle Kodo Boyd (December 23, 1944 – February 20, 2022) was an American Zen Buddhism, Zen Buddhist nun. She was the first African-American woman to receive Dharma transmission in Zen Buddhism, as a Dharma heir of Wendy Egyoku Nakao in the White ...

Charles Tenshin Fletcher Charles Tenshin Fletcher is a British-born American rōshi. Biography 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 ' ...

(Past President) * Joan Jiko Halifax * Robert Jinsen Kennedy *

John Daido Loori John Daido Loori (June 14, 1931 – October 9, 2009) 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 shih ...

* Peter Muryo Matthiessen *

Wendy Egyoku Nakao Wendy Egyoku Nakao Roshi is the abbot emeritus and head teacher of the Zen Center of Los Angeles. She moved into the center in 1978 and later received Dharma transmission and inka from Bernard Glassman. She assumed her abbotship in 1999. Accordin ...

Pat Enkyo O'Hara Enkyō Pat O'Hara is a Soto priest and teacher in the Harada-Yasutani lineage of Zen Buddhism. Biography Growing up as a young white girl in Tijuana, Mexico while attending Catholic School in the United States, O’Hara was far too familiar with ...

John Tesshin Sanderson John Tesshin Sanderson is a Soto Zen roshi of the White Plum Asanga and spiritual director of the Centro Zen de México in Coyoacán, Mexico City, one of only twelve Dharma Successors of the late Taizan Maezumi. He moved to Mexico in 1987 at th ...

(Past President) * Michael Mugaku Zimmerman

Notable centers

* Lost Coin Zen * Still Mind Zendo *

Yokoji Zen Mountain Center Yokoji Zen Mountain Center is a year-round Zen Buddhist training and retreat center located in the San Jacinto Mountains of Southern California. It is a 160 acres (65 hectares) of sacred Native American land and wilderness. Founded 1981 by Taiz ...

Upaya Institute and Zen Center Upaya Institute and Zen Center is a center for residential Zen practice located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and founded by Joan Halifax Roshi. The center focuses on integration of Zen practice with social action, with traditional cultivation of wisdo ...

Kanzeon Zen Center Kanzeon Zen Center was a Zen Buddhist center located in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was an affiliate of the White Plum Asanga, an association of Zen centers stemming from the tradition of Taizan Maezumi. The founder and Abbot of Kanzeon Zen Center ...

Zen Center of Los Angeles The Zen Center of Los Angeles (ZCLA), 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 pr ...

Zen Mountain Monastery Zen Mountain Monastery (or, Doshinji, meaning Temple of the Way of Reality) 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 ...

Village Zendo __NOTOC__ Village Zendo is a combined Soto Zen, Soto and Rinzai Zen practice center in lower Manhattan. Originally located in the apartment of Enkyo Pat O'Hara, who founded the zendo in 1986, the Zen center took up the majority of space in O'Hara's ...

Great Vow Zen Monastery Great Vow Zen Monastery was founded in 2002 and is operated by Zen Community of Oregon (ZCO) under the leadership of abbots Chozen Bays, Roshi, and Hogen Bays, Roshi. The monastery offers a public Sunday morning program, weekend workshops, weekl ...

* Sweetwater Zen Center *

Zen River Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

Brevard Zen Center Brevard is the name of some places in the United States of America: *Brevard, North Carolina **Brevard College **Brevard Music Center *Brevard County, Florida Brevard County ( ) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. st ...

* New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care * Soji Zen Center * Zen Life & Meditation Center *Great Plains Zen Center

Notable members

Notable centers

See also

Notes

References

External links