4,

..,_

PURLICATl0"4 Of· Zf 'Cl.N f ER VO LU~IE XI. 1972

 Ocean Wind Zendo

Gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate! Bodhi! Svaha!

Go,ne, gone, gone beyond, beyond beyond! Bodhi! Svaha!

'

3
Our teacher is gone. Nothing can express our feeling for Suzuki-roshi except the
complete continuation of his teaching. We continue his existence. in the light of
his mind and spirit as our own and Buddha's mind and spirit. He made clear that
the Other Shore is here. This time includes past, present and future, our existence,
his existence, Buddha's time. It was and is true for Suzuki-roshi. We are him and
he is us. He expressed this in teaching us by going away.

Gone, gone co the Other Shore! Beyond the Other Shore! Bodhil Svaha!
Cyate gyate hara gyate liara so gyate! Boji! Sowaka!

4
JN A LEITER that went out to some of you from Yvonne Rand, President of
Zen Center, she wrote: "Suzuki-roshi died early in the morning, Saturday,
December 4, 1971 just after the sounding of the opening bell of the five-day
sesshin commemorating Buddha's Enlightenment. He left us very gently and
calmly. And he left Zen Center very carefully, teaching us in everything he did.
There is almost no sense of his being gone, for he continues to live clearly in
the practice and community that were his life work. His last appearance in public
was on November 21 at the ceremony to install Richard Baker-roshi as his
successor, according to his long-standing plan. He left specific directions for rhe
ways he wanted the commun.i ty to develop, and his wishes are being carried out."
Mrs. Suzuki, Otohiro his son, and Baker-roshi were with Suzuki-roshi when
he died. Shortly after, the older disciples came up from the Zendo and moved
him to the room where he usually met with students for dokusan (personal
interview) or tea. The disciples offered incense and chanted the Heart Sutra in
Japanese and English. Then all of the one hundred and fifteen students attending
rhe sesshin came up and one at a time offered incense. They were joined by
many of the older students from all over the Bay Area. The incense offering lasted
until he was taken to the funeral home late in the afternoon. The funeral was to
be done according to Japanese custom here in America. We waited a week for the
arrival from Japan of Hoichi, his son and Abbot of Suwki-roshi's former temple,
Rinso-in, and for Niwa·roshi, his Dharma-brother and Abbot of Eiheiji in Tokyo.
During this week two students at a time sat with him and did zazen and helped
the many people who came to sit or offer incense.

THE FUNERAL CEREMONY was calm and very beautiful, on Sunday, December
12 at 2 p.m. It was led by Niwa-roshi, Katagiri-roshi, and Moriyama-sensei, the
successor ·o f Suzuki-roshi as Head Priest of Sokoji Temple. About five hundred
people attended, including Buddhist priests of many schools and countries. Hoichi-
sensei and Baker-roshi, as Suzuki-roshi's direct disciples, bowed and offered
incense for all the disciples. The ceremony ended with a statement by Baker-roshi
of all our feeling:
"There is no easy way to be a teacher or a disciple, although it must be the
greatest joy in this life. There is no easy way to come to a land without Buddhism
and leave it having brought many disciples, priests and laymen well along the
path, and having changed the lives of thousands of persons throughout rhis
country; no easy way to have begun and nurtured a Sangha and community rhat
include a mountain monastery, a large city practice center, and other practice
centers in California and elsewhere.
"He brought us Buddha, himself, and an understanding of Buddha which included
us. There was room for everyone. He knew himself that well. He brought us
Dharma, such a thorough understanding a!ld living of the teaching that grasses,
trees, flowers, tables did actually teach us. He brought us Sangha, the traditional
ancient Buddhist community, giving us a full sense of how to live through
Buddhist tradition, to learn from his own Japanese culture, and to include our
own culture through which Buddhism must find its expression.
I

"But this 'no-easy-way', this extraordinary accomplishment, rested easily with

him, for he gave us, from his own true nature, our true nature. In Hazel Paget's
funeral ceremony and Trudy Dixon's funeral ceremony he spoke of three minds:

5
Niwa·roshi and, behind l1im1 Katagirl·rosl1i

Joyful Mind, the joy of Buddha's mind in all conditions; Compassionate Mind,
which includes all of us without any idea of self; and Big Mind, as big as a moun-
tain, deep as an ocean, without discrimination, penetrating fully and exactly,
one with everything simultaneously.
"Through the intimate and unconditioned relationship of teacher and disciple,
he left us intimate with Buddha and ourselves. He left as much as any man can
leave, everything essential: the mind and heart of Buddha, the practice of Buddha,
the teaching and life of Buddha. He is here, here in each one of us, if we want
him, and in the life here, which was his life w ork to allow us to continue.
"Let us do everything possible to allow his passage, in many forms, to be com-
plete, treating each other as Buddha. Let us each be r~orn now. Let us realize
our own true nature.

"At the beginning of Buddha's Enlightenment sesshin, just after the bell opening
the first period of zazen, our great teacher, Suzuki Shunryu-daiosho, joined
Buddha. He passed with decision and gentleness. A few days before he died, when
it was difficult for him to speak, l asked him, 'Where will we meet you?' A small
hand came out from underneath the covers, made a small bow, and drew a
circle in the a.ir."

6
L. Mrs. Suzuki
R. Mike Dixo•~ Hoichi·san, Baker-rosh~ Otohiro-san, Silas Hoadwy

THREE YEARS AGO when Peter Schneider was President of Zen Center and
Editor of the Wind Bell he spent time with Suzuki-roshi gathering material for a
Wind Bell about his life and practice in Japan as a boy and a man before coming
co America. Roshi asked that it not be published while he was alive. The follow-
ing is a brief part of the story gathered by Peter.
Shunryu Suzuld-roshi was born in 1904 in Tsuchisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture.
His father Sogaku Suzuki was a Sot0 Zen priest and Roshi. Instead of following
the custom of becoming the direct disciple of his father, Shunryu left home and
school when he was 13 to become the youngest disciple of his father's disciple,
Gyakuju So-on-roshi of Zoun-in, who was one o( the leading teachers of the Soto
School at that tinie. Within a few years the four o·ther disciples of that period
had run away to avoid the strenuous practice, but Shunryu remained at Zoun-in
until he was 19. At that point So-on-roshi sent his disciple to the high school
attached to Komazawa University, and Shunr yu continued on into his undergrad-
uate studies. In his junior year he moved into the house of Mrs. Ransom, his
English teacher, as her helper. She was British and. had been the tutor of the last
Manchu Emperor, and was then tutoring the Japanese Crown Prince, as well
as teaching at Komaz.awa. At first Mrs. Ransom teased Shunryu about his super-
stitious religion, but eventually she became his first convert. After Shunryu
completed his senior year and thesis (on bowing) at Komazawa, he went on to
become a monk at Eiheiji. Mrs. Ransom visited him there for six weeks as a student.
After one year at Eiheiji, Shunryu entered Sojiji and remained there another six
months. (Eiheiji and Sojiji are the two head training monasteries of the Soto Zen
School.) Previous to this So-on-roshi had moved to a much larger head temple,
Rinso-in in Yaiz.u, and his disciple was made the priest of Zoun-in. However, upon
leaving Sojiji, Shunryu asked Gyakuju So-on's permission to let him teach the
Dharma in some foreign land, maybe Nort h America, but So-on-roshi refused,
saying that Shunryu must stay at Zoun-in and also must help rebuild Rinso-in.

