.
This is a continuation of the Eido Tai Shimano (continued) blog which A. I screwed up by trying to delete several "test" posts and then lamely tried to fix and B. refuses to add posts in ways that are readily available after 2,205 entries. Eido Tai Shimano (continued) was itself a continuation of Eido Tai Shimano, which went haywire after 5,000 posts.
**************************************************************
I have deleted the letter in the interests of space.
Eido Tai Shimano (continued)3 is a continuation of this thread. (http://genkaku-again.blogspot.com/2012/01/eido-tai-shimano-continued-3.html)
.
GENJO MARINELLO POSTING OCT. 7 ON ZEN FORUM INTERNATIONAL
ReplyDelete____________________________________
PART I
Recently I had the good pleasure to read the “Informational Paper” (http://www.shimanoarchive.com/PDFs/2011 ... _Paper.pdf) presented to the Zen Studies Society (ZSS) at the all Sangha Meeting held August 26-28, by Rev. Kyoki Roberts, the lead facilitator from An Olive Branch. The paper starts out by going over the fact that thirteen states, but not New York, have enacted long overdue statutes making Sexual Conduct by Clergy a felony. By these enlightened standards my own Dharma Father would probably be behind bars after his very likely conviction(s) if subject to these laws honoring basic ground rules of ethical decency. And yet he is still allowed on campus, and at times shows up when Shinge Roshi, his successor, is not present, and apparently everyone acts like nothing has changed. Of course those present find it very disorienting to say the least. I find this totally unacceptable, and again call for the ZSS Board to insist that Eido Roshi be banned indefinitely from ZSS property. Here is a man who by a reasonable estimate not only seduced and slept with dozens of vulnerable students under his spiritual care over the course of decades, but also plied some with alcoholic libations and forced himself on them. There is a first hand account of a senior student of Eido Roshi’s on the blogs that confirms just such an act. Many may not know who this student is, as she whishes to remain anonymous, but I have a good idea whom this is, and knowing this person, I totally accept her account as completely credible.
The “Informational Paper” goes on to say that resources need to be devoted to “educate your Sangha on prevention of misconduct and the abuse of power within a Sangha. Get training in communication, conflict resolution and family systems… You may want to create a task force to oversee and plan the events, education, and training that your community will need to re-create itself.” In addition, the paper calls for the board to address “structural issues” such as membership and board representation that just may help prevent future excessive abuses of power and authority centered on one person. The paper notes that there are “victims of sexual misconduct who need your support” and a Sangha that is “desperately trying to figure out what to do.”
I ask where in Shinge Roshi’s letter to the ZSS Sangha summarizing her response to the Sangha Meeting (also posted on this page of this forum) does she move forward on these essential points presented by Rev. Kyoki Roberts? Instead of committing the organization to structural reforms that would decentralize power by making the organization membership based with a primarily elected board, we hear about how there is going to be a “review and revision of our by-laws to rationalize our governance decisions". Moreover, we read how new unnamed board members are being essentially appointed to board positions vacated by those who demanded more from this organization than it seems capable of giving. Since June of last year, five board members have resigned because more was not being done. Where is any kind of commitment to “educate your Sangha on prevention of misconduct and the abuse of power with the Sangha”? Where is the needed support for the many victims of sexual misconduct perpetrated by the founding abbot and serially minimized and inadequately addressed by previous ZSS boards?
October 7, 2011 7:35:09 AM
GENJO MARINELLO POSTING ON ZEN FORUM INTERNATIONAL OCT. 7
ReplyDelete________________________
PART II
At one point, the “Informational Paper” says, “For much of this past year Eido has been trying to figure a way back into teaching. That is exactly what he has managed to do before… This time it didn’t work and on July 2nd he stated,… ‘I will stop doing dokusan and giving teisho in a forma way’… With these words, Eido finished teaching and working with students.” However, I have in my possession an email from Eido Roshi, addressed to the ZSS Board President and copied to other board members including myself dated July 5th, asking to be allowed to lead zazen at New York Zendo, teach Zen classics in a classroom format, stating, “Thus, everyone will have the opportunity to share the enthusiasm while I am still able to teach. And when the time comes, I will send them to DBZ and they will start (like Freshman) their zazen training.” My fellow members of the ZSS Board insisted that this letter was an aberration of a desperate man. They said it should not be released because it would be confusing, embarrassing, and further damage his reputation. How is that possible? I resigned from the board because after the Board received this letter exposing Eido Roshi’s sham of stepping down from all teaching, the majority of the ZSS Board, including the Board president and current abbot were not willing to insist on even a moderate hiatus of Eido Roshi’s presence on ZSS property. I should have released the letter earlier, though I did not cover it up and publicly spoke of its content. Here is a redacted (email addresses removed) copy: http://www.choboji.org/Transcript.pdf
Moreover, as late as Sept. 5th of this year, a proposal by Lawrence Shainberg, who is unbelievably to me still on the current ZSS ethics committee, seriously suggests that Eido Roshi’s supporters be given the opportunity to buy the New York Zendo – Shobo-Ji, so that Eido Roshi could continue to teach there! No one can stop him from teaching if there are enough fanatics to make that happen, but for Buddha’s sake I’m glad to report the ZSS Board will not entertain this absurd but well stated argument that is also printed on this page of this forum. The point is there is no way Eido Roshi is not behind these attempts to find new venues to continue teaching and the least the ZSS Board can do is definitively restrict him from all further access to ZSS property. How can the Sangha hope to regain a solid footing while he remains present? Sadly, the founding abbot has almost no awareness of his crimes or the harm that he has done. More sadly to me, the current abbot still supports his presence on campus and doesn’t appear to understand that much more needs to be done to foster real healing within the ZSS Sangha.
Genjo
October 7, 2011 7:36:27 AM
JULY 5, 2011 LETTER FROM EIDO SHIMANO TO SOUN JOE DOWLING
ReplyDelete____________________________________
From: Martin Hara
Date: July 5, 2011 2:32:30 PM PDT
To: Soun Joe Dowling
Cc: Shinge Roshi Roko Sherry Chayat , Shinkon, Jikyo Bonnie Shoultz, Genjo Joe Marinello ,
Shoteki Chris Phelan, Zenshin Richard Rudin
Subject: DBZ Transcript
Dear Soun
Although I agreed not to mention about the Shoboji key matter, I did not agree to ignore
Zensho's question and my response. This must be clearly transcribed and distributed to the ZSS sangha properly.
The reason why I feel that this is so Important, is that if we dont nurture the seeds of future Dharma students, the continuiituy will not be done. By my doing zazen meetings (no dokosan no teisho) rather than formal sesshins, my intention is
to sit together and study the zen classics in a classroom format. Thus, everyone will have the opportunity to share the enthusiasm while I am still able to teach. And when the time comes, I willl send them to DBZ and they will start (like Freshman) their zazen training. Even Harvard university would disappear in ten years if there were no freshmen stuidents. No one in our sangha wishes THIS for the future of DBZ and Shoboji.
What we all need to do is to nurture the next generation. Shoboji's Public Meetings on Thursday Night used to be the entrance gate. We seriously need to think the reactivation of Thursday Nights.
With the cooperation of the ZSS board, what i can do is start sowing the seeds of the plant for the next season. Right now we are too involved wtih present problems and have not been concerned about the furture ten or twenty years from now. DBZ is already 35 years old. Time flies and I am getting older. These students will grow and become the core of the next generation. Same is true in Japanese
Dharma Classs. Yusen, Shinobu, Junko, Julie, and others who are regularly going to DBZ to help each weekend are all from the Japanese Dharma Class. So without their presence, DBZ will suffer a greater impact.
I am not creating a new Sangha. Instead, I am hatching new eggs for the future growth of
Shinge's students. Who would know? some of them will become future residents, some of them
will be future monks. this is what i regard as important from my response to Zensho's question. Therefore I urge you to include my comment in response to Zensho's question.
Gassho,
Eido Shimano
Send from Martin Hara as dictated by Eido Shimano Roshi
October 7, 2011 8:13:16 AM
Nonin left the following comment on Zen Forum International:
ReplyDeleteYes, it is profoundly sad. And from what I've heard, he's a sad old man limping his way through the morass he's put himself in. Whether he'll ever emerge from it, who knows? Will those hurt by his behavior ever receive the apologies that they deserve? Who knows? Will ZSS ever emerge from the morass that Eido Shimano and others who never productively and positively dealt with his behavior put the organization in over the years? Who knows? Will the organization re-structure itself and proceed in a positive direction? Who knows? It's going to take quite awhile for the situation to resolve in any direction.
Everyone, If you read the Informational Paper prepared by Rev. Kyoki Roberts of An Olive Branch, you'll get clearer picture of what the whole situation is about. Genjo already linked to it. Here's another link:
http://www.shimanoarchive.com/PDFs/2011 ... _Paper.pdf
Hands palm-to-palm,
nonin
Nonin wrote: Will those hurt by his behavior ever receive the apologies that they deserve? Who knows?
ReplyDeleteNo one knows ...
But there are some who care.
Does anyone know specifically what Zensho's question is that ES refers to in his letter?
ReplyDeleteSince we are once again asking questions here's a set I can no longer keep avoiding:
ReplyDeleteIt has long been clear that Chayat openly favors having Shimano around. Now that Shimano seems unwelcomed by many at the New York City temple, but is still welcomed by some at Catskills temple, how warmly is he welcome at the Zen Center of Syracuse? How often does he go there? Does he have a room there? Is he teaching there? Is he holding Dokusan there?
If he is, then why?
But if he is not, is this due to an inconsistent attitude on Chayat's part? Or does she actually bow to pressure if she can't get away with doing things her way? Like a risk a major number of sangha members leaving if Shimano even shows up, if not her removal.
Removal is a weighty word....
ReplyDeleteOne might have to consult the ZSS Bylaws.
The current operating bylaws of the Zen Studies Society date from 1993.
They are here in pdf format: http://www.shimanoarchive.com/PDFs/19930130_ZSS_Bylaws.pdf
And here in Word format: http://www.shimanoarchive.com/PDFs/19930130_ZSS_Bylaws.docx
he Thessalonians said...
ReplyDelete"Removal is a weighty word...."
"he current operating bylaws of the Zen Studies Society date from 1993."
Of course removal is weighty, but often necessary, especially when the new boss isn't that much different from the old boss.
And like corruption anywhere else, using the internal "rules" to correct the corruption is just ludicrous. Other skillful means are necessary.
Perhaps we need to introduce Trotsky to the society.
Grace Shireson Roshi posted the following on the Sweeping Zen site:
ReplyDeletePART I
I have been contemplating Fukushima Roshi's teaching to me about the Zen word freedom or "jiyu" in Japanese. This teaching is most relevant to the misconduct that has been justified as the privilege of a Zen teacher's enlightenment. Fukushima Roshi, who had studied in America and spoke English well, stated that the most obvious problem with the use of the word "jiyu" or Zen freedom, is that Westerners associate freedom with freedom from (oppression, cultural conventions, taxation without representation etc), but the Japanese meaning of the word is not freedom FROM, but freedom TO. Jiyu or Zen freedom is freedom *to* take the entire universe and its needs as oneself; freedom to hold another's well being as your responsibility; freedom to express Zen in a way that respects Dharma and upholds Western values and laws. Jiyu does not mean that a Zen Master, living and relying on Mushin (the mind of no separate self), is free from consequences or ethical norms when using others to satisfy his whims; nor is he is free from causing harm when he believes that he has been freed *from* the laws and values of the society in which he lives. I see this fundamental misunderstanding of enlightenment being enacted by self-centered Zen teachers quoting the Japanese jiyu or "Zen freedom" based on Enlightened understanding as "freedom from."
Fukushima Roshi taught me that the literal translation of "Zen freedom" is based on living with the mind of mu (or no separate self) and it means "self-reliance". Ji=self, yu= reliance. Fukushima Roshi clarified that the self we rely on is based on the mu self or becoming "mu," and living one's life from the perspective of mushin. Mushin is living in the realm of understanding how the universal self expresses itself through and with us. Fukushima Roshi also said that Western thought interpreted *freedom* as freedom *from* oppression and unfair laws. But it must be made clear, he said, that jiyu means *freedom to.* This is a life that is "freedom to" bring creativity, love, wholeness and support *to* everything we encounter. We are not separate from those we meet by some fictitious license of Zen enlightenment.
Grace Shireson Roshi
ReplyDeletePART II
Our task is how we bring Zen *to* help people even under the most difficult and confusing circumstances? This is the freedom *to* creatively connect with our life. Zen Freedom, jiyu, is not at all like freedom *from* following rules and laws in order to get away from the consequences of satisfying one's own personal desires or ambitions. Jiyu, Zen freedom, is the responsibility *to* help bring healing to all life we encounter. Uchiyama Roshi, a Dharma friend of Fukushima Roshi, said it another way: "Everything you encounter is your life."
