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Richard Baker in the SFZC Wind Bells

1988 - 1998         

1963 - 1971  1972 - 1973  1974 - 1979  1983 - 1987  1988 - 1998  1999 - 2012

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Richard Baker main page

Spring 1988

 

Machine generated alternative text: Dharma Transmission Five senior members of Zen Center received Dharma Transmission from Abbots Tenshin Anderson and Sojun Weitsrnan in February and March. The ceremonies took place at Tassajara with the assistance of Hoitsu Suzuki-roshi who came from Japan, and Kobun Chino-roshi, who came from New Mexico. The five who received Dharma Transmission are all long-time students of Shunryu Suzuki-roshi who have been practicing at Zen Center since (he 1960's or earlier. They are: Paul Discoe, Jerome Petersen and Katherine •nuanas, who received transmission from Tenshin Anderson, and Blanche Hartman, who received transmission from Sojun Weitsman. Ananda Dalenberg, who has been practicing Zen for thirty-six years, became a of Tenshin Anderson. The week-long ceremonies were the culmination of more than one year of studying together specific materials related 10 the transmission process: i.e., the transmis- Sinn fascicles of Dogen Zenji and the documents of transmission which each can- didate traditionally copies. Each student also received a brown robe and bowing cloth, and a set of bowls. The actual processs of Dharma Transmission occurs over many years of study between teacher and disciple. Thc final ceremony expresses the mutual recognition of their relationship and the studcnft readiness to become a holder and transmit- ter of the lineage. The concluding week begins with Menju, a re—enactment of Dogen Zenjik first meeting with his teacher in China, Nyöjö Tendo, at which time Nyöjö said: "The Dharma gate of fat.•e-to-face transmission from Buddha to Buddha, Ancestor to Ancestor, has now been realized." Underlying the study and the whole transmis- Sion ceremony was the fundamental principle that "All Buddhas in the three worlds appear in this world only because of the One Great Matter of Causes and Conditions. This One Great Matter is the wish (vow) to cause sentient beings to he exposed to and awakened with wisdom" The final events take place late at night: the transmission of the on the fifth night, and actual culmination of Dharma Transmission on the sixth night. The question of the meaning of Dharma Transmission is one the community has been asking for many years. Until these recent ceremonies, the only persons at Zen Center who had gone through the Dharma Transmission ceremony were Zentat.su Baker-roshi, and Tenshin Anderson. Three disciples of Shunryu Suzuki went to Japan after his death to reoeive transmission from his son, Hoitsu Suzuki: Jakusho Kwong, Abbot of Sonoma Zen Center: Sojun Weitsman, Abbot of Berkeley and Co-Abbot of San Francisco Zen center, and Keido Les Kaye, teacher at Mountain View Zen Center. The question of Dharma Transmission may be answered personally, institutionally, formally, etc. Each experience of this deep meeting between successor and successor remains his/ her own, to be understood in the living of it. In institutional

 

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Early History  of Zen Center
p29-40 - PDF

 

 

Spring 1989

 

Machine generated alternative text: A Study Curriculum for Zen Center Suzuk-roshi encouraged us to study the teachings of Buddhism. He invited Edward Conze, the leading western scholar on the prajna Paramita, as well as Other Buddhist Scholars to teach at Zen Center. Former Abbot Zentatsu Baker followed up on this by forming the Mountain Gate Study Center. Abbot Tenshin Anderson was the first director of the Study Center and he himself studied with several Buddhist teachers at U C. Berkeley.

P25

 

Machine generated alternative text: Former Abbot Richard On April 17 and 18, a number of Zen Center Board members, and current Abbots Reb Anderson and Mel Weitsman, met informally with former Abbot Richard Baker. The meetings seemed to indicate that the former Abbot was interested in renewing his relationship with Zen Center. Former Abbot Baker made many contributions to Zen Center, and to Buddhism in America, during his time in office from 1971 to 1983. He resigned in Decem- ber of 1983 after serious questions were raised about his personal conduct. His letter Of resignation as Abbot and Chief Priest was reprinted in the Spring, 1984, Wind Bell. He has not had an institutional relationship with Zen Center since that time. Recently, in letters to members of Zen Center, and in an article in the San Francisco Chronicle Of May 30, the former Abbot has claimed that he is still Chief Priest of Zen Center. In addition, it has come to fight that, without the knowledge or approval of the Zen Center Board, he has attempted to change the Articles of Incorporation of Zen Center which are on file in Sacramento so that he would have unchallenged authority as Chief Priest. Despite this attempt, the State of California recognizes the current Articles with Abbot Reb Anderson as Chief Priest. The Attorney for the Secretary of State has asked that former Abbot Richard Baker either prove or withdraw his claims.

P33

 

 

Fall 1990

 

Machine generated alternative text: In October Of 19M, he left Zen Center to help his teacher, Zentatsu Bak& Roshi. In 1986, he began to teach and run the Hartford Street 72n Center in the middle of the Castro district. In 1987, moved by the suffering and dying all around him, he founded the Main-i Hospice (maitri is Sanskrit for "friendliness"). He was diagnosed with disabling ARC in 1988. In an inter- view he gave last year he said, have AIDS is to be alive." He was a living/ dying example of hospice/ Zen practice.