7
 When Suzuki-rosh.i was 31, Gyakuju
So-on-roshi died, a.nd Suzuki-roshi
succeeded him as head of Riuso-in,
desl?ite a crucial dispute among t he
!airy and local priests as to whether
someone so young should become
head of this major temple, responsi-
ble for 200 other temples. A year
later Suzuki-rosh.i married and again
prompted discussion among the
congregation when he and his wife
made their home in the temple.
contrary to usual tnditio n. Within
this period he also became the
lifetime student of Kishiz:awa-roshi
~-,,,_'I:
'""... who was then the foremost scholar
Bell tow1r at Rinso-lu on Oogen.-zenji, the founder of
Soto Zen.
Militarism was rising during this time and Suzuki·rosh.i formed a large local group
of lay Buddhists to discuss the limited understanding behind such ways of think·
ing. The national government asked him to make a lecture tour, and he accepted,
1hen resigned the next day. Even after the militarists came i11to absolute power,
Suzuki-roshi continued to speak, and apparently published his lectures, for when
the United States occupational government following t he war revoked the teach-
ing certificates of all Zen Buddhist pries rs because of t heir support for the war,
Suzuki-roshi appealed, using his publicuions as proof. Consequently his license
to teach high school English, which he had received upon graduating but had
never used, was returned to him by the government.
In 1951 his first wife died, leaving four children, and Suzuki-roshi remained
unmarried for seven years, his wife's mother helping him with the children. Dur-
ing that period he continued the work on Rinso-in which had been interrupted
by the war. In the ~onstrucrion he insisted, to his congregation's amazement,
that the workmen use the original, 300-year-old style of carpentry. By 1957 the
restoration of Rinso-in was completed. After the war Suzuki-roshi hlld re-founded
two local '.kindergarterts, and in 1958 he and the principal, Mitsu Matsuno, were
married. She had already helped Suzuki·roshi for a long time and knew his children
and their grandmother well. In the same year he unexpectedly accep1ed a three-
year position as the resident priest ofSokoji Temple in San Francisco. He arrived
in May of 1959 and two and a half years later his wife and the youngest child of
his first marriage. Otohiro, were sent to San Francisco supposedly to bring him
back. They stayed, however, and Suzulci-roshi asked for another three-years'
leave of absence. In 1968 his eldest son, Hoichi, acquiesced to t he congregation
and became the priest of RinsO·in.

In San Francisco at first Suzuki-roshi did zazen by himself. If anyone asked him
about Zen he said he sat every morning at half past five. A group formed around
'
this pracrice, and in 1962 they incorporated themselves as Zen Center and began
publishing a mimeographed newsleuer which Suzuki-roshi named the II/ind Bell.
As Zen Center continued to grow, Suzu ki-roshi began looking at po$sible sites

8
 LEA VlNG FOR AMERICA, TOKYO AIRPORT, 1959

Hoichi-satt with his father.

~I

9
for a country meditation center, and Richard Baker, then the President of Zen
Center, took him to see Tassaja.ra Hot Springs, a 100-year-old resort deep in the
California coastal mountains south of Monterey. Students and friends were asked
to help, and the subsequent monastery was dedicated in 1967 as Zenshinji/Zen
Mountain Center. Meanwhile other Zendos, led by older students from Zen Center,
were being founded in the suburbs of San Francisco. By 1969 Zen Center had
grown too large to continue sharingSokoji with the patient Japanese laity, and
moved with Suzuki-roshi into a 50-room, former residence club at 300 Page Street
in San Francisco, where he and his students could practice more closely together.
Jn the winter of 1969/ 70 Suzuki-roshi's health was weakened by influenza. It
remained poor, but he was still able to visit Japan late in the year. There he •
formally recognized as his Dharma heir, Richard Baker, who was then in Japan
studying Buddhism and Japanese culture. In the autumn of 1971, when Suzuki-
roshi became much weaker, Richard Baker returned to San Francisco and •
Suzuki-roshi installed him as the second Abbot of Zen Center.
Jn the early morning of December 4th, about 3 a.m., Suzuki-roshi asked to be
given a bath. He didn't speak afterwards and during the first period of zazen of
the Rohatsu Sesshin, the traditional week of intensive meditation which com-
memorates Buddha's Enlightenmen:, he died in the presence of Mirsu and
Otohiro Suzuki, and Baker-roshi.

THE MOUNTAIN SEAT CEREMONY Richard Baker, now Baker-roshi or

Zentatsu-roshi, and Shunryu Suzuki-roshi spent six weeks together during the
Fall of 1970 at Rinso-in, Suzuki-ro!hi's former temple in Japan. Baker-toshi
received formal Dharma transmission in a main ceremony in the middle of t he
night on December 4, 1970 and in a completing ceremony on December 8,
1970. A year later, on November 21 , 1971, at the Mahabodhisattva Zendo in
San Francisco, in the traditional Mountain Seat Ceremony, Suzuki-roshi
installed Richard Baker as his successor and Chief Priest of Zen Center and
afterwards acknowledged him as Roshi. The following impression of the
ceremony is from a paper written by Denis Lahey, a student of the Berkeley
Zendo, for Professor Robert Bellah's sociology class at the University of
California, Berkeley. After the paper is an ourline of the traditional ceremony
including the poems and statements Baker-roshi made for each of the
s1a1ions of the ceremony.

"I arrived at the Zen Center on Page Street well before the time of 1he ceremony,
but found that there was already a sizeable crowd. Every bit of space in the
upstairs hall~ was filled with chairs. I was seated upstairs for a while, and could
see that they had built a large raised platform at the end of the Buddha Hall
to serve as the Mountain Seat. Incense and candles were much in evidence. Cer-

10
 tain dignitaries began tO arrive: Lama Kung;a, Tulku ofThartse, from the .Evam
Chod.e n Centei- in Berkeley; Abbot Hsuan Hua and his retinue from the Gold
Mountain Temple in San Francisco, and other figures of the spiritual life in the
Bay Arca. Suaki-roshi from Los Angeles and Mt. Baldy Monastery was there
with two disciples. Soon rhe word was p•sscd around rha.t the meditation
students should go downstairs to the Zendo (Meditation !Hall). and wait there
for the fourth station of the ceremony, when Richard Baker would enter the
Zendo to offer incense and a gatha (Buddhist poem). \Ve all did so, and soon the
Zendo was full and people were lined up out in the hall in front of the door.
For a few momenu we watched people arriving for the ceremony entering by
the lower street door, and then all became silent. Suddenly, far off upstairs
sounded a deep bus note on a huge drum, followed by a bell which began to
toll in rhe lower hall. The drumbeats continued, quite slowly at first, but follow·
ing one another in an ever more rapid succession, until the drummer was beating
out a long, thundering roll which reverberated all through the building, punc·
tuated by the slow, rather doleful strokes of the bell.
"Upstairs, the procession was arriving at the front door of the building, having
come from Oainin Katagiri-roshi's house up the street. \Ve could hear faintly the
procession entering the Buddha Hall for the preliminary offerings. Every few
moments came the jangling thud of the Master's staH on the ground. The staff is
six feet long and of heavy wood, and the top end is hung with brass rings which
rattle loudly when the sraff is chumped on the ground. Pr esently, the procession
left the Hall and drew near to the stairs to the lower levels. Through the noise
of drum and bell, we could hear the eerie sound of the two small bells carried by
the processioncrs. 'l'hese are just a hnlf-tol\e apart in pitch, and their effect,
coupled with the steady drumbeats and t he low, mellow gong in the hallway,
was to make the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, as the procession
descended the stairs and approached the Zendo. I believe the rest of the proces-
sion remained out of sight around a turn in the corridor, for finally, only