Currently we see several examples of Zen teachers who are confused and confusing their sanghas with this bogus "freedom from" Zen-- a Zen that eschews not following the ethical rules that protect students. We hear of Eido Shimano, formerly Abbot of Zen Studies Society, being described as "living in the realm of the Absolute." The follow on foolish talk concludes that he cannot cause harm to others due to this so-called attainment. Teaching this mistaken, blatantly self-serving and dangerous idea reveals a teaching which has no stable understanding of what it means to be interconnected, to have no separate self. We must correct this mistaken teaching without condemning the ones who promote it. However, once we understand that someone is preaching false Dharma, it is our responsibility *to* not allow them to continue this harmful charade. This is our gift *to* them. We need to walk away, to vote with our feet, and if necessary, we are free *to* pursue legal options to stop their harm. We need to take our wallets with us and not support any further perversion of Zen understanding Zen which can only result in greater harm to individuals and to Dharma.
The relative world is not put on hold when we manifest Awakening or vividly experience the Absolute. There is proof that this is true; even Eido Shimano will die in this relative realm. There is not a speck of separation between the realm of the relative and the Absolute. We are relative beings existing in both realms simultaneously, we answer *to* the understandings of both realms simultaneously, and we are connected *to* all beings in these realms simultaneously. We are responsible *to* expressing our relationship to both realms at all times.
If we harm other people, deceive other people, denounce other people we are responsible to all of them. We have not gained through Zen freedom any *freedom from* harming others or the consequences of harming others. Zen freedom is not a free pass that liberates us from our karma. Far from it! We become all the more responsible to not causing harm, so be impeccably careful with your Zen freedom!
She puts me to sleep,zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
ReplyDeleteWhat? You mean Crazy Wisdom is wrong? If I can't do anything I want after I get enlightenment what ... No! Wait! I can do whatever I want .. for a long time anyway.... Never mind. Coming Bubba....
ReplyDelete"There is not a speck of separation between the realm of the relative and the Absolute."
ReplyDeleteKinda scary that that should have to be pointed out.
Grace Shireson Roshi posted the following on her blog on sweepingzen.com:
ReplyDelete"We hear of Eido Shimano, formerly Abbot of Zen Studies Society, being described as "living in the realm of the Absolute." The follow on foolish talk concludes that he cannot cause harm to others due to this so-called attainment. Teaching this mistaken, blatantly self-serving and dangerous idea reveals a teaching which has no stable understanding of what it means to be interconnected, to have no separate self.
* We must correct this mistaken teaching without condemning the ones who promote it.
* However, once we understand that someone is preaching false Dharma, it is our responsibility *to* not allow them to continue this harmful charade. This is our gift *to* them.
* We need to walk away, to vote with our feet, and
* if necessary, we are free *to* pursue legal options to stop their harm.
* We need to take our wallets with us and
* not support any further perversion of Zen understanding Zen which can only result in greater harm to individuals and to Dharma."
Took a while for what she wrote to sink in.
They are strong words. An "open challenge by blog" to Chayat who still has this in the daibosatus.org biography: "Shinge Roshi expresses her gratitude for “Eido Roshi’s uncompromising and penetrating Dharma Eye, which reveals directly the luminous power of the unconditioned mind.”
She says to vote with one's feet and one's wallet, pursue legal action, and not support Zen Studies Society. However she makes no new suggestions for actions to take. But this quiet, and possibly informative statement to some (re: the meaning of "jiyu") may be effective enough in keeping the issue public and may inspire others to do the same.
Thanks to Rev. Grace.
Nice to see Kobutsu finally getting some acknowledgement on ZFI. It's been long overdue!
ReplyDeleteAnd speaking of Rev. Grace, I think this article of hers is also excellent:
http://sweepingzen.com/2011/02/21/education-for-zen-students-on-misconduct-in-sanghas-studying-personal-interpersonal-and-transpersonal-levels/
On Zen Forum International, Genjo Roshi wrote in response to the following comment I made:
ReplyDelete__________________________
genkaku wrote:For further elucidation, courtesy of The Rev. Nonin Chowaney and Genjo Marinello Roshi, it might be useful to consider the following assertions within past presentations:
http://www.shimanoarchive.com/PDFs/20100522_Nonin_Declarations_ZFI.pdf
and
http://www.shimanoarchive.com/PDFs/20100609_Marinello_AZTA.pdf
These too might be well-served with some version of "I'm sorry."
_________________________________
Genjo Roshi wrote:
PART I
Dear all,
As for my AZTA post it should never have become public, but I referenced my own post trying to support the claim that Eido Roshi had truly reformed and that there had been no report of any sexual misconduct for 15 years. I now know differently, I was wrong, but at the time I really believed this with all my heart. However, within hours of posting it, I realized I should not have referenced an AZTA post at all, even mine, and withdrew it, but not before Kobutsu got a hold of it. He is quick! Which I love, but also hate because there is no room to rethink or reconsider.
I also said, Eido Roshi's previous bad behavior was "not even illegal just unconscionable by our standards, still it is not like he forced, bribed, coerced or paid anyone to have sex with him." On this claim, I was wrong again, I have heard credible accounts that Eido Roshi did indeed coerce and even force sexual relations with students, and there are credible claims he has indeed paid for sex off campus. I also said of sexual relations with students that "the power dynamic is totally lopsided and his responsibility for these actions is 80% or more, but not all his." This too is partially in error, because it is incomplete. As I have previously said on this forum, Eido Roshi was 100% responsible for the ethical breach. If he had been adequately held responsible for these earlier breaches, many lives would have been spared great psychological damage. I've also said here, "age difference, depth of professional relationship, who pursues whom, and recidivism does matter in determining the severity of the ethical breach" and "I completely agree that the power dynamic can sometimes be so great between a spiritual teacher and their students, that if it is the case that the teacher is pursuing aggressively a much younger vulnerable student, such actions are so lopsided as to boarder on rape."
GENJO ROSHI
ReplyDeletePART II
I also said in my AZTA post which was written in June of 2009, "This current controversy, over old material, has been and continues to be fanned by four men with old grudges, intent to 'bring him down,' as one said directly. By the way, none of the four men I am referring to are members of AZTA, but please be aware that a man who was declined membership in AZTA, in part because Eido Roshi would not acknowledge him as a Dharma Teacher, started the current wave of vilification."
I never named the four men, but people have correctly guessed three of the four I had in mind, Kobutsu Malone, Adam Genkaku Fisher and Stuart Lachs. Many have suggested that fourth unnamed man was Robert Aitken, but he was not who I was thinking of. I never thought the release of the Shimano Archive kept at the University of Hawaii was a bad thing, in fact I said in this same AZTA post, "We should remember the past so that we learn not to repeat old errors. It's true that among the many transgressions of many teachers, Eido Roshi's history makes a good case study," which turns out to be a gross understatement.
Anyway, I hereby publicly apologize to these four men, they have done a great service in exposing Eido Roshi's miss use of power and position. I particularly apologize to Rev. Kobutsu Malone for so doubting his motives based on the information I had at the time, much of it I now know was either in error or minimally incomplete. Having some idea of what he and his family have suffered at the hands of Eido Roshi or others associated with ZSS, I am so very saddened by his experience, and have worked as hard as I can to keep Eido Roshi away from new students and to turn the organization he helped birth to a profoundly new course.
With palms together,
Genjo
If you go back on the ZFI thread it appears that Kobutsu provided the example for Marinello.
ReplyDeleteChristopher::: posted Stuart Lachs' essay: Means of Authorization: Establishing Hierarchy in Ch'an/Zen Buddhism in America
And immediately Nonin jumped in with: "Please remember that Stuart Lachs's opinions are just that, opinions, intellectual mind games concocted to justify one's philosophical arguments by a person who doesn't understand the true master/disciple or student/teacher relationship in Zen Buddhism. I wouldn't take them seriously.
I'm sure that the process Lachs describes can and does happen in isolated instances, but a good teacher will short circuit this process as soon as it becomes clearly evident. To take these isolated instances as the general reality of the Zen Buddhist teacher/student relationship is foolishness."
Talk about opinions... not to mention axes to grind! Nonin now looks like a complete fool. Will he have the decency and courage to follow Genjo's example and also offer an apology?
"Who knows?"
Wow... Mr. Chowaney is incredibly defensive and insecure. He trashes Mr. Lachs's essay as the mere "opinion" of "a person who doesn't understand the true master/disciple or student/teacher relationship in Zen Buddhism."
ReplyDeleteMr. Chowaney belittles others while claiming to have "inside" knowledge/understanding of the "truth." He is a lot like Shimano in that respect...
I wager there are a lot of people on ZFI who would love to call him out. Unfortunately Chowaney is in control there and will crush, censor and banish any who dare challenge him. This is completely compatible with Shimano's modus operandi.
Kobutsi posted on ZFI
ReplyDeleteDear Genjo Roshi,
I wish to express my sincere gratitude for your above statement – that took real insight and courage to publish. I thank you not just for myself, but for the other three men and most of all – for the good will your statement will engender in the larger disenfranchised, exiled ZSS sangha.
It feels like a weight has been lifted... I am delighted to be able to refer to you as my Dharma brother for I sincerely perceive that we are truly in agreement on facing the truth together as we walk side by side on the path of the awakened state of mind.
I extend my best wishes for you and your group in establishing your new temple and wish I could have been there for your opening ceremony. I will send along a few of my rakusu rings http://www.engaged-zen.org/articles/Rings.html as an opening gift for folks who take jukai in the new facility.
In dynamic peace,
Kobutsu
Genkaku posted on ZFI (Zen Forum International)
ReplyDeleteNine deep bows, Genjo Roshi.
I believe your honesty and your willingness to reconsider matters will serve you and Zen practice in America well.
Thank you.
In defense of Nonin's absent (to date) apology, it may be harder to take second 'position'.
ReplyDeleteAll these apologies and acknowledgments; it's like watching the Hallmark channel -- they bring a few tears to my eyes in spite of myself.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I could not find Nonin's apology on ZFI.
Instead I just read his attack on Stuart Lachs. I found it pathetic that he just trashed Lacks writing without explaining why or addressing even one of Lach's points that he found offensive. He must really feel threatened for some reason.
Ah well... Perhaps his resemblance to the TV series uncle on The Addams' family is no simple coincidence but a profound and subtle karmic message.
"What do you think, Lurch?"
"Grunt."
Notice that Nonin;s post occurred before Genjo's. I suspect had he seen Genjo's post he wouldn't have attacked Stuart Lachs, instead remaining uncomfortably silent. It appears that Nonin is defending the Dharma transmission myth because it has become his solidified identity. He is after all... A "Transmitted Dharma Heir."
ReplyDeleteNow he's publicly faced with the conundrum of apology. Kobutsu and Genjo both just publicly apologized. Nonin offered insult to others by parroting Genjo's words in his original statements. Is he likely to be able to free himself to the point of being able to apologize to a man he's just trashed yet again?
More than any "titles," "transmissions," and the like, THIS is where Zen lives! All the titles in the world cannot mask inflexibility – the inability or unwillingness to change. Nonin appears to be dressed in a suit of armor and living in a castle with very thick walls.
It is sad that, sometimes, Nonin feels like there is need to fight. I do not remember where I find this story:
ReplyDelete"The Gates of Paradise and Hell
A samurai came to the Zen Master Hakuin and asked "Is there really a paradise and a hell?"
"Who are you?" inquired Hakuin.
"I am a samurai," the warrior replied.
"You, a samurai!" exclaimed Hakuin. "What kind of ruler would have you as his guard? Your face looks like that of a beggar!"
The soldier became so angry that he began to draw his sword, but Hakuin continued. "So you have a sword! Your weapon is probably as dull as your head!"
As the soldier drew his sword Hakuin remarked "Here open the gates of hell!"
At these words, the samurai, perceiving the discipline of the master, sheathed his sword and bowed.
"Here open the gates of paradise," said Hakuin."
Below I have included links to some of Lachs' articles in which are critical consideration of various aspects of Zen Buddhism:
ReplyDeleteAs to value the value of defending myths, legends, outright lies, other artificial devices used by Zen teachers over the centuries, read the articles for yourself and see if you think they should just be dismissed as mere opinion.