P4

 

Machine generated alternative text: l*un's funeral was held at 300 Page Street on September 16, 1990. Betwæn three and four hundrd people throngd the 'uddha Hall, front hall, and courtyard. The ceremony was by Abbot Zentatsu Baker, Of Crestone Zol Mountain Reträt, assisted by Abbots Sojun Weitsman and Tenshin Anderson. Kobun Chino-roshi, oversaw the ceremony, which marked the first time that Zentgtsu Baker-mshi, has led g religious function at Zen Center in many years. The funeral was a moving expression of Issan 's wide and loving heart.

 

Machine generated alternative text: Peter Bailey We regret that this is the first issue of the Wind Bell in twenty-five years not designed and laid out by Peter Bailey. Peter, who is suffering from arthritis and various gastro-in testinal imbalances, is recuperating at 300 Page Street. Peter began designing the Wind Bell in 1965 with Richard Baker, the editor at that time. In 1983, he joined the Editorial Board. Much Of the distinctive 100k of the Wind Bell, and of Zen Center's pamphlets and fliers over the years, is owing to Peter's free and open style. We wish him a quick and complete recovery. City Center Head Cook Rosalie Curtis is substituting for Peter on this issue. 27

 

Machine generated alternative text: Hojo said to his American students, "It's all yours; American Zen is all yours," and I feel exactly that way. I have taught tea ceremony at Zen Cen- ter, but Zen Center has its own life and ies beyond my opinion. Here at Zen Center we see new all the time. I feel that I am friends with the many people here even though I often don't know their names. People are coming from all over the world; lately we see more Asian people. When I see Tenshin-san and Mel-san, I ask them to take good care of Zen Center, that's all. And when I see Fak&san, I also say please take care. It is wonderful that people come from various countries looking for the Way.

P22 - - from Seventy-seven Years of My Life by Mitsu Suzuki

 

Machine generated alternative text: Former abbot Zentatsu Richard with Okusan

P34

 

 

Spring 1992

 

Machine generated alternative text: Robin Coonen For me, growing up at Green Gulch was like having a huge family. At any given time there were at least twenty to whom I could go to ask ad- vice or opinions. Not only did this give me a sense of assurance, it gave me a range of values and ideas to choose from. While all of my friends outside of Green Gulch adopted only the values Of their parents, I had a broad range of values to think over and to decide which to accept as my own. Bathing babies in the courtyard fountain Unfortunately, this did not last. The closest I can come to pin-pointing a time for the change was when Baker Roshi, a man whose advice had been very helpful at times, left. A division formed between the people of Zen Center. Some were "for" and some were "against" him; the discontented left. It seemed to me that one day I came home and I didn't know anyone. My vast source of information was depleted at what seemed like a drastic rate. From then on things continued to change. The search for a new abbot began, producing controversy yet again. Little things which mattered so much changed: the main office was locked after certain hours, I was no longer allowed to roam freely, I had to be quiet so as not to "disturb" the guests, Tassajara bread could be found on supermarket shelves, and Greens became trendy. 26

 

Machine generated alternative text: Green Gulch is still a very beautiful place. I have gone back and walked through it and been asked if I needed any assistance finding my way around. When I do go back, though, I try to look at it as a place I have never been before, simply a lovely place to walk where I may perhaps see a few of the people I knew in my childhood. I would only be searching in vain if I looked for the place of my childhood memories. Green Gulch, like every- thing else, must grow and modernize in this world of ours.

P30

 

Machine generated alternative text: In '87 my mother and I drove into the heart of the U.S.: Spokane, Washing- ton, our new home. J realized as we drove in on Division Street in our or- ange '76 VW bus, all horizons endless rows of McDonalds, Ford dealer- ships, supermarkets, and Arvys, that all of those mesengers passing through our monastery were not brainwashed pawns after all. They were terrified victims of an alien world. After a vague year of smeared together days like the macha in my bowl, I began to grasp my surroundings and found them to be not all that bad. The only problem was I had been, during my many years in and around Richard Bakers empire, rendered incapable Of living harmoniously in the "real world. " Slowly it became clear that the reality which shaped my childhood was rather unusual, and I would never be able to function in this world using the basic assumptions others took for granted: nothing is actually wrong, that as long as you're not honest about who you are everything will be okay, that one can say whatever one likes as long as it is not dangerous to the structure of our society, pop tops are better than pull tabs, dandruff is worse than cancer, and so on.

P31 - part of Kelly Chadwick's piece on growing up at ZC

 

 

Fall 1992

 

Machine generated alternative text: Soon after Suzuki Roshi died, Della was invited by Richard bak& to move to Page Street. after, she retired from teaching, at the highest teaching level thanks to years of outside study. Immediately she volunteered to work in the Zen Center offices, helping with fund-raising letters and working with the accreditation committee. She continued to befriend Okusan, assist- ing her with transportation and attending special tea ceremonies. For many years, she and Betty Warren have accompanied Okusan on her yearly trips to Tassajara.