Kobwn Chi110 ond RichMd Bal«''

11
Richard Baker ltimself appeared, walking slowly down the narrow hall in the
semi-darkness, holding the Oy-whisk of horsehair, and wearing a robe given to
him by Suzuk:i-roshi of sky-blue and gold doth, decor2ted with brightly colored
phoenixes. All heads bowed as he passed and entered the Zendo. where he
made an offering at the altar. He returned a moment later, and, looking neither
right nor left, he walked steadily back to join the rest of the processioners.
We heard them going back upstairs, the solid bangings of the staff and the strange
notes of the bells receding in the distance, until only the gong and the drum
broke the stillness of the dimly-lit hallway.
"Then we were summoned upstairs to the Buddha Hall. We filed in through the
Zendo and out through iu rear door, then up the stairs and into the main corridor.
Walking slowly, we entered the Hall, passing the great drum, and filled up the
wide expanse of tatami mats left in front of the Mountain Seat Altar. Visitors were
seated in chairs all around the perimeter of the mats, while we sat on our heels,
Japanese style. Meanwhile, the procession had gone upstairs to the next floor, to
the room of the Master, Suzuki Shunryu-daiosho, the founder of Zen Center,
whom Rkhard Baker was succeeding. Everyone who knew this man loved him,
and l myself, though I had only mer him once, regarded him with the deepest
respecL I knew that he was quite ill at that rime, but when he, at the head of the
procession, entered the Hall, l was shocked to see him as frail and shrunken as
the man who appeared, a ghost of the p~rson whose immense vigor and spiritual
strength had guided the Center through the first uncertain yea.rs of its existence.
He entered, practically being carried by his son, but holding his staff firm ly,
and th um ping it on the matting as he approached the Mountain Seat. He bowed
at the altar, and was helped to a place to the right of the platform. Richard
Baker entered then with the retinue, and seated himself in a lacquered chair
facing the Mountain Seat Altar. The great drum fell silent. We chanted in unison
the Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra in English, and then, having offe.r cd prayers
and incense in front of the Altar, Bakcr·roshi ascended the steps of the platform
and stood, several feet above the onlookers, offering incense to the Buddhas
and Bodhisattvas and rhe Patriarchs, to the benefactors of the Center, and, finally,
ro his own beloved teacher, Suzuki·roshi. He said:

'This piece of incense

Which I have had for a long long time
I offer with no-hand
To my Master, to my friend, Suzuki Shunryu-daiosho
The founder of these temples.
There is no measure of what you have done.

Walking with you in Buddha's gentle rain

Our robes are soaked through,
But on the lotus leaves
Not a d.rop remains.'

"Then Katagiri-roshi, acting for Suzuki-roshi, recited the brief authenri~tion

verse with a full-bodied shout, in true Zen fashion. For his sermon , Bakcr-roshi
stated simply, 'There is nothing to be said.'

12
"This was perfectly true. Then followed the so-called Dhanna-questions, when
the other prieso seek to test the new Abbot's understanding. The following
marvelous dialogue ensued between Baker-roshi and the priest from the Mill
Valley Zendo:
(Bill Kwo ng) 'Chief Priest!' (shouting)
(Baker-roshi) ' ls it host or guest?'
(Bill Kwong) ' liiic!' (shouting)
(Baker-roshi) 'Show me your True Nacure without shouting!'
Bill then simply bowed, and returned to his scot.
"Following congratulatory telegrams and such, the ceremony was concluded.
Suzulci-roshi was helped to his feet and moved to the front of the altu to make
his bow. But when he turned to face the people, there was on bis face an ei<pres-
sio n at once fierce and sad. His breath puffed mightily in his nostri~, and he
looked as if he strove vigorously to speak, to say something, perhaps to ex hort
the disciples to be stro ng in their pract ice, or to follow Richard Baker with faith;
no one can say. He faced the congregation directly as if to speak and instead
rolled his staff between his hands soundinR the rings twice, once looking to the
left and once to the right side of the hall. It was as though some physical shock
had passed through the hall; there was a collective intake of brcat.h, and suddenly,
everywhere people were weeping openly. All those who had been close to the
Roshi now reali~ed fully what it would mean to lose him, and were overcome
with a thoroughly human sorrow. As their Master falteringly walked from the

Reb A nde-rson,
BaJ,.r-rosh~
A "Ii~ R.wnyo11

13
Hall, still marking each step with his staff, everyone put his hands palm to palm
before his face in the gesture known as gassho, and bowed deeply. And that
was aJl Very simple and direct, the ceremony had lasted little more than an hour.
"On December 4 in the early morning, a scant two weeks afte.r the Mountain Scat
Ceremony, Suzuki Shunryu·daiosho passed from this life. His work was finished.
ln the already-quoted words of his disciple and successor, Zentatsu Myoyu
Richard Baker,
"There is nothing to be said.' "

MOUNTAIN SEAT CEREMONY (Shin San Shiki)

I. Beginning Rest (Angesho) at Katagiri Dainin-roshi's House
II . Front Gate (Sanmon)
Through all the worlds
The cloud-path leads to this gate.
The golden chain is gone.
Although no one passes
Everyone greets Buddha himself.
Offering of incense.
Ill. Buddha Hall (Butsuden) at Usual Altar
This incense is offered for the Buddha of no-marks
For the Buddha who is all things

14
 For ShakyMiuni Buddha
For all the Buddhas who do not know they are Buddha
For the Protectors of Buddhism
For the Patriarchs who with unceasing effort
Crossed the ocean-of-one-point
Bringing us this immense Dharma.
For this fruit of many kalpas
All the world pays homage.
Offering of incense three times followed by nine bows-

IV. Meditation Hall (Zendo)

Silent Gu~•
Offering of incense for the teaching which shows us a Way.
Three bows and passage through the Zendo.

V. The Roshi's Room

Although I don' t know how I came,
Through your heart-teaching
I am always here.
Offuing of incense for the Way which gives us teachers.
Three bows.

VI. Buddha Hall at the Mountain Scat Altar

A. Suzuki-roshi enters.
B. The presentation of the robe.
C. Chanti~ of the Heart Sutra.
D. Declaration of Official Appointment
by Silas Hoadley, President-Treasurer of Zen Center
E. Gatha facing Mountain Altar
This Mountain Seat, climbed many times before,
Is the Everywhere Bodhimandala.
With the help of my Master and everyone here
In the ten directions and the three times
I will climb this mind-seal altar.
Do not wonder about it at all.
F. Climbing the Mountain Altar
As the new Chief Priest of Zen Center, Maha bodhisattva Zendo and
Tassajara Zenshinji, 1 offer this incense from the very no-beginning
to the immense compassion and wisdom of Buddha's teaching; to
the Mahayana Vairocana Buddha; to Manjusri, Avalokitesvua, and
all the Bodhisattvas; to the great historical Shakyamuni Buddha; to
all the Patriarchs through Dogen Zenji to my own subtle and com·
passionate te.acher, Suzuki Shunryu-daiosho. May their immeasurable
Sodhi-practice benefit and inspire in peace and harmony all beings
in every world, life after life.