The Zen Master in America: Dressing the Donkey with Bells and Scarves
http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/CriticalZen/Zen_Master_in_America.html
Coming Down from the Zen Clouds
http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/CriticalZen/ComingDownfromtheZenClouds.htm
Means of Authorization: Establishing Hierarchy in Ch'an /Zen Buddhism in America
http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/CriticalZen/Means_of_Authorization.htm
Richard Baker and the Myth of the Zen Roshi
http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/CriticalZen/Richard_Baker_and_the_Myth.htm
When the Saints Go Marching Marching In
http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/CriticalZen/When_the_Saints_Go_Marching_Marching_In.pdf
There are a few more articles they are indexed here:
http://www.thezensite.com/MainPages/critical_zen.html
Stuart Lachs podcast on BUDDHIST GEEKS.
http://personallifemedia.com/guests/999-stuart-lachs
No apology yet but Nonin did post his temple Ethics statement, that includes not only a section on student/teacher sexual relationships but also a section on the procedures for resolving issues arising from any form of ethical misconduct.
ReplyDeleteThe last item is:
"Atonement. Any person who acts inappropriately is expected to make every effort to realign their conduct in accord with the precepts and to take the actions necessary to restore the harmony of the Sangha and to mitigate harm done. Such atonement is an integral part of our spiritual practice."
I suppose the protocols only apply to his tempe?
He has an awful lot of times on his hands in ZFI. Aren't Temple Abbots busy people attending to temple business?
ReplyDeleteWell, whoever is supporting him is getting their money's worth. Zen Buddhism needs to be kept safe, and what better place to enact such a heroic effort than an online forum visited by a handful of regulars.
ReplyDeleteThe numbers (of topic views etc) are in plain sight.
He's gone and started up a topic: "Stuart Lachs and the Critical Buddhists"
ReplyDeleteThat'll keep people from asking him why he won't apologize...
Linda said...
ReplyDeleteHe is after all... A "Transmitted Dharma Heir."
This sounds like someone has a bad case of the clap.
"Well, whoever is supporting him is getting their money's worth. Zen Buddhism needs to be kept safe, and what better place to enact such a heroic effort than an online forum visited by a handful of regulars."
ReplyDeleteActually I used to post there, in fact I started the thing with a handful of others.
Anyway the last time I posted was when I went in for a banter when he criticised genkaku and voila my post was deleted immediately. No notification, no notice, no trace.
The fact is Nonin and his cronies only accept posts to their liking and Nonin takes any challenge as a personal affront, killing enemies and friends alike with a swift use of the MODERATE and CENSOR and BAN buttons.
What a sad indictment of so called Zen Buddhist forum.
He and his cohorts like the perenially angry PeterB make ZFI a farce. Hopefully other opinions and practitioners can offer it some balance in future.
Notice that Nonin;s post occurred before Genjo's. I suspect had he seen Genjo's post he wouldn't have attacked Stuart Lachs, instead remaining uncomfortably silent. It appears that Nonin is defending the Dharma transmission myth because it has become his solidified identity. He is after all... A "Transmitted Dharma Heir."
ReplyDeleteNow he's publicly faced with the conundrum of apology. Kobutsu and Genjo both just publicly apologized. Nonin offered insult to others by parroting Genjo's words in his original statements. Is he likely to be able to free himself to the point of being able to apologize to a man he's just trashed yet again?
More than any "titles," "transmissions," and the like, THIS is where Zen lives! All the titles in the world cannot mask inflexibility – the inability or unwillingness to change. Nonin appears to be dressed in a suit of armor and living in a castle with very thick walls.
Actually Nonin has made it clear he won't apologise. Based on this thread, I went in for a purview and he is busily attacking Stuart Lachs and others as idiotic disgruntled people.
He can hide behind that facade - forever. Many people do.
It's just a pity that he masks himself as a Buddhist priest, and I am surprised that he ever got transmission TBH. Clearly, it doesn't mean that much in his lineage.
Nonin is so much better that the rest of us....
ReplyDeleteYes he is. Just ask him.
ReplyDelete"Actually I used to post there [ZFI], in fact I started the thing with a handful of others." ~ floating abu
ReplyDeleteI remember what Nonin said about E-sangha after being banned from there and just before moving to ZFI. He said that he wouldn't go back to E-sangha unless they changed their policy to be more democratic and transparent.
Though laughable now, the way things have played out it can make sense if underlying motivations are taken into consideration.
I've got my own deep seated motivations of course.
ANONYMOUS....ANONYMOUS....ANONYMOUS
ReplyDeleteAs on previous threads on Eido Tai Shimano, please have the courtesy to pick a nickname (or even, heaven forbid, your real one) when commenting. This gives others a reference point to your post if they need one.
I WILL, AS BEFORE, DELETE "ANONYMOUS" POSTINGS FROM HERE ON.
Thanks.
I had a deep seated motivation once, the doctor removed it with a cautery pen.
ReplyDeleteI remember what Nonin said about E-sangha after being banned from there and just before moving to ZFI. He said that he wouldn't go back to E-sangha unless they changed their policy to be more democratic and transparent.
ReplyDeleteThough laughable now, the way things have played out it can make sense if underlying motivations are taken into consideration.
I've got my own deep seated motivations of course.
I remember too, nods.
_/\_
Sorry, Genkaku
ReplyDeleteSo let's see if I've got this right...
ReplyDeleteAccording to Nonin, "ZFI is deteriorating into yet another Zen Buddhist teacher-bashing thread. If you have an axe to grind on Zen Buddhist teachers, please take your axe to another thread so we can continue this important topic".
Yet, it's ok for Nonin to bash Stuart Lach's who isn't even on the tread to speak up for himself.
I find it all the more interesting that Nonin is doing this just when apologies are being offered and accepted between Genjo, Genkaku and Kobutsu.
I wonder what Nonin thinks the topic actually is?
?
Floating Abu said...
ReplyDeleteIt's just a pity that he masks himself as a Buddhist priest, and I am surprised that he ever got transmission TBH. Clearly, it doesn't mean that much in his lineage.
As a weird aside,
All of Katagiri's 12 dharma heirs got their Dharma Transmission in the same year - 1989.
That's 1 per month, the year before he died.
Nonin may have targeted his wrath on Stuart knowing that he and Kobutsu are close friends.
ReplyDeleteNonin's Dharma transmission was received from Katagiri simultaneously along with 10 other people wherein Katagiri said that none of them were really ready for the role but maybe in time one of them will rise up in the future like cream.
Too bad Katagiri was thinking of a dairy where the good stuff rises to the top. He might have done better considering a foundry where the scum rises to the top.
? said...
ReplyDelete"I find it all the more interesting that Nonin is doing this just when apologies are being offered and accepted between Genjo, Genkaku and Kobutsu."
This is an oft-repeated pattern in ZFI. They know that when they step in with heavy handed "moderation" it temporarily silences the thread. The people in there sense that something is amiss but are unable to communicate with one another confidentially and in private. By the time the thread wakes up again, they are on a different fiber.
Distract, exhibit power, instill fear, silence.... nice set of dance steps.
... And Genkaku kick-starts the thread!
ReplyDeleteRe: Sexual misconduct by Buddhist teachers (was Eido Tai Shi
by genkaku on Thu Oct 13, 2011 2:33 am
This thread is entltled "Sexual misconduct by Buddhist teachers," but it's deteriorating into yet another Zen Buddhist teacher-bashing thread.
Nonin -- Perhaps you would be willing to describe your understanding of "teacher-bashing" and "teacher-revering." Is one preferable to the other? Are they different or the same? If criticism is not acceptable or appropriate or truthful, is praise somehow more acceptable or appropriate or truthful? Why?
What do you suppose a Zen teacher might say?
genkaku
A parallel situation in SNAP:
ReplyDeletePART I
Dear friends of SNAP,
I’m Megan Peterson. I’m 21 years old. They tell me I may be the youngest SNAP member to ever speak of her victimization.
In 2005, I was raped by Fr. Joseph Jeyapaul.
In 2006, I helped file criminal charges against him.
In 2007, I filed a civil lawsuit against him.
Just five weeks ago, I broke my public silence for the first time. At a news conference, I talked about the crimes and cover-ups.
And one month ago today, in a move I couldn’t have ever envisioned just weeks earlier, I left the US for the first time and joined my brothers and sisters in this movement as we filed a historic complaint with the International criminal court. It was scary. It gave me goosebumps. But I was thrilled to be there.
In the United Kingdom, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Austria and Belgium, survivors just like me came to our meetings. Many discovered for the first time that they were not alone because, in most of these countries, less public attention has been focused on clergy sex crimes and cover ups than we have experienced in the US.
At the meetings in each of the twelve cities across Europe which we visited, so many heartbroken tears were shed and so many compelling stories were shared from people who were willing to speak out because they wanted to help save other children who are at risk from priests in communities everywhere.
Despite the coverage the ICC filing received in countries all over the world, despite many in the press likening the filing to David vs Goliath, in an issue which " shows no signs of going away" the most critical advances SNAP has made in the past month have been from the sheer numbers of survivors who saw the story headlined in towns and cities and came forward to be heard and to say in a unified, powerful and unyielding voice: "we must have justice!"
SNAP
ReplyDeletePART II
Now the hardest work in SNAP's long history has begun as we start to build support groups in those nations, and others, so that the extraordinary, groundbreaking work they have achieved here in the United States can be replicated across the world.
* We will be there for the victims like me and their families who feel alone, confused, and helpless.
* We will speed up, on a global scale, the often prolonged and painstaking process of exposing those who commit and conceal heinous crimes.
* We will help to provide victims with accountability from those who destroyed their lives and justice as they begin to heal.
SNAP cannot accomplish such an extraordinary and pioneering endeavor alone. As the case moves forward and other desperate victims seek out SNAP and its growing network of volunteers for help, we will need your partnership and support.
Any dollar amount is gratefully received and will go towards the expansion of SNAP's reach around the world as we continue to lead an international demand for accountability. You can make a tax deductible donation to SNAP by going to our website:
https://snap.nationbuilder.com/donate
Calling our office: 312-455-1499
Or mailing your donation to: SNAP, P.O.Box 6416, Chicago, IL 60680
Note the inclusion - "children and vulnerable adults" - I wonder how the later it defined.
ReplyDelete"Leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, together with their attorneys from the human rights organization the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), filed a lengthy and detailed complaint charging that Vatican officials tolerate and enable the systematic and widespread concealing of rape and child sex crimes throughout the world. Together with the complaint, they submitted more than 20,000 pages of supporting materials consisting of reports, policy papers, and evidence of the crimes by Catholic clergy committed against children and vulnerable adults.
SNAP is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. It has existed for 23 years and has more than 10,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in its title, it has members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Visitwww.snapnetwork.org."
Full article......
http://ccrjustice.org/newsroom/press-releases/clergy-sex-victims-file-international-criminal-court-complaint-case-charges-vatican-officials-%E2%80%98crime
and more from
ReplyDeletehttp://ccrjustice.org/newsroom/press-releases/major-human-rights-report-affirms-sexual-abuse-clergy-%E2%80%9Ctorture,-inhuman-and-degrading-treatment%E2%80%9D
"The report makes clear what happens when governmental authorities cede their responsibility to respect, protect and fulfill the rights of vulnerable children and adults to a church that can’t be trusted with it, or with their children.
..........
In the coming months, CCR will continue to gather information and evidence of additional crimes of rape and sexual violence and associated cover ups by the Catholic Church. We continue to urge all members of the clergy, church officials, and anyone else with information about sexual violence against children to come forward. The 22,000 pages of evidence presented in the ICC filing is only a small fraction of the evidence already available. Far more must exist given the nature and magnitude of these crimes and the reach of the church. Hundreds of current and former Vatican employees have information about sexual assaults against children. Silence is complicity. It's time for church employees at every level to search their consciences and share their knowledge of these crimes and cover ups."
Is there a Survivors Network of those Abused by Politicians, Corporate and Government Officials?
ReplyDeleteSeems that such a groups is needed.
Wednesday I saw Anita Hill on TV. She is the woman who blew the whistle on Clarence Thomas but was not taken seriously and the evidence & witness's statements were not taken up during his confirmation hearings. Today I've read that the yet another cases against Strauss Kahn (who admitted to sexual assault) has been dropped.
"Is there a Survivors Network of those Abused by Politicians, Corporate and Government Officials?"
ReplyDeleteOWS!
Kansas City Bishop Charged for Not Bringing Pornography to Police
ReplyDeletePublished October 14, 2011
Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City's Catholic Bishop is facing a criminal charge for not telling police about child pornography that was found on a priest's computer.
Kansas City-St. Joseph Catholic Diocese Bishop Robert Finn pleaded not guilty Friday to a misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child abuse. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said Finn had "reasonable cause" to suspect a child had been abused after learning of the images, and should have immediately alerted police according to state law.
The fact that this is a misdemeanor "should not diminish the seriousness of the charge," Baker said. "Now that the grand jury investigation has resulted in this indictment, my office will pursue this case vigorously because it is about protecting children. I want to ensure there are no future failures to report resulting in other unsuspecting victims."