P6 - from a piece on Dell Goertz (note "roshi" used with Suzuki and not with Baker, an unconscious omission I'd imaging but a slight nevertheless. That's why I avoid using the honorific title roshi except when quoting others. And by now in 2017 whom would one use it for and whom not? - dc

 

 

Spring 1993

 

Machine generated alternative text: History of Zen Center During the series of community meetings we had last fall I was struck by how little was known of Zen Center's history by those new to the commu- nity. Thus the following article, abbreviated and inadequate as it may be. —Michael Wenger There are several beginnings to the San Francisco Zen Center. Besides Buddha's enlightenment 2500 years ago and the immigration of Asian Bud- dhism in the 18(MJs, there were the Beat poets and artists who prepared the way. Pioneers Of American Buddhism like Alan Watts and those who con- tinue to this day—Gary Snyder, Phillip Whalen and Ananda Dalenberg— were manifestations of and co-creators of an environment friendly to Bud- dhism. Still, May 23, 1959 was the day that Shunryu Suzuki arrived in San Francisco at Sokoji Temple on Bush Street in Japantovvn to serve the local Japanese Soto Zen congregation. At first only a few western students came—young people, school teachers, and painters. He emphasized way- seeking mind, a big open altitude, and zazen, seated meditation. Little by little, by word of mouth, people came to study with Suzuki Roshi. In Au- gust 1962 Zen Center was formally incorporated with the state Of California. By 1966 Zen Center had grown into a stable practicmg community, and Suzuki Roshi felt that the time was right to look for some land for a retrea*t center. Tass,ajara was purchased in 1967 and named Zenshinji (Zen Mind/ Heart Temple). It became the first training temple outside of Asia and stu- dents arrived in great numbers. In 1969, with the growth of Zen Center and the ensuing tensions between the Japanese congregation and the young American "hippie" practitioners, Zen Center moved from Sokoji to its own facility at 300 Page Street, close to San Francisco Civic Center. Suzuki Roshi named it Hoshinji—Begi Mind Temple. In 1970 Suzuki Roshi's book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind was published and became the largest selling bcx)k on Zen in English. The Tassa- jarg Brend Book, written by Ed Brown, was published in the same year; it be- came a perennial Bay Area best seller and contributed to the renaissance of homemade bread. Ed later followed in 1973 with Tassajara Cooking and in 1985 with The Taseujarn Recipe Book. Suzuki Roshi's health began to weaken and in November of 1971 he gave Dharma Transmission to Richard Baker and named him as his successor. Suzuki Roshi died at Beginners' Mind Temple in December 1971, during a sesshin. Before his death Suzuki Roshi suggested the idea of a farm practice place. In 1972 Richard Baker (now) Roshi was instrumental in orchestrating Zen Center's purchase of Green Gulch Farm—Green Dragon Temple—near Muir Beach. With this Zen Center had three main practice places. 15

 

Machine generated alternative text: Under Baker Roshi's leadership Zen Center continued to grow, with a large resident population (in the mid-1970s over 50 people lived at Tassajara and the City Center respectively and 40 or so people lived at Green Gulch) and a large non-resident following. Zen Centers self-support base at the time con- sisted mostly of the Tassajara guest season and student fees and donations. In 1975 the Green Gulch Green Grocer was opened. In 1976 the Tassajara Bakery was founded and in 1979 Greens restaurant was opened as well as other businesses—Alaya Stitchery, Cole Valley Graphics, and the Whole Earth Access bookstore. The mid- and late '70s and early 'SOS were a time Of great growth and activ- it-v. A Buddhist study center was created at City Center. Most of the Japa- nese chants and ceremonies were translated into English. National and in- ternational figures (Governor Jerry Brown, Gregory Bateson, the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Yamada Mumon Roshi, Joan Baez, Erick Frickson, Huey Newton, and Linda Ronstadt, to name a few) visited and spent time at Zen Center. By Apfil 1983 however, many problems which had been in the background came to the fore. Abbot Richard Baker, who had spearheaded much of the growth of Zen Center, became the focus of questioning and controversy when it was learned he was having a sexual relationship with a married resident woman student. Many issues rose to the surface. At the time of Suzuki Roshi's death Richard Baker was the first among many students who had studied several years with Suzuki Roshi. Many of them left; Rich- ard Baker distanced himself more and more from his peers and then from the rest Of the community. He delegated few decisions, his life-style and compensation had become increasingly luxurious compared to the rest of the community, and he was less and less available to Lhe students. The ensu- ing uproar in the community and his resignation was a painful time and led to a deep re-examination of Zen Center. Small discussion groups were formed and met for almost a year, discussing what had happened, exploring feelings, and looking to the future. This cul- minated in a community-wide two-day meeting in March 1984. In December of 1983 Richard Baker resigned as Abbot. A group of senior Zen Center practitioners began to design a new governing structure, led by an elected Board (previously the Board had been appointed by the Abbot). In 1984 Katagiri Roshi, who had helped Suzuki Roshi run Zen Center and had left to start the Minnesota Zen Center soon after Richard Baker became Abbot, returned to become Abbot for a year. In the fall of 1984 the first election of the Zen Center Board was held, with potential members drawn from those who had been members for 5 years or more and elected by those who had been members for at least 3 years. In 16

 