15
 I offer this incense penetrating ever ywh ere for all beings in the six
worlds, for Trudy Dixon, for Mr. Chester Carlson, for all who have
given in every way to make this ungha real. May their passage be
free from bindrance.
I want to offer a special incense for my teacher, the Tozan Scido
Roshi of Zen Center, Mahabodhisa.1tva Zendo , and Tassajar a
Zenshinji, Katagiri Dainin-roshi. Every day he shows us Dogen's Way.
This piece of incense
Which I have had for a long long time
I offer with no-hand •
To my Maste.r, to my friend. Suzuki Shunryu-<laiosho
The founder of these temples.
There is no measure of what you have done. •
Walking with you in Buddha's gent le rai n
Our robes are soaked through,
But on the lotus leaves
Not a drop remains.
G. Attendant Uisha) offers incense
H. Authentication (Byakutsui·shi)
1. !Utagir;.roshi
Hoen R yu<toshu Tokan Dai !chi Gil
Dragons and Elephants!
Accept chis holder of Buddha's First Sea t!
2. Zentatsu M yoyu Richard B:tker
a. Statement (Suigo)
b. Dharma Questions (Mondo)
c. Backbone (Teiko)
3. Katagiri-roshi
T:tikan Hooho Hooho Nyo<te!
Complete Comprehension! Dharma King! Buddha's Teaching!
Just t his!
I. Greetings and Telegrams, Peter Schneider, Zen Center Officer;
Representing the Visiting Priests, Chino Kobun-sensci, Head Priest of
the Los Altos Zendo
J. Return to rest at Suzuki-roshi's room.

16
 TasJOjara
1961

CONTINUATION AND TRANSITION

This has been an eictraordinary lime of conti nuation and transition. We have
wanted to bring out a Wind Bell ro communicate this with you, but there has
been no time to stop and expla in what is happening. Buddhist practice wns
Suwki-roshi's way of life, and Zen Center as a Sangha and community was an
expression of his practice nnd of our way of practicing with him. Zen Center
was held together by his great personality, by his egolessness (there was almost
no one there except us), by his ca lmness and complete o rdinariness, by his
endless patience andl perfect wisdom, by his skillful means, by his unwavering
example, by his constant openness and acceptance of each moment and every
life and death situation, by his fearlessness. by his unstoppable compassion,
by his deep feeling and sharing with us, by his Heart which showed us the W.iy,
by his Mind which included us, and by Enlightenment. Z en Center was held
together almost by magic. And we were held together by him. But his teaching
was to send us away, to not let us rest anywhere, to realize rhat Zen Center,
even this world , is only a temporary place where we practice. There is no way co
express how we feel to have him gone, but to go is the way of Buddha's teaching.
Still it is not easy, he was such a warm friendly man, who gave up his country and
his culture to live with us. He knew how to please us, how co be o ne with us, how
to bring out our deepest feelings, how to make us alive seemingly for the first
time, how to bring us out of ourselves, how to be rough with us and sure and de-
manding in ways tha t we knew only within ourselves, and how to know and
face and be one with the true power and beauty of this world-self.
The fonn of Zen Center was Su:tuki-roshi's presence. And although he gave us
a form and practice over the l:m thirteen years that is wedded to our own life,
much that he suggested or that was implied in the development of Zen Center.
did not need to be expressed while he was here, while his presence contained us..
Now we fmd that necessity is articulating some of the suggestions he rnade.
The first have been those he made in the last months of his life. These have been
major steps toward the completion o( the form of the Zen Center cornmunity.

17
Zen Center is a place for the intensive practice of Zen and the unfolding of our
fullest individual and social possibilities. [tis a cornrnunity, not based on living
together but on practicing together. As a cornrnunity it thoroughly merges with
the larger community, yet it still exists as a separate group of people trying to
practice Zen and trying to find the ideal and real possibilities of practice. The
community gives individuals a chance to find a daily continuity and life which
allows them to return again and again to practice. Suzuki-roshi's illness and going
away has necessarily brought our daily life and our practice closer together,
fusing community and practice into an expression of each other. He knew it was
happening and was relieved to see us growing in that way.

GREEN GULCH, THE ZEN FARM CENTER Not everything that has happened
over the last nine months can be mentioned, but there are several significant ones-
the Zen Farm, the Work Company and the City Practice Period.
In March we began the purchase of a farm at probably less than a fifth of the
actual value by exercising an option three weeks before it expired. It put us under
some pressure to act quickly but the incomparable location and the exact
appropriateness for Suzuki-roshi's intention and Zen Center's needs, led the
Board, following general meetings with the students, to decide to try to purchase
and start work on the farm. We will grow vegetables, fruit, berries, and nuts in
as ecolog:ically sound a way as possible, and in a way that allows others outside
Zen Center to learn from and study our successes and failures. The farm is just
over the Golden Gate Bridge where Highway One cuts to the sea. It is 17 miles
and a 30-minute drive from the doorstep of the City Zen Center, and may be the
closest farm land to San Francisco. The farm is the 70 acres of bottom land of
a mountain valley in the foothills of Mount Tamalpais. Greenly stretching down
to Muir Beach and the Pacific Ocean, it has a deep, quiet feeling.

18
There is a fairly large house, built on an old hay platform, that has Civc bedrooms;
a big kitchen and a small kitchen; a library or office; and two large sitting rooms
with fl.replaces, one opening onto a deck above the garden and one opening onto
the garden. Next to the big house there is an enclosed swimming pool and sauna.
There is also a small bunkhouse; a double trailer with three bedrooms; and a
ranch house with four bedrooms, a large studio, and a large sitting room. Probably
the best for us is the oldest building, a huge barn with rwo ground level floors,
the upper one the perfect size and proportions for a traditional Zendo.

TheZm Farm Center i11 tl1e Green Git/ch Valley

There arc also tool sheds, garages, and a number of outbuildings used for the
cattle and prize bulls that used to be raised on the ranch. We arc now using all
the space with about 25 persons living at Green Gulch. And work parties go out
regularly from the city ro help. The barn is now being transformed into a tem-
porary Zendo for about 30 persons until we can do the repairing and remodeling
necessary for the frnisbcd Zendo. \Ve expect the Zendo will be used by the
neighboring communiciesofMill Valley, Sausalito, Stinson Buch, and Bolinas,
as well as by the students at Green Gulch.
The farm and the valley itself arc very beautiful, but we have been even more
fortunate because the great gardener and farmer, Alan Chadwick, has been willing
to spend several months getting it starred, directing the overall development and
growth of the farm and gardens, and teaching the students how to work in a
productive way without chemicals and large machinery. Alan Chadwick was Head
of the well-known Student Garden Project and Lecturer in Environmental
Studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz, and is the Garden Consult-
ant to the city of Saratoga, California. Already things are growing and sprouting
everywhere at Green Gulch, and the long-range planting plans have begun also.
We have been picking daily since August. In February 145 hens will start laying.