Finn has acknowledged that he and other diocese officials knew for five months about hundreds of "disturbing" photos of children on a computer used by the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, but did not take the matter to police. The diocese also faces one count of failing to report suspected child abuse.
Finn has said that St. Patrick's School Principal Julie Hess raised concerns more than a year ago that Ratigan was behaving inappropriately around children, but that he didn't read her written report until after Ratigan was charged with three state child pornography counts this spring. Ratigan has pleaded not guilty.
In a memo dated May 19, 2010, Hess wrote that several people had complained Ratigan was taking compromising pictures of young children and that he allowed them to sit on his lap and reach into his pocket for candy.
Hess at the time gave the report to Monsignor Robert Murphy, the diocese's vicar general, who spoke with Ratigan about setting boundaries with children and then gave Finn a verbal summary of the letter and his meeting with the priest.
Seven months later, a computer technician working on Ratigan's laptop found hundreds of what he called "disturbing" images of children, most of them fully clothed with the focus on their crotch areas, and a series of pictures of a 2- to 3-year-old girl with her genitals exposed.
The computer was turned over to the diocese, where officials examined the photos and reported them to Murphy but not to authorities, as required by Missouri's mandatory reporting law.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/14/kansas-city-bishop-charged-for-not-bringing-pornography-to-police/
Bernie Glassman’s Montague Farm is closing
ReplyDeleteFrom Bernie Glassman, Zen Peacemakers Newsletter
I wish to share with you that after three months of careful consideration and discussion, the Board of the Zen Peacemakers has decided to sell the organization’s Montague Farm campus in Western Massachusetts and move its operations to a smaller neighboring location.
The vision for developing the Montague Farm was to make its beautiful 34-acre campus a motherhouse for the Zen Peacemakers, a family and lineage of Zen practitioners integrating meditation with social action and service. ZP’s original focus of activity
was in Yonkers, New York. Over the years, members expanded this work, serving in different countries around the world, and often voiced the need for a home and central headquarters. So when the Montague Farm came to our attention in 2002, we decided to make that our base for socially engaged Buddhism, incorporating multifaith work, a training institute (named after my teacher, Maezumi Roshi), a zendo, and service projects.
We opened the Main Hall in September 2005 and have operated very successful programs since then. Last summer’s Symposium for Western Socially Engaged Buddhism was the campus’ climax to five highly successful years of resident trainings, outreach to the neighboring lowincome community, Zen teachings, and multi-faith offerings. We now feel that the Zen Peacemakers should fulfill its mission out of more modest, leased office/social service/zendo facilities in a neighboring town and renting conference facilities for large events when necessary. In fact, Zen Peacemakers did just that in Yonkers in the 1980s and the 1990s.
I wish to thank our Board, Staff, Zendo Members and Community Volunteers for working to move through this transition. And thank you to my friends, supporters and students for all your help throughout the years.
I continue to maintain my personal vows to feed all the hungry spirits.
With Gratitude,
Bernie
Potential Shobo-ji-for-ER buyers might want to take note of a potential for-sale announcement in the previous post ...
ReplyDeleteFarm Him Out,
ReplyDeleteI really don't think anyone wants to turn him and his penetrating dharma eye loose on an unsuspecting community.
That the "Dharma eye" has not been so "penetrating" of late...
ReplyDeleteSomething tells me,
ReplyDeleteIs that something a GPS Ankle Bracelet?
Call it loneliness,
ReplyDeletethat deep, beautiful color
no one can describe:
over these dark mountains,
the gathering autumn dusk.
-The Priest Jakuren (1139-1202)
Whatever it is,
ReplyDeleteI cannot understand it,
although gratitude
overcomes me
until I am reduced to tears
-Saigyo (1118-1190)
Saigyo on Saigyo
ReplyDeleteThe Monk Saigyo
Should I blame the moon
For bringing forth this sadness,
As if it pictured grief?
Lifting up my troubled face,
I regard it through my tears.
-Saigyo
I don't know, this poem and those above just makes me to think that for generations Japanese poetry is like the harmonious (or not) mutterings of a tearful but articulate drunkards from Europe -- Ireland, England, Spain or Italy.
Leave Aunt Nina alone with a bottle of wine for a half hour; come back and it seemed that everything in the room would remind her of something to cry about.
BTW -- Did the robes and bald heads somehow legitimize these wandering poets? Or the other hand, did these bald, robe wearing, sake swilling, maudlin word meisters make the monastics of their day seem more accessible?
Legitimize? I doubt these monk-poets were concerned with such a concept.
ReplyDelete"...everything in the room would remind her of something to cry about."
your point? Its a vale of tears from where I'm sitting.
OK, Cranky, how about some Chinese?
"Zazen on Ching-t'ing Mountain"
The birds have vanished from the sky,
Now the last cloud drains away.
We sit together, the mountain and me,
until only the mountain remains.
-Li Po (701-762)
Shodo: "As a weird aside,
ReplyDeleteAll of Katagiri's 12 dharma heirs got their Dharma Transmission in the same year - 1989.
That's 1 per month, the year before he died."
Shodo, sorry I'm late.
Interesting.
I guess that's why transmission can be so dangerous - I am not talking about for others, I am talking about for the practitioner themself.
It must be a heavy load to carry that and an easy disguise to believe in. In some ways I sympathise, and without a new Master, perhaps ones like Nonin may be lost for quite a while.
Incidentally, perhaps someone should link this blog entry in ZFI but perhaps it would be considered an attack again and immediately deleted.
Oh well, the world moves on and is much vaster than the internet Buddhist community. To practice is what is most important, even if it is most difficult.
Thanks and Gassho.
One funny monk does not mean that there are no genuine monks.
ReplyDeleteAren't we grateful to all genuine practitioners, Ancestors and aside those now and coming?
Take good care, everyone and thanks for all your help.
The various bits of poetry inserted above reminded me of a quote attributed to Soen Nakagawa Roshi: "I belong to the mountain."
ReplyDeleteJimbo said...
ReplyDeleteLegitimize? I doubt these monk-poets were concerned with such a concept.
Doubting is good, and may be you are right, but unless they were independently wealthy how would they have survived? Did the robes etc. do something for their economic circumstances?
Sorry you missed the points about the elevation of maudlin-ness in Japanese culture and how alcohol makes some people very sad or perhaps allows their profound sorrow and grief manifest.
Another point being is that I think there has been too much idealization going on with these monk-poets.
OK, Cranky, how about some Chinese?
"Zazen on Ching-t'ing Mountain"
The birds have vanished from the sky,
Now the last cloud drains away.
We sit together, the mountain and me,
until only the mountain remains.
Being less cranky today, and given that the poem is a lot less maudlin, I do ike the way it addresses address annica, impermanence; but given that the mountain remains I wonder....
Genkaku -
Do we have a context for or a poem from which the line, "I belong to the mountain" was taken?
" ... "
ReplyDeleteLess Cranky Today -- To the best of my (often shoddy) recollection, Soen's line was offered in a prose -- not poetic -- context.
ReplyDeleteMuch Eido about Nothing said...
ReplyDelete"..."
My thoughts exactly.
Sorry to interrupt the Critical Chan / Zen Poetry Appreciation and Study Group, but I have a couple of questions I want to ask in this forum.
I was going over some of the material from the Samoan Circle meeting, in particular Chayat's letter which stated in part "The most painful yet crucial aspect of the meeting was an adapted Samoan Circle. Soun Joe Dowling and I, together with AOB facilitators, sat in the inner circle, and participants from the outer circle took an empty chair in turn to speak."
Much criticism was put forward after Shainberg's letter to Chayat was exposed. Among the several ideas expressed in that letter he suggested that ZSS sell the city temple to Shimano's supporters and he'd " make every effort to study with him at this juncture of his life.
Initially I was among those who might have been surprised to learn that Shainberg, a man with views such as those above has been and continues to be on the ZSS "Ethics Committee." But upon reflection I realized that someone with views such as his would be welcomed by any of and may be all of Shimano's key enablers.
Question 1: Was Shainberg given a seat by Chayat in the inner circle of the Samoan Circle? (For some reason I thought I read that but can't find it.)
Question 2: Chayat wrote that Soun Joe Dowling had a seat in the inner circle? He is the current president of ZSS. Can anyone say more about him and his views and actions?
Question 3: Why weren't other board members all given seats (simultaneously or sequentially) assuming any others attended given the fact that the meeting went forward despite the fact that a hurricane was about to descend on the Catskills? ("... the intensity of our discussions was mirrored by the weather: Hurricane Irene raged outside, the strong winds and rain purifying our hearts (as well as washing out our roads! - from Chayat's letter posted to the daibosatsu.org web site.)
Can I assume correctly that Chayat as usual has chosen not to publicly and specifically respond to anything critical of Shimano or ZSS even the open letter by her fellow dharma heir, Genjo Marinello's posted on ZFI 7 Oct 2011? or even to the rather uncharacteristically pessimistic post of her (former ?) good buddy and press agent, the Rev. Nonin Chowaney on the same day?
To Sparrow:
ReplyDeleteYr assumption in last para is correct, I believe, with regard to "publicly", but not to "specifically" (personal knowledge).
Zen Studies will soon no longer be the only Zen Buddhist group on the upper east side of Manhattan. It is getting a competitor.
ReplyDeleteThe sign on the front simply says "Zen Buddhist Temple."
http://www.zenbuddhisttemple.org/images/nyctemple2011.jpg
It is going to be run by a Korean Zen Group named the Buddhist Society for Compassionate Wisdom/Zen Buddhist Temple.
See http://www.zenbuddhisttemple.org/about.html
It is headed up by one Ven. Samu Sunim. http://www.zenbuddhisttemple.org/sunim_bio.html
Which, par for the course, reads, unfortunately, like yet another over hyped hagiography.
They state they are in the process of renovating a building for their New York City Temple at
206 E. 63rd Street.
See http://www.zenbuddhisttemple.org/locations/newyork/index.html
Close enough for Eido to walk.
ReplyDeleteyou know this blog is on the skids when its own creator is forced to actually contribute himself, rather than hobnob elsewhere on some other sophisto venue
ReplyDeletegenkaku said...
ReplyDelete"Close enough for Eido to walk."
Funny you should say that it is within walking distance. It turns out to be symbolic as well as concrete. Old Eido will be right at home with his "peeps."
There is a load of mess following Ven. Samu Sunim.
From the Blog Zen Master Mayhem:
"There has been much confusion over the years with regard to Ven. Samu Sunim, and his legitimacy as a Zen Master since it has been reported that he claims to have received dharma transmission from his deceased Zen teacher through a vision."
"It has been said that Samu Sunim broke his celibacy vow with the Chogye order by marrying and having two children in the late 1960s."
"...he married one of his students, Marianne Bluger, reportedly for both immigration purposes as well as affection. She gave birth to two children. He then moved to Toronto and eventually established a successful permanent Zen center. Marianne raised their children as a single mother. She passed away in 2005."
Regarding the "wife," it gets better:
"Her first and brief marriage was to the prominent Zen master Samu Kim of Toronto with whom she had two children, Michael "Maji" Kim (b. 1969) and Micheline "Agi" Mallory (b. 1970), whom she raised. "
See
http://zenmastermayhem.blogspot.com/2010/06/curious-case-of-zen-master-samu-sunim_05.html
The situation seems even more bizarre after reading the correspondence appended after the blog entry.
The blogger seems to have tried to be fair and balanced and includes the organization's attempt to set the record straight which also meant getting the wikipedia entry changed. (Deja Vu?) But who know what is correct, what is "understandable human failing," what is a sincere attempt to follow tradition, and what is just a bunch of bull from yet another flim flam man promoting a "spiritual cause" while "taking some off the top for himself."
{big sigh!}
Much Nothing About Eido said...
ReplyDeleteyou know this blog is on the skids when...
Much Nothing,
This blog is not on the skids. It is just one blog among gazzillion of blogs. The owner of this blog posts virtually everyday most often several times a day. How many bloggers can claim that?
Genkaku lives, according to his bio above in Northampton, Mass., not the upper east side of Manhattan. Other comment-ers comment or not by sharing additional opinion, or factual information which may or may not be particularly relevant as to what Mr. Shimano is currently up to.
As for what Mr. Shimano is up to, perhaps the platitudinous saying "no news is good news" fits. Perhaps one day we will find out. Time will tell.
Used to be a Crank said,
ReplyDelete"..., I do ike the way it addresses address annica, impermanence; but given that the mountain remains I wonder...."
it addresses not just anicca, but also sunyata, no-self, hence, "...only the mountain remains" = self has disappeared, in other words the good old unconditional re-alm!
now isn't that beautiful?