Machine generated alternative text: January of 1985 Tenshin Anderson was installed as the new abbot of Zen Center for a four-year term with a renewable second three-year term. From 1983 to 1985 the population of Zen Center decreased. change was felt very strongly in the businesses. There were fewer students working in them, and they needed more expertise. Wages also needed to be raised, and the tax laws had changed. In 1985 Everyday Inc., a separate corporation which was a licensee of Zen Center, was set up to run the restaurant, bakery and the grocery. (Earlier the managers of Alaya had purchased that busi- ness.) Tassajara Bakery's expansion into the wholesale market was begun in 1987 and proved to be a mistake, leading to its 1992 sale to Just Desserts. Ev- eryday still runs Greens, which continues to be a successful, highly rated vegetarian restaurant. The restaurant has produced "171b' Greens Cook Book and has just published a second cookbook, Fields of Greens. In the spring of 1987 Abbot Tenshin Anderson was held up at knife point in the Page Street neighborhood; he was arrested for brandishing a fire arm after chasing his attacker into a public housing prokct. Tenshin was re- quired to do thirty hours of comrnunity service and took a six month leave of absence from teaching and administrative responsibilities. While the Abbot's remorse was quite evident and accepted by the community, the in- cident led to further discussion of religious leadership. Abbot Tenshin and the Zen Center Board asked Sojun Mel Weitsman, abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center and an early student of Suzuki Roshi, to join Tenshin as abbot. Thus Zen Center's two-abbot system began. In the spring of 1987 Zen Center funded and began what became the Zen Hospice Project, consisting of a volunteer training and placement program and a small hospice at 273 Page Street. Today Zen Center is a dynamic institution with three main residential cen- ters, several related sitting groups, a study center, and a large non-residen- tial practicing community. Tassajara is the most monastic of the centeus with two three-month practice periods and a four-month guest season. The City Center, in the middle of San Francisco, has residents, a large public zendo, a library and a Buddhist study center. Green Gulch has a farm and garden a guest and conference facility, as well as the central meditation and retreat programs for both residents and non-residents. In the 33 years since Suzuki Roshi came to America the San Francisca Zen Center has gone through many changes and American adaptations. We feel the Buddhist spirit as embodied by Suzuki Roshi has taken root and re- mains alive today. 17

 

Machine generated alternative text: Tony read an early mtole Earth Catalog containing a letter from Peter Schneider about eating With oryoki at Tassajara, about it being ecological, an example of how to recycle. They moved back to Califomia with their dog, Dylan, planning to go to Tassajara as soon as possible. They stayed with friends in the Sierras and came down to Page Street. "The minute we walked in the door, the director of Zen Center told us that there was no way we could possibly practice Zen as long as we owned a dog. Darlene started to cry and I got really angry." They went back to the Sierras and started fund raising 10 establish their own zendo in the foothills. But they kept com- ing down evely other month for sesshin and gradually got drawn into Zen Center. They went to Tassafira in the fall of 972, Dylan in tow by penms- sion of Abbot Richard Baker.

P37

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Machine generated alternative text: During this period, Tony was seeing a Jungian analyst. As Tony was leaving Green Gulch, Richard Baker had said, "American men in their late thirties or early forties reach a point where either they have to grow or they just die, although their body may go on living. You're at that point. You either change or die." Richard Baker made an appointment with a Jungian recom- mended by Joseph Wheelwright, saying that Tony would like Jungian therapy because "it has a lot of drama in it." Tony took to heart Baker Roshi's admonishment, but he wasn't interested in therapy. He agreed to go One time, and to his surprise he and the therapist hit it off; they worked to- gether every week for four years. Very quickly this work and Zen practice became all of a piece. "1 was presented with koans right and left, from my dreams." Over that four-year period something like the shift Richard Baker 38 had been talking about took place. "Basically I relaxed a little bit and be- came more generous."

 - from an article on Tony Patchell

 

 

Summer 1994

 

Machine generated alternative text: For awhile after I left home I lived in a commune in Chicago, and people there kept telling me I should do meditation. "Ihe reason you are unhappy is because you need to meditate." I was kind of dumb, I really didn't pick up the quest, but someone handed me a copy of The Three Pillars of Zen. I appreciate those friends who just kept nudging me in this peculiar direction. I came to Zen Center just after Suzuki Roshi died. It was a very interesting time. I really formed a deep love for Richard Baker; he was a wonderful teacher for me until he got too busy. And 15

From a lecture by Steve Weintraub

 

 

Winter 1995

 

Machine generated alternative text: That summer Zen Center was looking at Tassajara as a possible site for a rnor1LsLery. Dick Baker had discovered Tassajara and taken Suzuki Roshi there. In early fall a large group of Zen Center people also went to check it out. My first husband and my children accompanied me on that weekend. In very close order I met Suzuki Roshi, heard him lecture, and went to Tassajara. Katagiri ROShi Was helping Snzuki Roshi then, so I met both Suzuki Roshi and KatagiTi Roshi basically al the same time. The following spring I started working part- time as the secretary for Zen Center while still Leaching high school tnalh. Almost immediately I felt very dedicated to Snzuki Roshi. I took his mail to him every day. He would ask me to read it to him, and then tell me what to answer back. I became his secretary, taking him to appointments, driving him to and from Tassajara, and participating in meetings, that sort of thing. I also shared an office at Sokoji Wilh Kalagiri Roshi. From the beginning my relation- ship with Katagiri was very collegial and never really changed. We were always good friends. His affirming way was helpful for me. Then Zen Center began to fimdraise for Tassajara. J plunged into the middle of it all. There was an active membership of abont forty people and an annual budget of $4,000. To buy Tassajara for $300,000 was like saying, "Let's fly to the moon." Every week a group of us would meet in my living room and think of ways to raise money. The next week we'd come together and talk about what we'd done. We were inexperienced and felt our way along. This turned out to be 11

 

Machine generated alternative text: very effective, especially sine over half of the money raised for the purchase of Tassajara came from people who sent donations of $25 or less. 'Ihe main energy behind all Of this was Richard Baker, assisted by many quiet individuals doing background, worker-bee activities. The buying of Tassajara becarne a reality through benefits of Indian music, and a huge "Zenefit" by many rock and roll bands, including the Family Dog, Jefferson Starship and the Grateful Dead. There were poetry readings and art shows, showcasing the Beat Poets and Artists of the era who had a strong Interest in Zen Center. It was a very intense, lively, diverse and exciting time—deeply satisfying.