19
Carden at Zen Fann Center

The Barn Zenda,

Farm House and
roof of Main House

Manj14sri (Lion
Wisdom BodhiS1Jttva)
in Barn Zetrdo

20
The previous owner, George W. Wheelwright Ill, is helping us in many ways,
most of all by the twenty years of care he put into the valley, studying and de-
veloping it, irrigating it, creMing drinking water systems, improving the soil,
planting wind breaks, building and improving the structures, planting gardens
and drought resistant grass, building reservoirs and dams above ground and
underground, and thus turning a relatively dry brown valley green, usable, and
beautiful.
We bought the farm in conjunction with and through the help of The Nature
Conservancy, one of the most active and creative conservation groups in the
United States. Under the leadership of Huey Johnson, the Western Regional
Director, The Nature Conservancy has been very successful in acquiring and pro-
tecting important pieces of land all over the United States and now they arc
exploring various ways of continu ing the preservat ion of individual parcels. Ze n
Center is working with T he Nature Conservancy and George Wheelwright to
find the best way to take care of Green Gulch in perpetuity.

li1J ~ T HE WOR K COMPANY Zen Center is almost entirely support-

~ ed by the contributions of work and money of the srudenu who
- practice regularly at Zen Center. For srudcnts who live in the
building this monthly amount comes co $105 for room, board, and teaching costs.
Those planning to go to Tassajara must also earn enough to save toward this goal
But finding jobs puts students into t he traditiona l bind of what is right livelihood,
righ t surviva l- and also into confrontation with their own lack of skills and the
desire to do careful craftsman-like work in a job market that asks mostly for
make-do efficiency. Out of this situation we began the Work Company - to work
within our economic system and to rry alternatives to the usual ways of collecting
and dispersing money, and of course co find the conditions for work that allow
it to be a natural flow of the desire to make and do with others.
Point Foundation gave Zen Ccnier $5,500 to get the Work Company started, and
with the money two trucks were purchased and outfitted, some carpentry tools
and painting equipment bought, and a secretary hired. The Work Company docs
interior and exterior carpeniry and painting. Financially it has been paying the
foundation grant back co itself as a reserve, paying relatively low wages according
to individual needs to the fifteen or so persons com prising its two main crews,
and on rhe whole about bteaking even. Some of the Work Company students are
quite skillful and others arc apprentices. Since its inception the Work Company
has come to include housekeeping and may include gardening, toy manufacturing,
cabinet making, etc.
None of these work activities will ever be very large and if t here are profits above
wages and necessary expenditures they will be given to a foundation managed by
people completely unrelated to Zen Center. We are not trying to establish a large
work force or economic base for Zen Center, though the students individually
do contribute to Zen Center through being able to pay their room and board and
teaching expenses and go to Tassajara more easily, etc. The Work Company is
one way of trying on a small scale to find out how to combine work and practice
and develop a craft tradition. Zen is our ordinary life activity and our work is
an expression of our being on each moment.

21
THE CITY PRACTICE PERIOD In April we began the first City Practice
Period. It was led by Baker-roshi. At the same time the Practice Period at Zen
Mountain Center was being led by Katagiri-roshi. The City Practice Period was
quite different from the regular Tassajara one. There was no Shuso (head monk)
and no Shosan Ceremony (public mondo with the Roshi) and not everyone in
the city participated directly. The purpose of the City Practice Period was to
provide an opportunity for more intensive practice in the city, to help prepare
students for Tassajara, and to give newer students an opportunity for more con-
tact with the Roshi. The Practice Period began and ended with a week sesshin.
Students had assigned seats in the center of the Zendo and were expected to sit
four zazen periods a day . The students had dokusan once a week, morning tea
( chosan) with the Roshi twice a week, and a study-project that each worked on
such as comparing the Patimokka and St. Benedict's Rules; Hassidism, Gnosticism
and Buddhism; the sounds and forms of ceremonies; Buddhist iconography.
Claude Dalenberg gave a series of lectures on the Paramitas, and Jack Weller gave
a series on anatman (non-self). Three students in the City Practice Period, Chuck
Hoy, Katherine Thanas and Jerome Peterson, helped lead it .

••

Lay Ordination, August 197 J

NEWS

KATAGIRJ-ROSHI Katagiri-roshi has been our teacher since 1964. With

Suzuki-roshi he has been deeply responsible for the development of the Buddhist
life and teaching at Zen Center. In recent years as Suzuki-roshi became older

22
and especially after his bout with Asian flu three years ago, weaker, Katagiri-roshi
has helped immeasurably by bearing the teaching responsibility in San Francisco
and Tassajara.
During the years since he came from Japan he occasionally expressed an interest
in starting his own group, and although Suzuki-roshi thought this was an important
step for Katagiti-roshi, Suzuki-roshi always joined the students in encouraging
Katagiri-roshi to stay with Zen Center longer. Then a year and a half ago Katagiri-
roshi's by then firm decision was put off again because of Suzuki-roshi's illness.
Finally Katagirj-roshi agreed to stay half of this year with Zen Center and also to
help the Zen group in the Carmel.Monterey area. He moved to Monterey with
his family and opened a Zendo in his
house, but he also led the Winter 1972
Practice Period at Tassajara, and in the
Fall c·a me to the City Zen Center to
lead the City Practice Peri.o d as well as
give lectures and dokusan for all the
students.
In late December Katagiri-roshi
moved to Minneapolis to open a
Zendo there. Many old Zen Center
students and students of Katagiri-roshi
live in that area and have prepared for
rus arrival. It is a good city to start a
Zen group in. There has been no teacher
there, but many people have been prac·
ticing together in small Zendos and
living rooms. For some unexplafoed
reason more Zen Center students seem
to have come &om Minnesota and the
Mfo.neapolis area than any other place
in the United States except perhaps
the New York City area and California. Katagi-ri-rosh1' at J\lountain Seat Ceremony

Zen Center will help Katagiri-roshi and his students in Minneapolis to establish
the new Zendo in every way we can. But we will miss him at Zen Center. We
hope he will be able to come back on a regula.r basis to lead practice periods and
be with us.

SUZUKI-ROSH!'S WIFE We are very grateful that Mrs. Suzuki has decided to
stay at Zen Center, continuing to live in the apartment she and Suzuki-roshi had
in 300 Page Street. She is a great help to all the students. This was especially true
during Suzuki-roshi's illness when she nursed and cared for him and also helped
the many students who had difficulty facing the seriousness of his illness.
By living with us she has given us an understanding of a woman's Japan, and has

23
 taught 11$ many aspecu of Japanese
culture. She has regular classes in Tea
Ceremony. and sometimes has given
lessons in cooking. making pickles,
sew ing, flower arranging, and even
c>ccnsionaJly a demon stration of Japan·
ese dancing. She is an advisor to and
close friend of many students, both
men and women. For everyone she is
a real continuation of Su1uki.roshi's
presence and life-style, with the refine·
ment, softness, and strength of his
b.ackground in Buddhist and Japanese
culture.

Afrs.. SttZuki and tea student

HOICH1-SAN Hoichi Suzuki-sensei, Suiuki-roshi's elder son and the son of his
first wif~ is the Head Priest of Rinso-in, Su2uki-roshi's Master's temple and
Suzuki-roshi's own temple before coming to America. Hoichi-san has visited
America twke, once during Roshi's illness and once for t he funeral. It was very
reassuring to have him with us at Zen Center. He is young, 33, with a look in
his eye of good humor and a sense that situations always have a kind of joke in
them. It made us think of
what his father was perhaps
like at the same age. He
gave two lectures, one at
Tassajan and one at San
Francisco, and t hey were
much like his father's
lectures in the way he
talked directly to the stu-
dents and their practice,
and not about Buddhism as
a subject. He was very
relaxed and friendly.

Hoiclr~san 111 fronr of

Rin-in B..ddha-Dluumo Hall

24
Hoichi·san came the first time with his older sister, Yasuko-san, and Genichi
Amano-san, the senjor layman of Rinso-in and Suzulci-roshj's closest supporter.
It was interesting for them co be at Zen Center. For the first time they had a
real idea of what Suzuki·roshi had been doing in the United States since 1958.
From Japan it is impossible to imagine-1heir bujjrungs are older, students less
numerous, and everything is carried in a cradjtion m:u:ked by continuation
and seldom by change. Mostly the people of Suzuki-rosbi's area and temple just
missed him and wished he would return. What could he be doing out there
on the frontier in the land of wealth! Hoichi-san, Yasuko-san, and Genichi
Amano-san returned to Japan with the feeling chat Suzuki-roshi had started in
America what they had almost forgotten had a beginning. T hey returned to
Japan to explain to the members of Rinso-in.