Read it again after you have a kensho.
ah the arrogance of the priestly class!
Much Nothing About Eido said...
ReplyDelete" you know this blog is on the skids when its own creator is forced to actually contribute himself, rather than hobnob elsewhere on some other sophisto venue"
I don't know about "sophisto" venues, but since Genkaku is a fairly frequent contributor on the New Buddhist Forum and ZFI, I wouldn't conclude he's commenting on his own blog for want of participating in other internet discussions.
Those interested in a parallel overview to the depredations and 'solutions' within the Buddhist community may find this article (sent along by a friend this morning)about the Catholic church of interest ... I thought it was stunning:
ReplyDeletehttp://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_VATICAN_LEGION_OF_CHRIST?SITE=MIBAX&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&SECTION=HOME
gencockoo said:
ReplyDelete" I thought it was stunning: "
Yes, and apparently so many others did, too.
Carol on ZFI:
ReplyDelete"On the other hand, the tendency of some people to go off spreading rumors without checking them out carefully is often very damaging to innocent people. I've seen that happen, as I said, and it's really really ugly."
Of course, this is exactly what this shitrag blog has specialized in: going off against Genjo, Shinge, ZSS and Eido in the most pointed ad hominem attacks. Gencockoo has sponsored, condoned and encouraged it. My take: it is purely unBuddhist because it is neither right speech nor right action. Right action for Gencockoo would have been showing up at DBZ in person to say face-to-face what he has only had the uncourage to lob from the back bench.
Eido being guilty of manifold depredations does not justify the slime and sleaze against him indulged by so many on this 'blog'. Likewise, the work of Shinge, Genjo and many on the Board, which has righted wrongs to an historic degree, did not deserve the venom and hostility displayed here.
All in all, this exercise has done more harm than good.
Dennis, go take Dusty for a walk.....
ReplyDeleteYes, my point exactly.
ReplyDeleteAlso taken from ZSS is the quote below. Sadly, Shinge Roshi has "historically" missed this bigger picture. Strong voice is not anti-Buddhist. This isn't her full letter. It's emphasis is on the abuses of women which knows and states is not the full story.
ReplyDelete"The response to Eido Shimano's unempathic, self-centered and self-serving communique has been building, nationally and internationally, over December and into January. Buddhists are finally getting it. You have to take a stand, a strong and vocal stand, against the predatory behavior of its religious figures. You have to speak truth to power, and speak it loudly. And you have to act..........
I have been waiting for this moment not just for the many months since the discussions have been happening among Zen teachers. I have been waiting for years for a concerted response to such violations against women in our Buddhist world. Many of us women have brought these issues to the attention of the wider community and have been shamed and shunned over the years. But finally, just before New Years, the flood of letters addressing Eido Shimano's behavior has found its way onto the shores of his Buddhist monastery and the internet. Herein, one of first of those letters, my own...... http://www.upaya.org/news/2011/01/02/op ... o-shimano/
It will take a while for us to fully understand why we as Buddhists took so long to act. If Eido Shimano had been a doctor, lawyer, or psychotherapist, there would have been rapid social and legal consequences. But there is something about our religions, whether Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Islam, or Buddhist, that disallows us facing the shame associated with sexual violations and the gross gender issues that plague most, if not all, religions.
I understand that letters are easy to write. Less easy are the creation of protections so women (and religious communities) will not be harmed like this ever again. And even more difficult is changing the views, values, and behaviors that made it possible for someone like Eido Shimano and others to engage in such harmful acts for so long. Yet, it is not only a matter of the sexual violation of women and the painful violation of boundaries that are based in trust between teacher and student, it is as well a matter of the violation of the core of human goodness; for his behavior is also a violation of the entire Buddhist community, as well as the teachings of the Buddha which are uncompromising with respect to the unviability of killing, lying, sexual misconduct, wrongful speech, and consuming intoxicants of body, speech and mind. The northstar of goodness has been lost from sight in the long and recent past, and we are all suffering because we cannot see how deep the wound is to the heart of our world and to the coming generations.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMitchell said...
ReplyDelete"Also taken from ZSS is the quote below."
Mitchell, what follows the words "is the quote below" does not seem to have anything to do with anything said or written by anyone currently affiliated with ZSS.
I found most of it on http://www.upaya.org/news/2011/01/02/open-letter-from-roshi-regarding-eido-shimano/
The url is for an entry for a blog post by Joan Hallifax. Also some of what was quoted are responses to Hallifax' post entitled, "Open Letter from Roshi regarding Eido Shimano."
Please clarify what you meant to say.
Thank you Master Hip O' Critz. You embody your name so well. Chastising those who inflict ad hom attacks ... and than doing it yourself. Well done!
ReplyDeleteTo be sure, there have been some over the top statements made on this blog and in other places. There have also been many well stated criticisms around this whole affair. But you'd rather over-generalize and put those critics in one big box of slime and sleaze flingers.
Well, I suppose that's an easy response, and about as old as dirt. Condemning other people for their criticisms and never answering the content of what is said. The only person I've seen respond to some of the critics is Genjo. Everyone else is silent, or they do their fair share of mud slinging. Your post above is a fine example.
And as for more harm than good. To many of us, those words are more appropriate for Eido Shimano.
Dear Hip O'Critz ,
ReplyDeleteYou may not like some of the opinions expressed here. No one needs you to.
You may like Shinge, Genjo, Zenshin, Soun, and anyone or everyone else on the board. That's nice.
While you may think that comments here have reverberated throughout the ten quarters and through the three periods of time and have hurt your castle and it's inhabitants, but that is hardly the case in the real world.
Those who are aware of the Shimano's depredations and his enablers at Dai Bosatsu and Sho Bo Ji are probably not aware of this blog.
However, over the last several months I have had the opportunity to meet a few people who have decide not to remain with ZSS. But it wasn't not because of this blog, and, as far as I could tell it wasn't even due to the enormity of factual information in the ShimanoArchive. Instead it was due to the spirit at both temples.
Even under the best of circumstances, a fair number of people would have left ZSS for one reason or another regardless of who the new abbot was. But given the enormity and severity of the history of the Shimano problem (which you chose to accept or ignore) and it's cover up (which it seems you rather that it continued), you should have been prepared for a large, destabilizing turnover. Further, given that Ms. Chayat has chosen not to publicly acknowledged much less denounce Mr. Shimano's sick behavior and it's nearly fifty years of cover up and enablement what, for Buddha's sake, did you expect?
Dear Flaxy-poo:
ReplyDelete"Chastising those who inflict ad hom attacks ... and than doing it yourself. Well done!"
--Yes, the ad hom homonym for Genkaku was really over the top! Sometimes people get nicked on their nicknames.
"But you'd rather over-generalize and put those critics in one big box of slime and sleaze flingers."
--Wrong! Here's what was said:
" ...does not justify the slime and sleaze against him indulged by so *many on this 'blog'."
--Flaxy poo, there have been other critics, just as you say, who didn't indulge in sleaze. "many" is not "all".
"And as for more harm than good. To many of us, those words are *more* appropriate for Eido Shimano."
[asterisks mine]
--Here, I could not agree with you and like-minded others more.
P.S. Hey G: kept it goin for ya for at least another 24!
Master Hip O' Critz,
ReplyDeleteYou forgot a few others.
"this shitrag blog"
"Gencockoo has sponsored, condoned and encouraged it"
Genkaku on numerous times has pointed out that this is an open forum. He's also pointed out how he doesn't like some of the posts here, but he's not going to get into the job of removing such remarks. This goes also for the posts from supporters of Eido Shimano who have at times vented here. I suppose you could say he sponsors it cause he makes this blog available. Condoning and encouraging some of the more nastier comments on this blog? I don't think so.
"Right action for Gencockoo would have been showing up at DBZ in person to say face-to-face what he has only had the uncourage to lob from the back bench."
Criticism of how he criticizes, but have you ever directly addressed any thing he's said? There are many people that could be presently seen as outsiders to this organization, but they do have some kind of past ties. Robert Aitken is a good example because of his past experiences with Shimano. Again, you're not directly responding to anything he's said. Just putting him down because of the manner he's given voice.
Should we quibble about how many is many? And the fact that you've already called it a shitrag blog. I still say your over-generalizing.
Likewise, the work of Shinge, Genjo and many on the Board, which has righted wrongs to an historic degree, did not deserve the venom and hostility displayed here.
But did they deserve some of the better thought out criticism? I think we can all agree there has been plenty of senseless spittle said by both sides on this. Unfortunately, it just seems part of the internet experience. I simply ignore it and move on.
Ignoring the venom for the moment, I think this has provided a good resource for discussion. And without the Shimano Archives and the other sites out there discussing this issue, I don't believe any change would of ever come to ZSS. I feel it was only the public shame that forced some of the people in the organization to push for real change. And even with all of that, we keep hearing of attempts by others to push back. And so it goes ...
"Genkaku on numerous times has pointed out that this is an open forum. He's also pointed out how he doesn't like some of the posts here ..."
ReplyDelete--Yes, exactly so: the posts having substance that he disagrees with!
"Just putting him down because of the manner he's given voice."
--Damn straight! Because it signifies gutlessness and hypocrisy: not having the courage of your convictions by, and since you're a zen guy you can surely appreciate this, *demonstrating* your committment and belief in a way that could actually Make A Difference, rather than just farting on the bus.
"Ignoring the venom for the moment, I think this has provided a good resource for discussion. And without the Shimano Archives and the other sites out there discussing this issue, I don't believe any change would of ever come to ZSS."
--No, disagree. The Shimano Archive, all by itself, totally changed the game. Ask Genjo (or read what he has specifically written about this). He, Shinge, and most other players have averred publicly and in personal communication that they mostly avoid reading the crap on blogs, but have read the Archive material on that site or firsthand, Hence, 'shitrag'. The issue for self-proclaimed buddhists (i am not one, i am a child sa survivor who likes DBZ O Bon) is right speech and right action.
Does anyone know of a Japanophile's Anonymous meeting on the Upper East Side?
ReplyDeleteElmo would never ask such a thing. You're in my territory now: I personally know who produced him, who, besides living in london, lived in the 60's on the east side.
ReplyDeletePoint of Clarification
ReplyDelete(for those like me who get caught up in definitions of terms we don't use, even if we do the things the terms point to)
Description of Ad Hominem
Translated from Latin to English, "Ad Hominem" means "against the man" or "against the person."
An Ad Hominem is a general category of fallacies in which a claim or argument is rejected on the basis of some irrelevant fact about the author of or the person presenting the claim or argument. Typically, this fallacy involves two steps. First, an attack against the character of person making the claim, her circumstances, or her actions is made (or the character, circumstances, or actions of the person reporting the claim). Second, this attack is taken to be evidence against the claim or argument the person in question is making (or presenting). This type of "argument" has the following form:
Person A makes claim X.
Person B makes an attack on person A.
Therefore A's claim is false.
The reason why an Ad Hominem (of any kind) is a fallacy is that the character, circumstances, or actions of a person do not (in most cases) have a bearing on the truth or falsity of the claim being made (or the quality of the argument being made).
Example of Ad Hominem
Bill: "I believe that abortion is morally wrong."
Dave: "Of course you would say that, you're a priest."
Bill: "What about the arguments I gave to support my position?"
Dave: "Those don't count. Like I said, you're a priest, so you have to say that abortion is wrong. Further, you are just a lackey to the Pope, so I can't believe what you say."
Regarding discussion from ZSS supporters.
ReplyDeletePut aside whether anyone agrees or disagrees with an given assertion. Ignore the knuckleheaded remarks. Instead just focus on clearly stating whatever assertions you wish to make and back them up with facts.
(BTW -- Try to exercise due diligence and avoid misquotes.)
A further note about Ad Hominem Arguments:
ReplyDeleteWhile the ad hominem argument is normally described as a logical fallacy, it is not always fallacious; in some instances, questions of personal conduct, character, motives, etc., are legitimate and relevant to the issue.
However, as far as I can tell what we've been seeing on this blog is Genkaku being verbally attacked because someone has not liked what he wrote and has not removed certain comments. The attacker didn't really use an ad hominem argument; instead Genkaku was just (mildly) verbally abused.
An ad hominem argument against, say, "Henty" would be like this:
True Assertion 1:
Henyy says the water is not healthy. Further He demonstrates the water is not healthy by showing that sewerage leeks into his water supply.
True Assertion 2:
Henty uses illegal drugs.
The ad hominem argument:
Henty is a drug addict therefore his assertion about water must be wrong. (This is a favorite of corporate and political operatives.)
Master Hip O' Critz
ReplyDelete--Yes, exactly so: the posts having substance that he disagrees with!
My point was that he doesn't like the more venomous posts. But that's okay, create your own straw man argument and twist my words. Enjoy.