 

Machine generated alternative text: SEWING BUDDHA'S ROBE A newly ordained priest in the Zen tradition is known in Japanese as unsui literally "cloud water," which is poetically descriptive of the one who 'leaves home' and is without attachments, like clouds or water. During the ordination, the new disciples have their heads shaved by their teacher and receive a new name. They arc also given Buddha's robes and bowls and the precepts, as well as the kechimyaku, or "spiritual blood line," a document which traces their lineage from their present teacher back through all our ancestors to Shaky-am uni Buddha. One of the robes which the new ordinands receive is an Okesa which they have sewn themselves. Ln Sanskrit this is known as the uttarasangha robe. Abbot Tenshin Rcb Anderson explains that uttara means "covers"—"the robe that covers the sangha" or "the sangha which covers the person." The first Ordinands at Zen Center were given okesas made in Japan. fren we began sewing our own, although the first okesas sewn at Zen Center were largely sewn by the wives and girlfriends of ordinands. When bakei Roshi became abbot of Zen Center, he invited Joshin-san to teach us the traditional way of sewing rakusus and okesas.

P26

 

Machine generated alternative text: crnt CENTER DEDICATES ACCESS RAMP AT 25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION On Saturday, November 12, 1994, the City Center, Beginner's Mind Temple, celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary with day-long activities, which began with the dedication of a new wheelchair access ramp to the main floor of the building. Previously those in wheelchairs were able to enter the downstairs meditation hall, but faced a barrier of numerous steps for main floor entry. Daniel Barnes and Judy Smith delighted onlookers by wheeling right up the ramp and into the world of Zen Center. Sometimes we're slow making these small steps to accommodate one another, perhaps due to our own handicaps, but once the steps are taken everyone benefits from the growth in camaraderie. It only took twenty-live years! A morning lecture by Abbot Sojun Weitsman was followed by a joyous ceremony in which participants were pelted with flower petals. After lunch movie of Suzuki Roshi were shown reminding us of his marvelous vitality and beginner's mind. The movies were shown again in the late afternoon, followed by dinner, music, and a variety of personal reminiscences which fondly recalled Suzuki Roshi, Baker Roshi, Issan Dorsey, and Suzuki Sensei, who lived in the building for twenty-four years and in many ways personally embodied the spirit of Zen, caring for the kaisando, leaching tea ceremony, and graciously hosting informal gatherings for tea in her small kitchen. Commemorative I'-shirts with the calligraphy for beginner's mind are still available. 29

 

 

Summer 1995

 

Machine generated alternative text: Others offering congrarulations included Hoitsu Suzuki Roshi, abbot of Rinso-in and Shunrvu Suzuki's son: Zen Center President Michael Wenger; David Chadwick, who read a statement from former Zen Center Abbot Zentatsu Richard Zenshin Philip Whalen from the Hartford Street Zen Center; Lon Parsons from Minnesota Zen Meditation Center; and Kathie Fischer. the wife of lhc new abbot.

P21 - article on Zoketsu Norman Fischer's Mt. Seat Ceremony to be abbot of the SFZC

 

 

Winter 1996

 

Machine generated alternative text: after all, time was short, didn't knaw how short, and I didn't exactly fee anxious about t, but I beear ta fee motivated in a way was new to me. truly felt that had absorbed some of her spirit. felt it physical!y in my eyes, my hands and my heart. Time is short. could no longer make any mistake about While her leaving was a terrble loss, it was also an incredible gift. Pay by then had moved out to California and was living at Green Gulch, Lots of families ard kids were there. he said. Thai sounded ike a gooe place to bring up Arna. wound up speaking to Karin got-ding, Raker Rosh and Ed Brown, who was president of Zer Center at thal lime. They invited mc out. My vounger s•ster Deborah and I drovc out from Boston in the van with Anna buckied into a lawn chair between us. This was October of 977. (Deborah stayed for awhile, returned East, and eventua:ly came oat here to live. A few years ago Joanne her family did. too.) As any single parent knows too well, it's pretty nard TD be the on;y one who's æsponsible for both the yesses and the noes. Creen Gulch was an excellent situation in that regard. There was pienty of attention and concern for all the kids and child caring was a community job. Michael Savver actually was th'e full-lime child care person. He operatec out of a tipi at the foot oi Spring Valley Next we went to Tassa,ara, along with fifteen other children and assorted parents That exper:ment lasted three years. VVe had adjusted sitting schedules for parents. separate noisy mea;s for kids, a childwatch dunng zazen hours where a Dt- parents wou d patrol the grounds listering for cries and wh mpers. Extensive childcare, of course, and even tually a tiny school! Norman was one of Anna's first-grade teachers- one on one. Emila was too. That's where mel Sukey. She taught Anna to read. I fell 'n love again. We three moved up to the city iived next door to. and slarted work- ine for Zen Center—myself al I.he Baker-y ard Sukey at A aya St;tchery, which at -hat time was making sitting cushions. Right before we were to get married in 1983, Baker Roshi resigned in a long and perfiaps still- draw-.-out saga of impropriety and rrvsunderstand•ng. Reb married us in April, Amidst the h gh ane pajnful emoton or that time, our wedding seemed blessed by the communty with good wishes for success. Our iife was pretty stable for the next ten years, but I think it safe to say that i'd become a litte disillusioned with teachers. During ths time, t studied music, played in a band and began to write songs. I a'so became more concerned with the or te bakery business, eventually becom ng manager at the production laci'ity and ther at the retail site at Cole Street. Soon I had no more time for music. 34

From piece by Mick Sopko

 

 

Summer 1996

 

Machine generated alternative text: The Roshis—Hoitsu Suzuki, Zentatsu gala, Tenshin Anderson, Sojun Weitsman, Zoketsu Fischer, Tetsugen Glassman, Jakusho Kwong— and the long silent line Of illuminated patriarchs, with one voice, one gesture of regard, invited Our first Abbess to join the dance. And she said, "Certainly."