CHINO-SENSEi Chioo-sensei
continues as head of the Los
Altos Zendo and a uzen group
in Santa Cru~ He is also teaching
Buddhist courses at Foothill
College and Stanford University.
While Chino-scosei is too busy
to spend much time with Zen
Center, he can occasionally spend
a week or two at Tassajara, and
is a great help in advising us
about ceremonies and practice
for America. He has a great
knowledge about traditional
Buddhism and a deep sensitivity
for and understanding of
America.

Clrino-.sensei with Suzulci.roslti

RYUHO YAMADA is a young (31 ) priest who came to the United States about
a year ago to ptactice with and help Zen Center. In Japan he studied at Kasuisai,
Antaiji, and Sojiji monasteries, and went to the Kobe University of Foreign
Studies for five years (1961-66). Ryuho-:san is very responsive to America, his
English is good, and he is able to enter directly into the spirit of the actual prnc-
rice here, helping us find out how things are done in japan and how it makes
sense to do them here. He spent his frrst six months in San Francisco and the last
six months at Tassajara, practicing with us as a regular monk and teaching us
through his example, although in Japan lne would be head of his own temple. He

25
is also an expert on shiatsu
(pressure massage based on
the same understanding of
the body as acupuncture) and
was a great help to Suzuki-
roshi in the last months of
his illness, easing Roshi's pain
and increasing his feeling of
vitality and ability to move.

Reb Anderson,
Ryuho--s:an.,
Pat Herreshoff

CHJLOR.EN'S CENTER The Children's Center began this year when a group of
parents living near the Page Street Zendo met to see if they could find a place for
their children to play together for part of the day and be cared for during zazen
periods and lectures. While in the past Zen Center has made an effort to adapt to
the needs of individual families wishing to live in a formal practice situation,
particularly at Tassajara, dte opening of the Children's Center in San Francisco
this Spring marks the beginning of the first sustained effort among Zen Center
parents to provide for regular care of their children within the practice communi-
ty. Zen Center is providing the space nnd the parents are providing m ost of the
financial support for the leader and for converting the space into an indoor and
outdoor play area.

New kitchen

26
 New gate

ZEN MOUNTAIN CENT.ER The Winr,er.Spring Pr:tctice Period of 1972 was

led by Katagiri-roshi, while Baker-roshi was in the city. And thjs Fall the Practice
Period at Tassajara was led by Baker-roshi, while Katagiri-roshi led the City
Practice Period four days a week. The new kitchen is finished and has been in
use for nearly two years, and the new gate has been finished for about the same
length of time. Both are the work of Paul Discoe, Zen Center's carpenter-leader.
He and his family now live in Japan so Paul can study Japanese temple carpentry.
CITY ZEN CENTER The new Zendo in the building has been finished for a
little over a year. The new City Practice Periods have already been discussed in

Ciry Zen Ctnter

courtyard

27

j
this Wind Bell The 300 Page Street building functions as a residence for monastic
practice; as a Zenda for people living in the city; as a Buddhist study center offer-
ing classes, lectures, and tea ceremony and chanting lessons; and as a place for
Zen Center's offices. We have been trying to work. with our neighborhood to
improve the look and feeling of the building and the neighborhood. One of the
most noticeabEe things done has been to arrange to have trees planted up and
down both sides of the near streets. The City Zen Center is Zen Center's door tO
Zen Mountain Center and to the Zen Farm. People must first practice at the
City Zenda before they can go on to Tassajara or Green Gulch. But the building
also has a strong practice of its own for the students living there, taking care
of the building, often working at outside jobs, and making it possible for the new
students to have a place to practice.

TW9 MEMORIAL OR FOUNDER'S HALLS have been created at Zen Center,

one at the City Zen Center and one at Zen Mountain Center. The one at Tassajara
is in the Zendo, to the left of the main altar, and consists of Suzuki-roshi's picture
and a table with incense and flowers. Someday we will have a separate Founder's
Hall for him there. In the City the Founder's Hall is in a separate room overlook-
ing the inner courtyard. The room is in the center of the building, at the head of
the first floor stairs, and is the one Suzuki-roshi used during the last months of
his illness because it was quiet and sunny. In these two Founder's Halls we do
memorial services for Suzuki-roshi on the evening of the third and the morning
of the fourth of each month.

ASH.ES CEREMONY The Ashes Ceremony for Suzuki-roshi which was

scheduled for October 21 had to be cancelled because of the heavy rains and
the condition of the Tassajara Road. We have rescheduled it for April; by that
time the yearly Spring road work should be done. The ashes site that Suzuki-
roshi chose and began work on has been completed and a beautiful stone, one
that Suzuki-roshi particularly liked, has been brought from the stream bed by
his cabin up to the ashes site near the top of the ridge.

VlSITORS
RENPO NIWA-ROSH! was one ofSuzuki-roshi's oldest friends. They had known
each other since they were youths studying Dogen together under Ian Kishizawa-
roshi, a great Master and the scholar on Dogen at that time. Niwa-roshi is now
the Kannin (perhaps equivalent to Director and Archbishop or Cardinal) of the
Tokyo branch of Eiheiji monastery. He visited the United States for the first time
in February 1971, and then came again by special invitation to perform Suzuki-

28
roshi's funeral ceremony. He led the ceremony with great care, calmness,
and dignity.
Niwa-roshi gave Zen Center the wood sculpture entitled Nirvana which now
stands in the City Zen Center enrrance hall. It was made by one of Japan's best
young wood sculptors.

MUMON YAMADA-ROSH I visited Zen Cemer on his way to and from Mexico
City to see his disciple Ejo Takaui whv h~ • Zc11do there. Mumon-roshi is a very
gentle calm man. not very tall, balding, with wispy white hair and beard. He has
a refinement, softness and a strong but gentle man ner reminiscent of Suzuki-
roshi. He is head of several temples in Japan and formerly was President of the
Rinzai ~n University , Hanazono Daigaku. His temple, Reiun-in, within the
Myoshinji complex (the largest head temple and school within the Rinzai sect).
is a beautiful, well-known temple, with a simple strong garden and rooms that
are co nsidered National Treasures by the Japanese government. His mona.stery,
Shofuku-j i, on a mountain above Kobe, is equally beautifu l. It is one of the
largen Rinzai training monasteries in Japan with nearly thirty monks, seven of
them Westerners. He is also hud of a convent in Kobe. His life as a religious
leader in Japan includes a great deal of work outside the monastery including
such v•ricd thingc ••working with• leper r.nlnny. giving public lectures, giving
controversial and critical advice to the Japanese government, :rnd practicing
calligraphy (he is known as one of the greatest living calligraphers).

Mumo n·ro1hi's ]is'1o, NoritoJte Shunon·sa11; Dan Ille/ch: Mumon Yamad•·roshi; Silas Hoadley

YOGO SUIGAN-ROSHI we have been hearing about for some years as a very
good teacher with a real feeling for West erners practicing Ze n. He is t he Godo-
roshi of the large Soto training monascery, Sujiji, in Yokoh.m~. In a Soto
monastery the Godo is head of and directly responsible for the complete prac-
tice of the moru:s. Yogo-rosbi visited Zen Center in June, I 971, after a month's
residence in Colorado as guest of the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies.
His first visits to t his country were encouraged by Mr. and Mrs. Armand Bartos,
the parents of Jonathan Altman, an old student of Zen Center.

