Excerpts from a September 2025 email exchange between Taizan John Liles (JL) and David Chadwick (DC).

JL: I ran across something that I thought might interest you, since you maintain Suzuki-Roshi's history on your website. The following is an excerpt from a book called The Kyosaku by Matsuoka-Roshi, my teacher's teacher. This is from a dharma talk entitled "The Monastic Life" given at the Chicago Buddhist Temple in September of 1963.

Yesterday, I received a letter from Rev. Suzuki in the Zen Temple in San Francisco to tell me of the farewell party the Japanese and American members of his temple gave for Miss Alexa Roy as she was about to depart for the orphanage in Japan. Rev. Suzuki told me that his congregation was so impressed with Miss Roy’s sincerity and her farewell words, that several persons were moved to tears. I had just received a letter from Miss Roy herself, which told me of her impressions of the Temple in San Francisco, and she wondered why the members of this Temple did not follow their example. Miss Roy was very impressed with the strict discipline with which the people there conducted themselves. Her letter motivated me to urge each of you to take this discipline upon yourselves and try hard to make it a vital part of your lives.

JL: I was intrigued by this anecdote for several reasons.  First, it was interesting to know that Matsuoka-Roshi and Suzuki-Roshi knew each other well enough to have correspondence of this sort.  It also made me wonder about Alexa Roy, the person being discussed.  Clearly she was a student of Suzuki-Roshi, but she also had direct knowledge of Matsuoka-Roshi's Zen temple as well.  I can't find anything on the internet about Alexa Roy in connection with Zen practice in the 1960s, and there's no mention of her on cuke.com.  Is she someone you've heard of?

DC: I appreciate you calling this to my attention. I'm Ccing it so Peter Ford can see that it gets posted with Suzuki's letters and on Matsuoka's page. This is the first I've heard of such a connection that I recall. Don't recall Alexa Roy's name but I think she may have been a Matsuoka student who visited Zen Center. You don't have a date do you?

JL: The date [of the dharma talk] cited in the book is Sept. 8, 1963, which was a Sunday, so that fits with the usual Sunday service they would have had.

JL: This mystery person Alexa Roy is definitely intriguing. I get a sense of her being somewhat more than just a visitor to the San Francisco temple, since they considered her important enough to hold a farewell party there. But clearly Suzuki knew that Matsuoka was familiar with her, and vice versa. I wonder if the orphanage in Japan had a connection to any Zen institution at the time? Do you think Baker-Roshi would have known of her, or was this before he started Zen practice?

DC: I'll see Baker tomorrow. He's leaving the next day but if there's no opportunity to ask him I'll send an email.

DC: Suzuki was associated with pre-schools that he founded. Matsuoka maybe associated with an orphanage. It was normal for priests having those sorts of ties, especially after the war when they were trying to get Japan going again. I think most likely she was a student of Matsuoka who went to Sokoji to practice for a while before going to Japan. Having a get-together for her before she left to say goodbye would be the sort of thing they did. That sort of intimate experience among students and teacher was lost as Zen Center got bigger with the founding of Tassajara.

JL: Your explanation makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the background. Please tell Baker-Roshi that I wish him the best.

JL: PS – I have found additional references to Alexa Roy in Matsuoka's book. As David correctly surmised, her Zen training began at the Chicago temple with Matsuoka; her time in San Francisco was apparently an interlude before she went to Japan. The orphanage she went to was (or is) managed by the Soto sect. It's called Lumbini-en, located in Toyama. Before going there, she apparently spent some time at the Soji-ji Monastery. Of course this has nothing to do with Suzuki-Roshi, but if it interests you, I can provide more detail.