--Damn straight! Because it signifies gutlessness and hypocrisy: not having the courage of your convictions by, and since you're a zen guy you can surely appreciate this, *demonstrating* your committment and belief in a way that could actually Make A Difference, rather than just farting on the bus.
In your first response you tried to shake off your ad homs as solely a nickname issue. Now you seem to be quite proud of your personal attacks. So I assume from your reasoning that Robert Aitken, Kobutsu Malone, and numerous Zen teachers who have written individual letters (along with a group letter if I recall that many Zen teachers signed) about this issue are also gutless and hypocrites? After all, these people are not directly involved with ZSS affairs. The only way to influence change is by your rigid definition of direct participation? And yet later on you acknowledge the influence of the Shimano Archives. Not only do you contradict yourself, but as I said before you like to over-generalize.
--No, disagree. The Shimano Archive, all by itself, totally changed the game.
Another rigid statement, but we can just disagree on this. I've seen posts from women telling a bit of their story. I've seen Kobutsu numerous times ask people to contact him after a post. Along with some crap ... this blog has provided a place for people to make contact with one another and share their stories. I also recall someone making a private internet site for victims and posting it on here for support (Baker Street something ... ?). As life, this blog has much more complexity than you wish to acknowledge. Hence, your simplistic definition of it as a shitrag.
For someone so eager to remind self-proclaimed buddhists of right speech, I suggest you work on your own.
Master Hip O' Critz
ReplyDelete--Yes, exactly so: the posts having substance that he disagrees with!
* * * * * *
Does anyone know what is being referred to in the recent discussion?
Calling Genkaku "Gencockoo" is just immature or simply silly.
Honestly I have not seen many pro-Shimano or pro-ZSS posts much less such posts with any substance whatsoever. I'm sensing that this person is struggling with something regarding difficulties ZSS is having organizationally and spiritually even if these issues aren't very clear to him or her. I'd venture that the person is externalizing the unarticulated concerns when most likely they need to be seen clearly for what they are and why they have arisen. Only then can they be dealt with clearly and appropriately. (Excuse the near buddhist psycho-therapeutic babble but I don't know how to say this more articulately).
Also, this is not P.C. and I know I may be projecting, but the inarticulate nature of all this also seems hormonal.
Either that or the participants actually know each other and know what each means without spelling it all out.
The Disambiguator said...
ReplyDeleteWhile the ad hominem argument is normally described as a logical fallacy, it is not always fallacious; in some instances, questions of personal conduct, character, motives, etc., are legitimate and relevant to the issue.
Very true! That is called the Ad Hominem fallacy FALLACY.:)
Many people love to pull it out on the internetz, at the first sign of sarcasm, insults and abuse... NONE of which are Ad Hominem.
http://plover.net/~bonds/adhominem.html
One of the most widely misused terms on the Net is "ad hominem". It is most often introduced into a discussion by certain delicate types, delicate of personality and mind, whenever their opponents resort to a bit of sarcasm. As soon as the suspicion of an insult appears, they summon the angels of ad hominem to smite down their foes, before ascending to argument heaven in a blaze of sanctimonious glory. They may not have much up top, but by God, they don't need it when they've got ad hominem on their side. It's the secret weapon that delivers them from any argument unscathed.
In reality, ad hominem is unrelated to sarcasm or personal abuse. Argumentum ad hominem is the logical fallacy of attempting to undermine a speaker's argument by attacking the speaker instead of addressing the argument. The mere presence of a personal attack does not indicate ad hominem: the attack must be used for the purpose of undermining the argument, or otherwise the logical fallacy isn't there. It is not a logical fallacy to attack someone; the fallacy comes from assuming that a personal attack is also necessarily an attack on that person's arguments.
Therefore, if you can't demonstrate that your opponent is trying to counter your argument by attacking you, you can't demonstrate that he is resorting to ad hominem. If your opponent's sarcasm is not an attempt to counter your argument, but merely an attempt to insult you (or amuse the bystanders), then it is not part of an ad hominem argument.
Actual instances of argumentum ad hominem are relatively rare. Ironically, the fallacy is most often committed by those who accuse their opponents of ad hominem, since they try to dismiss the opposition not by engaging with their arguments, but by claiming that they resort to personal attacks. Those who are quick to squeal "ad hominem" are often guilty of several other logical fallacies, including one of the worst of all: the fallacious belief that introducing an impressive-sounding Latin term somehow gives one the decisive edge in an argument.
so for example...
ReplyDeleteMaster Hip O' Critz is a pretentious douche.
That's an insult!:)
Master Hip O' Critz is a pretentious douche - THEREFORE his argument is invalid.
Now THAT'S a Ad Hominem!:)
(BTW... I don't know if Master Hip O' Critz is a douche or not... just a example of a Ad Hom... So don't get pissed.)
Preparation is good quality.
ReplyDeleteStirring the pot is good characteristic.
A sense of proportion is good quality.
A sense of hunor is good is good characteristic.
Shodo does his homework.
Shodo is a troublemaker.
Shodo has a sense of proportion.
Shodo has a sense of humor.
Therefore Shodo has both good characteristics and good qualiities.
Therefore I like Shodo and I wish I could say that of others.
What kind of argumentation is this?
Heheh Thanks Journeyman:)
ReplyDeleteJoy said:
ReplyDelete"Calling Genkaku "Gencockoo" is just immature or simply silly."
Actually, what is silly is Adam Fisher calling himself "Genkaku".
What's wrong with the name your parents gave you?
Does this mean your are now the 'spiritual child' of another?
Two names are necessary?
(Is this along the lines of Henry Miller telling his French students "one for weekdays and the other for weekends?")
You can put Pfc or PhD (or, hey, "Master"!, thanks alot whoever did that!!) around my name, no sweat, but I choose to honor my parents and don't need any other substitute for my actual name.
Quick: what's Eido's dharma name? Some zen guy must know the answer as to why he signs as Eido, even in a buddhist context (or book autograph). (Muishitsu?? Pretty sh*tty! At least it wasn't 'cujo', 'fufu' or something that when translated would mean 'Pretentiously Enlightened One', etc.).
And then after you get your new name, let's dress you up in a 'baby buddha bib'! Now we're talkin'!
But, of course, you can still think as you like to think.
There are not too many great nicknames on this blog. Some people do try to be creative, though.
The best was by Kobutsu for Aitken: 'Papa'. I know, refutes everything I just argued, but, as they say in the Marines 'Semper Gumby'.
Aitken deserves any nice thing that can be said about him. Granted, he initially botched the shimano sex scandal issue (as did genjo), and it surely stuck in his craw until he belatedly acted on it. Many people were probably very hurt in the meantime. But really, this person is a towering figure, and if any Westerner clearly and obviously 'got it', it was he.
The only other really creative, bitchin', totally tubular and twitchin' nickname favorite I can think of right now: flax3lbs. Now that sure ain't no 'silly'!
P.S. If your parents named you as a girl, "Velveeta", or as a boy, "Rupert", then feel free to acquire an alternate appelation.
ReplyDeleteHip said, "What's wrong with the name your parents gave you?"
ReplyDeleteSo then . . . why not use YOURS??????
Okay! You first!
ReplyDeleteYou mean, you don't like my silly nicknames?
I don't keep blog nicknames for life, stupid, like a dharma name or the one my parents gave me!
For years in my punk band, we changed our band name every couple of gigs. It was part of our art. People in the know or who needed to know knew or figured it out. Same thing here.
If you knew my name, would you look me up on the internet? Try to get my phone #? Are you in therapy? Do you take prescription meds? Do you have any rashes? Do you own binoculars or a gun? How would I know?
Ask Joy the same question. I'll bet she and I have essentially the same answer.
My point was that Genkaku got attacked for using his dharma name. At least he has the guts to post under his real name(s), not like so many others of us chicken-shit posters!
ReplyDeleteNobody is going to even think of harming a gentle soul like Adam Fisher. Not so with an in-your-face prick like me! Some fool with a scoped Bushmaster might actually take my sh*t seriously (lol). Likewise, you have no idea what might be in store for you if you tried to approach me.
ReplyDeleteRemember the guy who posted over and over again as 'ZSS IS A CULT'? It's bigger than just ZSS.
Hip O'Drome said...
ReplyDelete"Actually, what is silly is Adam Fisher calling himself "Genkaku".
What's wrong with the name your parents gave you?"
Well, when you take the Buddhist Precepts, you get a name.
Adam's is Genkaku.
Mine is Shodo.:)
"Quick: what's Eido's dharma name? Some zen guy must know the answer as to why he signs as Eido, even in a buddhist context (or book autograph)."
Ooh OOH I know this one!!
Eido's Dharma name is...
(wait for it...)
...Eido!:)
You don't really have to look very hard, it's on his Wikipedia page:
"In his youth Shimano was ordained as novice monk by Kengan Goto, the priest of Empuku-ji, the Rinzai temple in Chichibu. Kengan Goto gave him the Dharma name Eido, composed from first characters of two Japanese Zen founders, Eisai and Dogen.
Thanks for looking that up, and having the honesty to admit it!
ReplyDeleteNo problem!
ReplyDeleteDharma names are kindof special - it's something that your teacher gives you, and it has a meaning that was the reason that your teacher gave it to you... it's sometimes something to aspire to, a kind of specific training tool.
My name means "The Blossoming Way".
It is special to me... it's even on my checks.
Zachariah Shodo Judd Spencer:)
Dodo doesn't even recognize the putdown
ReplyDeleteI just choose to see it as a compliment:)
ReplyDeleteLook, bottom line: just get an emWave. You can do breathwork, practice metta (which is a specific requirement), get scientific feedback, all on your own. No hucksters or charming cultic charlatans. Just make sure you master its operation, so you get the full benefit and can evaluate your usage all on your own. The new version is sleeker and allows hookup to your computer so you can see performance graphs. The old version, which I have had for two years, is serviceable and cheaper.
ReplyDeleteNo bs (normally, I admit, I am quite full of it).
What is an emWave supposed to do?
ReplyDeleteI just went to their website.
ReplyDeleteSoooo... It's a stress reliever?
Unfortunately I didn't get into Zen Buddhism to relieve stress, so I am afraid I would probably find it lacking.
"What is an emWave supposed to do?"
ReplyDelete--"You can do breathwork, practice metta (which is a specific requirement), get scientific feedback, all on your own. No hucksters or charming cultic charlatans."
Never mind, dodo.
NEWS FLASH!
ReplyDeleteTurns out there IS a difference between "can" and "supposed"...;)
Oh... and The HeartMath Institute?
here is a brief list of some of their claims:
"I've spent some time on the HeartMath Institute website. I've had them on Google alerts for a while. They believe that the heart is an intelligence. They believe that the heart taps into the universal consciousness. They believe your heart is capable of precognition. Their 'coherence' methods (You can buy the meter for $130) is supposed to connect you heart and brain so it can communicate all this to your brain. They do experiments on memory in water and believe that the electromagnetic fields from you heart can change the structure of a glass of water from five feet away. I could go on. So, yes they are complete woo."
http://www.skepticforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=16540
Enjoy your New Age claptrap.
"...research indicates that the physiological
ReplyDeleteactivity associated with sustained positive emotions enhances synchronization of neurological activity and improves the cognitive functions that generate rational thought, creativity, and intentional action. In essence, we have found that positive emotions give rise to a distinct mode of physiological functioning, termed psychophysiological coherence. Physiological correlates of this mode include a smooth, sine wave-like pattern in the heart rate
variability trace (heart rhythm coherence), which reflects increased synchronization between the activity in the two branches of the autonomic nervous system; a shift in autonomic nervous system balance toward increased
parasympathetic activity; increased heart–brain synchronization (the brain’s rhythms become more synchronized to the heartbeat); increased vascular resonance; and entrainment among diverse physiological oscillatory systems.
These physiological changes result in a highly efficient state in which the body, brain, and nervous system function with increased synchronization and harmony—in simple terms, a state of being highly “in sync.” Several
independent studies have shown that increasing psychophysiological coherence is associated with improvements in cognitive performance on tasks requiring focus and attention, discrimination, quick and accurate reaction, and memory. Moreover, the coherence mode is also associated
with increased emotional stability and a reduction in the perception of stress and negative emotions (McCraty, Atkinson, Tomasino, & Bradley, 2005)."
The skeptic forum comment is crap. Prove that even one skeptic assertion from the Heartmath website is true! 1. You can read the scientific studies for yourself, including the one I've cited. 2. I've used the emWave for two years, so I can attest from personal experience. 3. Reference is from Psychotherapy Networker Symposium at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, DC, March, 2010, a top-notch, reliable, and reputable organization which thoroughly screens presenters. The symposium is world-class, with an attendance of 3,000+ annually.