29
DR. EDWARD CONZE is one of the gr=t Buddhist scholars. He is the author of
several defmitive and popular surveys of Buddhist thought and history. but more.
he has studied and translated the central Buddhist teaching of the Prajnaparamita,
Gone Beyond Wisdom, literature. Without his work it would be practically im·
possible to study Zen or Mahayana Buddhism in the Wesr. From the Fall of 1971
until the Spring of 1972 h~ taught at the University of California, Berkeley.
Suzuki-roshi thought that it was important for the older students of Zen Center
to study with Dr. Come, so ten co fifceen Zen Center students attended his
lectures and seminars. Dr. Conze's intelligence and learning range in every quarter,
touching on everything- society, cu lture, history, thought, psychology, and
recent events, even t he classroom situHion in which he is teaching, arc brought
together to elucidate the field of religion and the process of Buddhism. It is a
deep, rewarding, witty and moving eJ<perience to study with him. There is a po$-
sibility he may be able to teach ac Zen Center for one to two months early in
1973 through a gift that was made anonymously for this purpose.

Tada-son

EITARO TADA.SAN From January to March of 1971, the well-known Nanga

painter and call igrapher, Bitaro Tada, lived and taught at the City Zen Center.
He began painting when he was 19, studied in J apa n and China, was head of his
own school, and honored by many prizes and exhibitions. But then twelve years
ago, after the death of his wife, he turned away from public life to concentrate
on zazen and painting :he figures of Bodhidharma and Avalokitesvara again and
again. His practice is to enter with each painting into the being of Bodhidharma
or Avalokitesvara. He has painted more than 10,000 Bodhidharmas, usually
giving them away to whomever happens to be near. " Every morning I meet
Bodhidharma", he says. During his stay at the Los Altos Zendo with Chino-scnsei,
a student asked him, "Why do you always paint Bodhidharma?" He answered,
"lt is a picture of you."

30
 NEW OFFICERS
THE NEW TANTO of the City Zen Cenrer is Silas Hoadley, which position he
has held now for about six months. We have never aniculated this position before
as there was no one ready to fill it. The Tanto is the Head Priest of the City Zen
Center, responsible for the practice of all the students there and for all the build-
ing acrivities which affect practice. Silas has held nearly every kind of position
in Zen Center in the City and at Tassajara, and he is in many ways responsible for
the direction and stability of the development of Zen Center, especially in the
overall financial organization (as Treasurer or President for over five years), in the
Guest Program at Tassajara, and in establishing the Page Street practice.

THE NEW !NO is Dan Welch who moved to the City with Louise and 1-year-old
Johanna after being at Zen Mountain Center almost continuously for five years,
taking care of his and Tassajara's practice. He is now taking care of things in the
City as a Vice-President and the !no. The lno is specifically responsible for the
practice in the Zendo and the ceremonies in the Buddha Hall Silas and Dan
bring these two positions ofTanto and Lno closer to their traditional form and
responsibility in Zen practice. Both the City Tanto and lno give practice
instruction interviews to new and old students, and give regular lectures at the
City Zen Center and nearby Zcndos.

ZEN CENTER OFFICERS Yvonne Rand is now President of Zen Center after
years of being its General Secretary and in recent years being Suzu ki-roshi's
personal assistant. She is responsible for the overaJI administration of Zen Center.
It is a complex and demanding responsibility since Zen Center is still developing
its basic practice facilities especially now Green Gulch Farm.
Lew Richmond has been the General Treasurer of Zen Center for nearly a year.
He is continuing the development of ou~ financial organization, making it simpler
and clearer with the help of Silas Hoadley. It is a very difficult job to manage
the finances of a voluntary organization as complex as Zen Center, and at the
s;ame time to discover and articulate, wi~hin the long-range directions and limita-
tions suggested by Suzuki-roshi, the interplay of Zen Center's particular 6nancial
situation, the tradition and role of Buddhist communities within an economy,
and America's own changing money economy.
Jane Schneider, formerly the 1110 nt Tassajara, has been the General Secretary of
Zen Center for about a year. Fran Keller became the new General Secretary this
Pall. The General Secretary is responsible for the correspondence and records,
and for communications among the three practice places at Zen Center.

OFFICERS-AT-LARGE This position is for those older studenrs who h:>vc an

active executive or advisory relationship with Zen Center and who have already
held nearly all the regular positions, giving them up to newer people. Work
positions in Zen arc a definite part of th.c practice and arc rotated on a regular
basis. The Officers-at-Large include Silas Hoadley, who is also Tanto; Peter
Schneider, who is Baker-roshi'sjisha in ihe City; and Claude Dalenberg. who is
now the General Librarian'. Last year Peter and Claude in addition went back to
school in Sanskrit and Buddhist Studies.. With the Tanto and Lno, Peter and
Claude share the regular lecturing responsibilities at the City Zen Center.

31
THE DIRECTORS of the City Zen Center, Zen Mountain Center and the Zen
Farm are now Bill Lane, Mel Weitsman and Steve Weintraub. Bill was manager of
the Farm when Zen Center people first began to live there; before that he was
the !no in the City. Mel is on leave from being Head of the Berkeley Zendo and
has been at Tassajara now for six months. Before Steve went to Green Gulch
a few months ago he was Director in the City for about a year.
THE TRADITIONAL SIX OFFICERS (Rokuchiji) actually number about seven
to ten, depending on whether it is at the City, the Farm, or the Mountain. Basical·
ly each location is taken care of by the day·tO·day decisions and weekly meetings
of the Director, Head Cook, Ino, Guest Leader, Work Leader, and Treasurer, and
sometimes the Secretary, Head Gardener, Head Carpenter, et.c. These positions
rotate every three months to a year and are the main practice positions in the daily
life of Zen Center.
PETER SCHNEIDER AND JANE RUNK WESTBERG were married June 17 by
Baker·roshi at t he home of June McKnight in Woodstock, Vermont. Peter has
been with Zen Cencer since 1962 and continuously since the opening practice
period of Tassajara. Jane has been with Zen Center continuously since the first
Tassajara Practice Period. Peter was one of the first Directors of Zen Mountain
Center and later a President of Zen Center. He was ordained in 1970.
There are many couples practicing in Zen Center and many of the priests and
older students are married, so it will be up to students like Peter and Jane to
find a way for couples to practice Buddhism thoroughly and fully. For many
centuries Buddhism has primarily emphasized or been the possession or activity
of single male monks, although there have been some monastic communities
of women. It is through the practice situations of monastics, laymen (men and
women), and couples that American Buddhism will find its own ground.

Josliin-san

SEWING BUDDHA'S ROBE is a practice that Zen Center began when Yoshida-
roshi came to Zen Center in 1970 and taught us how to sew our own robes as
part of our practice and preparation for initiation as priests or lay Buddhists.
Initiation is a very important patt of Buddhism which makes our practice and
direction sure through the mutual acknowledging of vows that cut through
ordinary thinking. This practice is being continued now by J oshin-san who has
come here for about four months through the kindness of Uchiyama-roshi,
Abbot of the Soto monastery Antaiji at Kyoto. Joshin-san is a tiny. lively, in-

32
credibly good-humored and active nun. She is going back and forth between
San Francisco and Tassajara, with Pat Herreshoff and Virginia Baker as her
assistants, teaching and helping about eighty students to sew Buddha's robe.