P10 - from a piece on Blanche Hartman's Mt. Seat Ceremony

 

Machine generated alternative text: Zentatsu Roshi

P19 with photos of people who came to Blanche's ceremony

 

Machine generated alternative text: The Daniel E. Koshland Community Park is also being renovated. In 1976, largely due to the efforts of former abbot Richard Baker and many Zen students, this park was built and won a prestigious architectural award. Over the years however, it fell into misuse; play structures were burned, and it became a harbor for violence and crime. In the process of reclaiming this park the neighborhood has come together again. A wonderful celebration was held last July, attended by over 300 people, many from the housing development. Mayoral candidates Roberta Achtenberg and Willie Brown attended, and everyone feasted on the delights of food and beverages from twenty different sponsors, including the Marriott Hotel, Greens restaurant and the San Francisco Giants. The Walden House All-stars played calypso music, while young and old 21

From article by Barbara Lubanski Wenger on Koshland Park

 

 

Winter 1997

 

Machine generated alternative text: Hekizan Tom Girardot Hekizan Tom Girardot, a priest al Zen Center, died June 29 at Seton Medical Center of a heart attack following emergency can- cer surgery three-and-a-half weeks earlier. He was 65 years old. A native of San Francisco, he worked as a cab driver and jazz musician, coming to Zen practice like so many others in the late 1960s. He was ordained by Richard Roshi in 1980 and in 1984 was Shuso or Head Monk for the fall practice period at City Center. For two years before his illness, he served as Ino in charge of the meditation hall. Hekizan also studied tea cer- emonv with Mitzu Suzuki Sensei Of the Omoto Senke school and became a teacher of tea. He was active with the Hayes Valley Community and the Religious Witness with Homeless People and served on the Task Force on the Central Freeway. The following statement by Abbot Sojun Weitsman was offered at Hekizan's memorial service.

P3

 

Machine generated alternative text: Suzuki Roshi had many fine disciples, of whom he ordained fifteen. I felt that each one of his disciples embodied some quality of Suzuki Roshi. He brought out in each one of his disciples some outstanding quality which reflected a quality of himself. My dream was that when Suzuki Roshi died, we would be like one body. And together we would propagate and develop his teaching. Not preserve like a pickle, but take care of his teaching and develop his teaching, closely allied and mutu ally supporting each other through his inspiration. But, as it happened, after he died, a lot of the students and priests bake' Roshi, who had received dharma were scattered. His first successor, transmission, continued his teacher's tradition; but it was difficult for many of Suzuki Roshi's disciples because they didn't feel included.

P10 - from a lecture by Mel Weitsman

 

Machine generated alternative text: I first came to Tassajara in May of 1966. I had been a Zen student in San Francisco already, and my friend Alan Winter went an a Zen Center ski trip and heard about Tassajara from Dick So he came and got a job here and told me I could get a job here too, which I did, as the dish- washer.

p13

 

Machine generated alternative text: I first came to Tassajara in May of 1966. I had been a Zen student in San Francisco already, and my friend Alan Winter went an a Zen Center ski trip and heard about Tassajara from Dick So he came and got a job here and told me I could get a job here too, which I did, as the dish- washer. The kitchen was where the pit is now; where the student eating area is now was the bar; where the kitchen is now was the dining room, and where the dish shed is was the staff dining room. So it was quite a bit different, and speaking of running up bills, you could go into the bar and have a Carta Blanca or Dos Equis, and your bar bill would Just come off your paycheck at the end of the month. As the dishwasher I couldn't understand why the cooks drank so much and why they got angry and upset at times, although actually all in all they were quite even-tempered. Halfway through the summer one of the cooks quit, and I was offered the job, and within a day or two I was screaming at people. And they started having meetings about what to do about Ed. Suzuki Roshi and other people from Zen Center carne down two or three times that summer. We all sat zazen together in cabin 3B, which isn't here any longer. It was quite powerful. Afterwards Suzuki Roshi said we were carrying water and gathering wood. Sure enough, here We are. We did not know then that we could buy Tassajara. That fall Zen Center had a thousand dollars in the bank and an annual budget of about six thousand dollars, but we had a fundraising drive and in two months we raised $25,000 for the down payment on Tassjara. Baker Roshi was a central person in this effort, but many people devoted themselves to accomplishing this goal.