What I specifically like is the emphasis on metta.
Sorry, Shodo. You may be a self-described buddhist, but really you seem to be inclined towards quick hatred of what don't understand. How can that buddhist philosophy and hatred possibly reconcile? Maybe you need more time to let your understanding and awareness 'blossom'.
P.S. Skeptic forum sounds like some amazon.com reviews!
Before you respond Chris... a few minutes on your emWave may be a touch efficacious.:)
ReplyDeleteThat's okay, I'll hang on to see if you have an actual response, or if you just limp away.
ReplyDeleteThe skeptic forum comment is crap. Prove that even one skeptic assertion from the Heartmath website is true!
ReplyDeleteOk.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/doc-childre/dan-browns-new-book-2012_b_316194.html
Doc Childre (incidentally, not a doctor) talks about how Dan Brown's work of fiction is lining up with the findings of the HeartMath group.
His fictional character (Dan Brown's) Trish talks about "software that quantifies the nation's emotional state." Brown goes on. His fictional scientist Katherine "created beautifully symmetrical ice crystals by sending loving thoughts to a glass of water as it froze. Incredibly the converse was also true: when she sent negative, polluting thoughts to the water, the ice crystals froze in chaotic, fractured forms." What is Dan Brown trying to tell us?
Interestingly enough, our research center at the Institute of HeartMath has investigated some of what Brown is describing.
LoL, my that IS interesting!:)
In analyzing the Random Event Generator data from 9-11 (this data is real), along with analyzing data recorded on 9-11 by two geostationary environmental satellites (GOES) orbiting the Earth which detected a higher rise in global magnetism than any that had been recorded for the same date/time previously about 15 minutes after the first plane hit the World Trade Center and about 15 minutes before the second impact, researchers had to ask the questions: What if mass human emotional states (positive or negative) can actually affect the earth's energetic fields? What if our collective emotional state (which is becoming more interconnected all the time through the internet and mass media) is causing chaos or order at the quantum energetic level which is affecting climatic, geomagnetic, political and social activity?
woo!
Many people are feeling a shift in consciousness happening now and some are predicting a major planetary shift around the year 2012. There are cosmic changes occurring around that time: a new cycle of solar activity that's beginning now peaks around that time; the earth comes into alignment with the center of our galaxy for the first time in 25,000 years in 2012, and more. The Mayan calendar ends in December 2012 and other ancient cultures predicted unprecedented opportunity through these times.
Woo!
The not-for-profit Global Coherence Initiative (GCI), with scientists from the Institute of Noetic Sciences and the Global Consciousness Project, is researching the impact of collective emotional states on a global level and building a global coherence monitoring system (GCMS) of ultrasensitive magnetic field detectors to study the effect of collective negative and positive human emotionality on the Earth's systems.
WOOOOO!
Sounds pretty New Agey to this Shododo...:)
Oh... and one more thing.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.heartmathbenelux.com/doc/Heartbasedliving.pdf
"Boom goes the Dynamite"
I'll say it again... enjoy your New Age claptrap.
If it makes you a better person Chris, more power too ya.:)
Oh, and just 1 last thing...
ReplyDeleteThese "studies"...?
What Journal were they published in?
Or were they "published" by HeartMath?
So Chris A...
ReplyDeleteIf you believe in all this HeathMath stuff, and you like to bliss out with your little iPod thingie....
Why are you even here? Why do you care about the Eido Shimano problem? Or Zen in general?
What's your "mika-dinka" motivations for even being here, sniping at "Genkakudinkadoo" and "Shodododo" and others?
Listen, Chris A.
ReplyDeleteI can tell by your deafening silence that you probably don't want to talk about the HeartMath quackery anymore - that is fine, I will drop it.
But I REALLY want to know why you are even here.
This is blog entry that has been going on now for a year and a half. This is the 3rd incarnation of it, discussing the serious problem of Eido Shimano - I wont DARE call him roshi.
He has used his center, used his sangha, and has wrung it thru the proverbial wringer time and time again since the 60's. He has zero credentials of lineage in Japan, and is a unrepentant predator plain and simple.
Why are you here (in my view) heckling people?
You are not a zen practitioner, just this iPod emWave thing.
... and here you are, on a blog for victims and concerned meta-sangha, ripping on them??
Who does that?
You have zero to do with any of this, but you've
been here for a while now, posting under a million different names, and your only contribution is basically heckling the concerned people here.
Why are you doing that?
I quit the cult.
ReplyDeleteI *heckled* Marinello's *hecklers* to try to make them stop their unjustified *heckling* of him.
I am a child sa survivor (hence anon). Everything other than addressing the concerns of Eido's victims, past or potential, on this blog should have been a secondary issue, imo. That is why I hate that certain people passed on the AOB@DBZ meeting.
One last thing. I called Heartmath. They have a 30-day money back guarantee. The rep said it would cost typically $8 - 12, to ship back. If you want to try it, get it. If you decide you don't like it, send me your address to shsw@cox.net, and I will reimburse the cost for you to ship it back. Heartmath says they will refund the whole purchase price, so there will be no cost to you. Send me a test email now first so I can respond to you so that you will know it is my address. Everybody else: don't email me!
Really, I don't give a sh*t whether it's too new-agey for you or not. With a nickname like 'blossom boy', though, I figure you've got a chance, and at least you might see it's not 'claptrap'.
THERE you are... I was afraid that I had come on too hard on you and that you were no longer wishing to talk.
ReplyDeleteI *heckled* Marinello's *hecklers* to try to make them stop their unjustified *heckling* of him.
A year ago, the "heckling" may have been justified, not so much now. If you go to the ZFI post, Kobutsu, Genkaku, myself and others have acknowledged the 180 degree change in his view and have offered olive branches to each other - In fact, I am QUITE impressed with Genjo. His ethical sense is quite strong in spite of who his teacher is.
I cannot speak for everyone, but that is certainly how I feel at least.
Just don't think that when folks criticize ZSS/DBZ, that we are ripping on Genjo (who also was not at the AOB@DBZ meeting.) Roko gives me cause to worry, same with the letter from Shainberg... The ZSS is not out of the woods yet, but I think Genjo is doing his best to steer things in the right course.
Really, I don't give a sh*t whether it's too new-agey for you or not. With a nickname like 'blossom boy', though, I figure you've got a chance, and at least you might see it's not 'claptrap'.
I'll take your word for it that you like it and that it helps you, but I will save my money thanks - as I said before, I did not start practicing because I needed to manage my stress.
Peace?:)
You missed it, again, by a mile.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I work. I have a life. I'm not on this blog, or any other, like its a tit.
Everything other than addressing the concerns of Eido's victims, past or potential, on this blog should have been a secondary issue, imo. That is why I hate that certain people passed on the AOB@DBZ meeting.
ReplyDeleteDear Unconcerned Heckler -- At the risk incurring the wrath of the righteous, I would like to say that I agree with you ... or anyway I agree about 50%.
My own concerns, as stated several times in the past were 1. That Eido Shimano should be barred utterly from contact with ZSS in any of its incarnations or formats and 2. That a straight-forward and unobscured apology should be made individually and collectively to those who fell victim to Shimano's machinations and depredations.
Like others, I seriously considered going to DBZ for the Aug. 26-28 meeting. In the end, I did not for several reasons. First, perhaps, because I am too old and fat and lazy and such traveling tires me out ... especially when I took the time to investigate the parameters of that meeting in advance and found them dubious as regarded my concerns.
The meeting was not held on neutral ground. It was held in a place that was inconvenient on the one hand and threatening (to those who had been victimized) on the other. And when I consulted with An Olive Branch (the 'facilitator' of the meeting), I heard first-hand that their organization considered their role to be one of peace-maker among the parties present. They did not consider it a part of their charge to familiarize themselves with the extensive history (Shimano Archives, for example) that led up to that meeting. In short, the meeting was premised implicitly on the notion that Zen Studies Society had hit a rough patch, but that the causes for that rough patch were not an issue worth examining. Rather, the notion was to smooth the rough patch and move forwards, saving ZSS for future generations of Zen students.
I gather from what followed that the Olive Branch goals were met. There were a couple of untoward eruptions, but nothing that couldn't be coped with, smoothed, and, I gather, pretty much put in the rear-view mirror.
Based on what I found before and heard after, I am not sorry I failed to attend. I did not and do not agree with the premise that things can be smoothed out by holding a meeting in an out-of-the-way location -- one at which many of the past depredations took place. I do not agree that a Samoan circle or a kiss of peace or a recitation of the word "compassion" touches on the root causes of so much anguish. I do not feel that in side-stepping those root causes -- what is the matter with honesty? -- that much is accomplished outside of cruising for some future, predictable bruising. Yes, it's all complicated. The Shimano Archives are not piece of cake. But without some willingness to name the splinter and dig it out, how can it help but continue to fester?
OK ... I'm a lily-livered pussy for not taking part in an 'honest attempt.' My problem is that I did not consider it honest.
And still don't.
Genjo has turned 179.5º ......
ReplyDeleteHe still refers to Shimano as "Roshi" and is overly tied into his "identity" as a "dharma heir."
Well said Genkaku.
ReplyDeleteHope it doesn't fall on minds that deafens the ears and blinds the eyes.
What's wrong with a facilitator (AOB) being neutral?
ReplyDeleteEvery pov gets a fair shake, and the truth outs!
Brother, you should have nailed this one. You had a chance to hit it out of the park. Old, fat, lazy, or all three, you still blew it. Things might not have wound up "smoothed out" if you had been there to stir it up. Only someone with the history and cred of a Fisher or Malone could have done it.
Brother, you should have nailed this one. You had a chance to hit it out of the park. Old, fat, lazy, or all three, you still blew it. Things might not have wound up "smoothed out" if you had been there to stir it up. Only someone with the history and cred of a Fisher or Malone could have done it.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like you are admitting that the Olive Branch Meeting was a big waste of time.
No Show:
ReplyDeleteDid you bother to read Genkaku's message?
Do you understand what he wrote? If not, ask questions!
The dialog is getting disturbing.
ReplyDeleteTime to play a song,"We Don't Need Another Hero", sung by the great Tina Turner. Born in 1939, her birthday is coming up soon. Happy Birthday, Tina, your singing has been an inspiration to me and many others. (Link is to a version on YouTube active as of 11/1/11.)
"We Don't Need Another Hero"
Out of the ruins
Out from the wreckage
Can`t make the same mistake this time
We are the children
The last generation
We are the ones they left behind
And I wonder when we are ever gonna change
Living under the fear, till nothing else remains
We don`t need another hero
We don`t need to know the way home
All we want is life beyond
Thunderdome
Looking for something
We can rely on
There`s gotta be something better out there
Love and compassion
Their day is coming
All else are castles built in the air
And i wonder when we are ever gonna change
Living under the fear till nothing else remains
All the children say
We don`t need another hero
We don`t need to know the way home
All we want is life beyond
Thunderdome
So what do we do with our lifes
We leave only a mark
Will our story shine like a light
Or end in the dark
Give it all or nothing
We don`t need another hero
We don`t need to know the way home
All we want is life beyond
Thunderdome
Dedicated to all of us, with disrespect to no one.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome!:)
ReplyDeleteI LOVED that movie when I was a kid!:)
"Two men enter.... One man leave!"
"I LOVED that movie when I was a kid!:)"
ReplyDeleteBrilliant
A**kissing (I LOVED that movie) and condescending (when I was a kid), simultaneously
"Kobutsu, Genkaku, myself ..." Yes, he is definitely part of the zen pantheon, by his own *admission*
:)
"I didn't mean to treat you so bad
ReplyDeleteYou shouldn't take it so personal
I didn't mean to make you so sad
You just happened to be there, that's all"
The difference between a conversation with a pr*ck like me and a conversation with a 'stuffed shirt' like you-know-who, is that with a pr*ck, mostly, you know that you're alive.
Come on man...
ReplyDeleteI know you're all sore at me, but are you really itching for a fight so bad that you are just going to do your hardest to interpret everything I say in a negative light?
"Brilliant
A**kissing (I LOVED that movie) and condescending (when I was a kid), simultaneously
I did love that movie when I was a kid, and that was the spirit in which I said it - it was the theme for the movie!
"Kobutsu, Genkaku, myself ..." Yes, he is definitely part of the zen pantheon, by his own *admission*
I am a part of nothing except the things I have said in this thread to Genjo...
http://www.zenforuminternational.org/viewtopic.php?f=73&t=3584
I will say it again.
I don't know Eido, or ever even set foot on ZSS property. I don't know Genkaku, Kobutsu or any of the victims outside of the internet. I consider myself much like a concerned Catholic who knows of a predator priest in a nearby diocese.