TEA CEREMONY AND NOH Nakamura·san

CHANTING are being taught at the
City Zen Center by Nakamura-san.
Suzuki-roshi wanted us to study
Tea Ceremony because he felt it
was one of the best ways we could
understand and make active the
usually dormant intelligence of our
body, an intelligence upon which
Zen practice and ceremonies depend. .-.'U- ."- .
Noh chanting is based on body and ;~_. ~-~ ,-_.
breath in the same way and is closely ·· -~ " ~ ,i•.
related to Buddhist chanting. There ·i,.· · ·· 1,.~-
are about thirty students taking chanting and about ten studying tea with
Nakamura-san. She is an excellent teacher who is primarily interested in
working with Zen students. She will be here for about a year.

Gandhara Buddha, Tassajara

SUZUKI-ROSH I AT TASSAJARA Suzuki-roshi went to Tassajara for six

weeks during the summer of 1971, only a few months before he died. It was a
very moving time for Zen Center because he worked clearly and intensively
as if he were completely well. His health seemed the best it had been since his
gall bladder operation in March. As soon as he arrived there he began prepara-
tions for the lay-ordination of fifty-five students planned for the end of August.
These preparations alone are an enormous amount of work requiring much
consideration of each student, particularly in choosing appropriate Buddhist
names, and doing the extensive calligraphy required on the back of each rakusu
and on the kechirnyaku (lineage papers). By working all day long and into the
evening every day he finished these preparations well ahead of schedule, and

33

J
 •

from then until he returned to San Francisco he gave long intense leccuces to rhc
studenu every evening. He followed the regular student schedule, gave dok11.S1Jn
and worked in the garden. This was during the hottest time of the year with
temperatuces often around a hundred. No one could slow him down although
everyone tried, especially Mrs. Suzuki. We discovered later char Mrs. Suzuki and
Suzuki-roshi both knew that he might ne>t be as well as he seemed. They had
decided not to tell the students everything they knew from the doctor.
His]isha and Anja ( important training
positioiu as attendants to the Roshi),
Niels Holm and Margret Kress, had
quite a difficult time trying to help
Mrs. Suzuki keep him from overwork·
ing and get him to cake naps in the
afternoon, and at t he same time try ing
to follow Roshi' s instructions to them
as]isha and Anja. Mrs. Suzuki was
adamant in trying to sec that he did
not overwork, and Suzuki-roshi was
equally adamant in insisting on working.
Roshi's favorite activity was working
with stones in his garden. Mrs. Suzuki always tried to stop him. So when she
appeared he would quickly stand up and pretend co just be giving instructions to
Niels ro move this or that stone. As soon as she would go he would immed iate ly
be back down crying to place a stone exactly. Niels was sometimes posted at a
vantage point and told to whistle a warning if Mrs. Suzuki was on t he way. No
one knew quite what to make of the situation. Suzuki-roshi was always in good
humor, and could often be seen doing such things as laughing and ducking low
under his wife's cabin window to get back to the garden to work.
One of the funniest, serious, and most unusul\I things thllt happened was when
Suzuki-roshi decided to make udon noodles for a small group of about ten older
students. Pretty soon he had the whole kitchen involved in rolling out and pound-
ing the wheat flour dough on the floor of the kitchen. More and more dough
kept bei ng added. Soon Mrs. Suzuki cnme co take him away, knowing he was
doing too much. They had what looked l ike an argument and he pushed her out
of rhe kitchen. Still everyone worked on pounding the dough. The whole of
Tassajara was interrupted and involved. Again a few houcs later Mrs. Suzuki re-
turned, this time visibly upset. She cook Suzuki-roshi and pulled him out of
the kitchen. He turned laughing, waving goodbye to the srudents. Everyone in
Tassajara ate noodles for two days; more than 200 servings had been made.
Two months earlier, when also in apparent good health, in a lecture in San
Francisco he talked about Jodoshin-shu, the faith school of Amida Budd ha. He
said t hat some people claim that Buddhism in Japan is dying, then he paused
and said, with what students remember a.s a kind of fierce intensity , almost a cry,
"But when something is dying it is the greateSl teacher." On August 20 he left
Tassajara and on the way ro San Francisco stopped at the St. Francis Retreat to
join the final sitting and closing ceremony of the scsshin led by Nakagawa Soen-
roshi and Shimano Eido-roshi. It was a wonderful day and Soen-roshi made tea
for Suzuki-roshi in a tea bowl he had brought from Jerusalem. Two days later
Suzuki-roshi went to bed and was almosr never able to be up again.

34
Su.:uki-roshi at Tassajara in 1969 passing the wooden so11ridiPJg board and l1a111nzer
that is used to annOHtice za:en, lectures and the arrival or departHre of tire abbot
frotn the monastery. A translation of tl1e ~haracters is below:

Listen well everyone

Great is the problem of Life and Death
No forever gone gone
Awake awake each one
Don't waste your life! •

•suzuki-rosl1i's tratulation is: "Don't goof off!"

 ZAZEN AND LECTURE SCHEDULE

ZEN CENTER
I ZAZEN AND SERVICE
I LECTURES
Monday through Friday: Saturday: 10:00 a.m. Sat.
5:00.7:10 a.m. 5:00-10 :00 a.m.
' SAN FRANCISCO
5:30·6: 30 p.m. (exc. Tues.) (ind. break fast
8:30·9: 15 p.m. (exc. Tues. ) & work period)

Sunday through Friday: Sunday: I 0: 00 a.m. Sun.

GREEN GULCH 4:40-6:45 a.m. 4:40-10:00 a.m.
8:00-8:45 p.m. (exc. Fri.)

Fall Practice Period: September 16 to December 16

TASSAJARA Winter Practice Period: January 10 to April 10
Guest & Summer PTactice: May 1 to September 8

AFFILIATES ZAZEN AND SERVICE LECTURES

Monday through Friday Saturday

5:00·6:45 a.m. Monday morning

BERKELEY 5:40..6:20 p.m. aft er zaz.en
,-,. 8 :30..9:15 p.m. (exc. Tues.)

5:30·6:30 a.m. 5:30·9:15 a.m. 8:30 p.m. Weds,

LOS ALTOS 8:00-9:00 p.m. (incl. breakfast Thursday morning
& work period) afcer ia.zcn

MILL VALLEY
I 5:45-6:45 a.m.
I I 6:45 a.m. Weds.
6:00·7:00 a.m. 8:00-9:45 a.m. 7:50 p.m. Thurs.
MONTEREY 5:30..6:30 p.m. (exc. Thurs.) (two sittings)
7:00..7:50 p.m. (Thursday)

11 1n San Francisco, zazen ins[ruction is given for new students Saturdays ac 8:30 a.m. Please cal1 the
San Francisco <>ffice, 863·3136, for information on sesshins.
•in Berkeley, Los Alcos and Mill Valley lectures are given after za.zen, as indicaced .
.e.1n Berkeley there is no zazen on days that end with a 4 qr 9 except Mondays when there is always
zazen followed by lecture. Zendo is open Monday through Friday only.
*In Los Altos a discussion group meets alternate Tuesday evenings at 7:30.

SAN FRANCISCO BERKELEY MILL VALLEY, Geojo-ji

300 PageStreet 1670 DwighrWay Wisceria Way-Almonte Blvd.
Zll' 94102 ZIP 94703 Z!P 94941
Phone 863·3136 Phone 845-2403 Phone 388-5835 (evenings)
Mel Weitsman Jakusho Kwong

LOS ALTOS MONTEREY, Sona Zen Group

746 University Ave. 538 Wa<Son Street
ZIP 94022 ZIP 93940
Phone 948-5020 Phone { 408) 373·2064
Kobun Chino Sensei Jean Ross
Les Kaye

Wind Bell Staff: Richard Baker, Katherine Thanas, Peter Schneider, Peter Bailey.