P13 - from a lecture by Ed Brown

 

Machine generated alternative text: A Place to Center in Austria by Vanja Palmers Puregg is the name of a small farm in the Austrian Alps, located at 1,300 m. (approx. 4,000 feet ) In the 16th century, it was the highest year-round lived-in resi- dence in all of the archdiocese of Salzburg. Thus have I heard. Today, Puregg is a year-round meditation center that is officially Silence," reflecting the open spirit of our sitting practice and the backgrounds of its founders: Brother David Steindl-Rast, O.S.B. and myself, Vanja Palmers. Brother David is a Benedictine monk with a longstanding relationship with Buddhism, Zen, and the Zen Center of San Francisco, while I grew up as a Catholic, lived at the Zen Center for ten years, was ordained by Zentatsu Richard Bale Roshi and received Dharma Transmission from Kobun Chino Roshi.

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Summer 1997

 

Machine generated alternative text: On Forgiveness: A Retreat with Richard Baker by Abbot Zoketsu Norman Fischer For a long time I have felt that there was more work to do in our sangha regarding the traumatic events Of 1983 and beyond, when revela- Lions about love affairs and abuse of power by our then-abbot Zentatsu Richard Baker Roshi came out. I am sure that many of us, both those who have remained students at Zen Center since then, and those who have not, have come to some healing, have understood, in whatever way we could, what happened. But I do not think the story is finished. There's a phrase that appears in the sutra dedication in Dharma groups associated with Robert Aitken Roshi: "May sangha relations become complete." I think a true sangha never gives up the work of forgiveness and understanding when there has been a breach. Instead, out of our faith in the practice, and in the absolute rightness of compassion, we keep making the effort to forgive, even if that effort takes a lifetime and more. Today I feel very much as if all the painful difficulties Zentatsu Baker and our sangha have had together are fruitful ones. We have learned about betrayal and disappointment, we have learned about self-decep- tion, and we have learned lessons about student-teacher relationships that we had no idea we would ever need to learn. I'm not sure that these lessons are yet clear to us; certainly they are not entirely clear to me, and I see that experience can warp us as well as deepen us. But as long as any of us lives, and beyond that I am sure, we will remain students of what has happened to us. When Zentatsu came to Zen Center for Abbot Zenkei Blanche Hartman's installation ceremony last year, I felt that finally, after four- teen years, there was an opening for the work of forgiveness to go for- ward. And so, with the consent of the Zen Center Board and Elder's Council, Layla Paul Rosenblum and myself (Layla and Paul are both Zen Center priests who now live, work and practice outside Zen Center) organized a retreat to bring together thirty-five students from the 1970s and early with Zentatsu Baker. purpose of the re- treat was to promote deeper understanding and forgiveness, to actually

 

Machine generated alternative text: listen to ourselves and each other in a deeper way, so that we could more fully understand and appreciate what had happened. It was not an effort to make peace or becorne friends again. I think one can never hold that as a goal. The path to friendship call never be plotted out. One tries hard to understand, and if friendship comes from that, that is extra. The retreat was held April 16-18 at the Shadows, a retreat center in Nicasjo. Together with Gary Friedman, a Zen Center member and friend and mediator, who facilitated the retreat, we worked out a format that was designed to promote deep listening with fairness and compassion. Our sessions were about three hours long throughout the weekend and each session began and ended with informal 7.a7.en. TT1ere were small group discussions followed by large group discussions. Each segment of discus- sions during the weekend was based on a focusing question: "What is your spiritual practice now?" "How did the practice that we did together in the seventies and early eighties at Zen Center inform that practice and what stands out most?" "What was useful and positive about the prac- tice of those days?" "What was not useful or was counter productive?" With these questions the weekend became a group meditation on what the past had been and how it was still alive for us today. We used a mindfulness bell to keep our words calm and kind. The experience was truly extraordinary; much more than I had dared hope for. Each of the thirty-five people in attendance went deeply into the heart. Each expressed himself or herself beautifully and with accuracy and courage, and each made a heroic effort to actually try to hear, without judgment, what the others were saying. There was power- ful anger sometimes, but it was contained; there were many tears and regrets and many apologies; there was much love and appreciation. In the breaks between sessions people huddled together or walked among the redwoods, talking and trying to understand more clearly what had been said and fell. It seemed to me that finally, after so may years, the forces that had split us apart as a sangha were becoming clear. With all of us together, sharing the many separate pieces of a single fabric of a story, we had a chance to see with greater clarity who each of us was and how the past had unfolded. It was the first time, I believe, that we had been able to be with Zentatsu Baker in a calm and neutral space, a space almost free of fear and defensiveness, and devoted to forgiveness. In that space, I think, all of us were able to learn, to go beyond whatever frozen places we had found to hide in to escape the reality of the past. In her short essay on forgiveness Joko Beck writes, "In our culture the term 'forgiveness' is a very loaded word. The idea 'to forgive' usually implies that there is some form of magnanimous acceptance of another, 28

 

Machine generated alternative text: During the annual Tassajara family work weekend this April, these folks stacked wood and cleared the wood pile area in the flats. Front row from left: Matthew Ramos, Alex Zapulac, D. W. Ram, Zack Jordan, Gina Earle and Sam van der Sterre ; Second row: John Schultz, Tim Sampson, Terry Sutton, Nathan Wenger and Michael Wenger. even though the other did wrong. This understanding of forgiveness is not what forgiveness practice is about; forgiveness is primarily about seeing through our own emotional reactions — seeing what stands in the way of real forgiveness. Real forgiveness has to entail experiencing first our own pain, then the pain of the person to be forgiven; and it is from this understanding that the barriers, the separation, between the two beings can dissolve." Joko goes on to delineate three stages in the process of forgiveness. First, to see how hard our own hearts are, how really unwilling we are to forgive. Being honest about this will bring us to the second stage, the immediate awareness of all the emotional reactivity within us toward the person we are unable to forgive. And coming from a thorough practice of the second stage is the third, the stage of actual forgiveness of the person, which is not the same as condoning the person's actions.

 

Machine generated alternative text: Forgiveness, Joko teaches us, means being able to truly understand the other person with sympathy, being able to see that the actions they have taken have come from their own pain and suffering. In this retreat I think we all came a long way in the direction of forgiveness, and it was a relief and an inspiration to do so. I came away with a tremendous appreciation and admiration for everyone present, especially Zentatsu, who listened with a great effort to many difficult words, and with increased faith that our practice is real and deep. The hurt and sorrow that we have all experienced through the years is not something that we can escape from easily, or should escape from easily. This retreat did not by any means repair all the damage that has been done. Much more work will need to be accomplished in the future, on an individual and group basis, to further the forgiveness process. But I feel very confident now that much more will be done, and that the process Of understanding will continue. I feel very strongly that those Of us who were closely touched by the hard times Of the past have a responsibility, not only for ourselves but for new sangha members of the present and future, to continue this process. And we need to understand this not only as the story of the Zen Center sangha, but as the world's story. If a Buddhist sangha, a group of people dedicated to compassion and understanding, is not willing to try to heal its own wounds and deal with its difficult past with clarity, trying to prevent further harm in the future, does it make sense to hope that others with even more difficult conditions will be able to do their work? A Tassajara resident trying to decide whether to do zazen or kinhin 30

 

 

Spring Summer 1998

 

Machine generated alternative text: What We've Learned A Dharma talk delivered September 7, 1997 at Green Gulch Farm on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the temple Zoketsu Norman Fischer ODAY IS A PUBLIC OCCASION and my job is to say something to commemorate Green Gulch's twenty-fifth anniversary. Twenty-five years ago this zendo was a funky barn and Green Gulch was a one-family ranch with a muddy road and a few ramshackle build- ings. It was a lonely and a damp place but we were very excited to take it on and to try to experiment with it. What would it become? How would we practice here? Over the years we tried many experiments and a lot of them didn't work out. But of course there is no such thing as a failed experiment, and today Green Gulch is a pretty well-known and well-established place and it is anything but lonely. There are usually about forty-five or so students in residence and on any given day per- haps twenty or more guests and guest students. There are well devel- oped ongoing traditions of farming and gardening and formal Zen practice and there are many, many programs for people to come and access the Zen life offered here. There is a magnificent Japanese tea house and a program of tea events and lessons. In fact, sometimes it feels as if there is so much going on it is hard to understand it or keep up with it. But it's interesting that the unifying vision for Green Gulch really hasn't changed at all in twenty-five years. It's expressed very clearly and simply in the poem Richard Baker Roshi wrote for the Japa- nese bell that was cast for us in Japan in 1975. You can go out to the bell and read the poem for yourself: Awakened By this Japanese bell The sky-headed sea-tailed Green Gulch dragon Stirs the fine mists and rains Of right Dharma For East and West Farming and greeting guests The pre-voice of this old bell Is not hindered by the wind 41

 

Machine generated alternative text: In twenty-five years we've done a tremendous amount of physical work on this place, planting trees and building soil, putting up fences, putting in water and sewage systems, renovating old buildings and building new ones, although most of us still live in the same ram- shackle run down houses that we inherited from George Wheelwright. Building new houses is something we have to do in the next twenty- five years—and I am sure much sooner—so that Green Gulch can sur- vive into the next generation. Not because survival is a necessity, but because there is still a lot more work to do to develop practice and to help repair the world. There's no end to the job of caretaking a temple like this, and it's good that there's no end. The journey and the effort is its own reward. We learn a lot every day, and we all develop in our understanding of the Path and of ourselves through the work we do toward helping Green Gulch to survive and flourish. I hope we can all continue to participate in this journey for a while longer. Twenty-five years seems like a long time in a way and so much has happened. I do not know how manv thousands of people in that time have been to Green Gulch, for a day or for ten years, and have given of their lives here. People we have forgotten and many, many people we will never forget. But twenty-five vears is also a pretty short time. You blink your eyes a few times and twenty-five years are gone. To the woolly mammoths and ancient peoples that used to live here twenty- five years is a short time. A little while ago Green Gulch was part of the ocean. If someone were to come here in thirty or sixty years it's likely that not a one of us sitting here now would be around. You can close your eyes and imagine that—all these seats filled with different people, most of them not yet born. This happens very quickly, like a lightning flash, like a dream. Truly time is a strange phenomenon. Human beings mark and measure time and so we are given to anni- versaries. What's good about an anniversary like ours today is that it gives us a chance to reflect on where we are now, to see how the present depends on and comes from the past. Whenever vou look at the present like that you see its depth and il always brings up a powerful feeling of gratitude. So on behalf of all of us I want to express gratitude for twenty-five years in this beautiful valley. Except for some of the plants and animals here we are all visitors and lucky to have been able to stay here so long, So gratitude to the natives for tolerating us—to the land itself for supporting our activity, and to the sky and water for sustaining us. Gratitude to George Wheelwright for helping us to get Green Gulch and for loving it enough to want us to have it, And to Yvonne Rand and Richard Baker and Huey Johnson and other Zen Center students, teach- ers and friends who were instrumental in securing Green Gulch for us. 42

Excerpt from a lecture by Norman

 

 

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