"you are just going to do your hardest to interpret everything I say in a negative light?"
ReplyDeleteJust doing my best to stay true to my pr*ck persona!
Well...
ReplyDeleteMaybe you wouldn't feel like you need to be such a prick if I hadn't been a bastard and made fun of your emWave thing.
Once again, I am sorry for that.
Was thinking of an Oh no, Mr. Bill!" joke, but now I am stopped in my tracks
ReplyDeleteSooner or Later said...
ReplyDeleteThe difference between a conversation with a pr*ck like me and a conversation with a 'stuffed shirt' like you-know-who, is that with a pr*ck, mostly, you know that you're alive.
Thanks for sharing but... Hmmmm.... I don't know...let me tell you what I get:
The put down of the well spoken and the careful by the labeling of "stuffed shirt" together with the self-proclaimed "I'm a prick" pronouncement probably sounds very good in your head; but to me it says you're just an unsophisticated, barely educated Drama Queen.
Drama Queens use the people around them props for their act. Look to Eido as has been La Prima Drama Queen
Honey, with all Drama Queens the drama is about them, and only them. None of it is about those around them; not even those who try to help them, others are just props.
So you may THINK your crudeness is an asset for "real living." But that, my dear is just part of your schtick. Get help. ASAP. Insight meditation might help as well.
LETTER FROM SHINGE
ReplyDeleteNovember 1, 2011
Dear Zen Studies Society Sangha,
In the weeks since our Sangha Weekend facilitated by An Olive Branch, I have felt deeply saddened. I want to express my sorrow and regret to those harmed by affairs with their teacher, to the many who have suffered feelings of betrayal and disillusionment, and for the bitterness and divisiveness that have occurred.
Although I cannot apologize for what others have done or have not done, what I can do is to ensure a safe and inspiring environment for authentic Rinzai Zen training and practice at the Zen Studies Society's monastery and temple.
To that end, the current Board of Directors and I are taking many positive steps to restore trust in the Zen Studies Society. We have already revised the Zen Studies Society's By-laws, and we have created a firm framework for upholding the Precepts and ethical guidelines at Dai Bosatsu Zendo and New York Zendo.
I have also nominated new Board members to include dedicated practitioners who have strong non-profit, law, and business careers, as well as elected representatives from both the New York Zendo and Dai Bosatsu Zendo. From January 2012, I will work with this expanded Board to ensure transparency in our communications with Sangha members, emphasizing the kind of deep listening that took place during our facilitated Sangha Weekend. To ensure that our skills as directors meet the Society's needs, I will arrange a Board training retreat with a non-profit professional on best practices for governance and communication.
I recognize that the transition from an organization based on the charismatic leadership of one individual to one that is based on the strength of the Sangha as a whole is not easy, but it is an exciting chance to develop a long-term, stable, and harmonious future. Know that my door is always open to you as we work to envision and implement this future.
It is heartening to see more practitioners, both new and old, attending sittings and events at New York Zendo, and participating in sesshin, Introduction to Zen, and samu weekends at Dai Bosatsu Zendo. I am grateful for everyone's pure motivation and dedication.
I want to take this opportunity to pledge my support and encouragement to each one of you. Let us join together in experiencing the treasure of zazen, so that we and future generations may mature in Buddha's wisdom.
Gassho,
Shinge
The letter from Shinge is also available in the Shimano Archive at:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.shimanoarchive.com/PDFs/20111101_Chayat_Sangha.pdf
Before receiving Shinge's letter in email, I was chatting with a chum and saying that I thought perhaps there was an overgeneralized division in the Shimano discussion between those who felt there was something to salvage at Zen Studies Society and those who felt that in order to create anything healthy, it would be necessary to start at ground zero, having emptied the poison water from the well.
ReplyDeleteWhether this observation is too much of a reach or not (and I can imagine it might be), I would be interested to hear from those in favor of salvaging ZSS despite its specific past (not "those harmed by affairs with their teacher" but "those harmed by affairs with Eido Shimano").
SPECIFICALLY-- What aspects do you see as worthy of saving? Can these aspects credibly sidestep a past so closely woven with the present? Is it a matter of simply waiting long enough and bringing in new and unwitting customers ... and forget about an upsetting past? Is this authentic Rinzai Zen (or any other) training? Maybe it is. I don't know. That's why I'm asking.
I don't mean to start a brush fire here. I really am curious as to what SPECIFICALLY anyone might consider to be untainted fruit worthy of support and advancement.
SPECIFICALLY means naming an aspect and conceiving the way or ways in which it might play out and bear sweet and credible fruit... and leaving aside the cuddly hosannas any of us might use from time to time.
"We have already revised the Zen Studies Society's By-laws"
ReplyDeleteWhen pray tell will these newly revised by-laws be made available for scrutiny? The operating parameters may have changed...
Re: Shinge's letter.
ReplyDeleteSpoken like a 2-bit politician from Jersey.
Doesn't know anything.
Can't mention any names.
Can't apologize.
Pretty grabby for power, too.
We're back to ZSS is a cult.
Save it?
Good riddance to it!
She makes me sick.
"Date rape" is not an "affair with the teacher"... it's rape.
ReplyDelete"She makes me sick."
ReplyDeleteyou're already sick, so "sicker"
Without wanting to divert attention from genkaku's excellent questions above, here's a little poetic interlude. The subject is not Shimano, but a very similar Zen teacher here in Germany. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteLittle Man Writ Large
It began with one young, little man
who himself and others so did hate,
that with delusions of grandeur he ran
and sadly fell for very tempting bait.
Although 'twas Buddhism he first discovered,
he evidently didn't like the result.
He thus quickly recovered
and instead started his very own cult.
He loved the students' fawning eyes
when they threw themselves before him.
And he learned well to weave the lies
that made the women adore him.
Pulling the strings from his doctor's office,
as a cult leader he became no slouch.
He must have collected handsome profits
while seducing girls on his therapy couch.
During sesshins he made sure as well
that the ladies satisfied his needs.
Thus one by one they rang the bell
to get a helping of his seeds.
Of course everything had to be secret,
from outside there was no noise at all.
Later we could hardly believe it:
how many stockinged feet had crept down that hall.
The men just had to obey and go along;
their Master kept them reined in tight.
Somehow it was never him who was wrong,
and eventually they lost the will to fight.
Thus he created a world of his own invention,
bedecked with portraits and a bronze bust.
He always had to be the centre of attention
while treating his underlyings as nothing but dust.
Whether it was music, appointments or dinner time,
in that world he was the only one in it.
With the exception of his First Concubine:
the cherry blossom-like violonist.
If a student ever woke up from the nightmare,
he of course high-tailed it right out the door.
Then we had to pretend he had never even been there
to keep the herd as deaf and dumb as before.
Yet eventually from the little egomaniac's heart
so much hatred and bitterness spewed,
that even though he kept trying to talk smart,
even the naïvest finally saw through't.
And so the group became an empty shell;
practically everyone got up and ran.
Until there remained, in his own private hell,
just one old, little man.
"What aspects do you see as worthy of saving?"
ReplyDeleteThe sangha and its practice.
"...what SPECIFICALLY anyone might consider untainted fruit worthy of support and advancement."
It matters that the sangha and its practice have been 'tainted'. That doesn't mean the sangha and its practice is not worthy of support and
advancement.
"...means naming an aspect and conceiving the way or ways in which it might play out and bear sweet and credible fruit..."
1. Supporting the sangha and its practice by not denigrating and retarding the right efforts of the sangha.
2. Lay off Shinge.
3. ZSS should try to reconcile with Genjo and the Seattle Sangha. He can be forgiven.
"Christopher said...
ReplyDeleteWithout wanting to divert attention from genkaku's excellent questions above,"
So, naturally, he tries to divert the attention to himself
If anyone should go f*ck himself, it is this miserable, self-righteous little pr*ck, Chris the pisser (Hammacher?).
Shake It Don't Break It said...
ReplyDelete3. ZSS should try to reconcile with Genjo and the Seattle Sangha. He can be forgiven.
Wait...!
What did Genjo do that requires "forgiveness"?
Taking the responsible ethical position in regards to his teacher and his relation to the ZSS is worthy of respect and support - not something to be forgiven.
thats not it
ReplyDeletelet genjo say
let Genjo say what?
ReplyDeletefor himself
ReplyDeleteor 'rule out'
reconciliation with this great teacher needs to happen
dude what are you talking about?
ReplyDeleteHe's run out of booze.
ReplyDeleteOy! I passed out and hit the keyboard ... now there are key indentations on my forehead!
ReplyDeleteA rant above that had some meat and a bit of clarity. Here are some remarks about it, FWIW:
ReplyDelete1. Supporting the sangha and its practice by not denigrating and retarding the right efforts of the sangha
ZSS has been a top down organization and continues to be so. Consequently the wishes and actions of it's so-called sangha have never been addressed beyond whether they accept and enable the upper management.
2. Lay off Shinge.
Such thinking will do nothing but to perpetuate the notion that ZSS is a cult.
3. ZSS should try to reconcile with Genjo and the Seattle Sangha. He can be forgiven.
"He can be forgiven" Wow! "Watch your back," seems to be what you mean to say.
A very scary list of demands, IMO.
Exactly!
ReplyDeletenumber 3 seems to say that Genjo has created some kind of rift between him and the Seattle sangha by taking a stand on Eido... are people so askew at the ZSS that they denigrate anyone who doesn't tow the line with loving Eido blindly no matter how bad he gets?
1, You mean, from your *experience* of AOB@DBZ, or at least since Shinge helped boot Eido, experience, I am saying, as part of the sangha, the sangha got used?
ReplyDelete2. Shinge is undeserving of a chance to lead ZSS and serve that sangha because:
?
Hoen-ji bad stuff?
3. In time, no doubt, we will hear from genjo.
Better that than hearing 'about' him.
P.S. Your direct experience with Shinge is:
ReplyDelete?
P.P.S. Shodo, my bud brother, stop. You are not in the ballpark, zipcode, etc., on #3.
ReplyDeletethen be specific - because that is exactly how it sounds.
ReplyDelete"Reconcile" what?
Oh, and I wrote what I said above wrong.
ReplyDeleteWhat I wrote sounds like Genjo vs Chobo-ji...
What I meant was Genjo and Chobo-ji vs DBZ/ZSS folks.
Another interlude, this time more factual than poetic. Please consider this timeline of ZSS statements about their "forensic audit":
ReplyDeleteSept 2, 2010, FaithTrust Institute recommendation to ZSS: "Conduct a formal financial audit for the organization. Issue a summary audit report available to the Sangha members."
Sept 19, 2010, Report from Genjo Marinello: "We are pursuing a “forensic” audit of the whole financial structure of the organization so that we can understand all our assets and liabilities from the ground up."
Oct. 18, 2010, Report from Joe Dowling: "The Zen Studies Society Board is undertaking a financial review. As part of our year-end outreach we will share an updated status of our current circumstances."
Feb 5, 2011 Report from Board: "We are also arranging for a professional audit of its resources."
July 6th, 2011, Report from Genjo Marinello: "We have finally gotten all documents, records and seals from ER. Our lawyer has gone over them and on first few there are many discrepancies, but no indication of fraud or gross mismanagement. We are now working with a couple of accountants to try and bring both NYZ and DBZ up to a level where an ordinary audit can be done. Our treasurer, is a volunteer, doing a great job, but is not an accountant himself. Once the books are ready for ordinary audits then we will begin work on a more detailed historical review of past years."
Sept. 19, 2011, Letter from Roko Chayat
“In the wake of this important weekend, I have done the following (...)
“Ordered an in-depth financial audit to clarify our strongest sources of funding, get a better understanding of our operating and capital expense needs, and examine past practices that may not have been in the best interests of the Sangha. We are looking for this audit to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2012."
Thus, we have Roko stating, exactly one year to the day after the Board first claimed to be pursuing a forensic audit, that she has "ordered" an audit "in the wake" of the August mediation session.
Interlude over.
PS I also noticed that in yesterday's letter Roko states both that the by-laws have been revised and that she has nominated new board members. In other words, although their are now allegedly elected representatives from DBZ and Shoboji, the main board members are still appointed at the abbot's discretion even under the new by-laws. So much for being "relational" instead of "hierarchical"...
“Ordered an in-depth financial audit to clarify our strongest sources of funding, get a better understanding of our operating and capital expense needs, and examine past practices that may not have been in the best interests of the Sangha."
ReplyDeleteI.e. since their treasurer was not an accountant or auditor ...
Ordianry audit is different (superficial) compared with forensic (in-depth?) audit.
How many times have you tried to get info directly from ZSS/Shinge? What were the exact results?
" pursuing a forensic audit ..."
ReplyDeleteClearly, Christopher, you don't know what you are talking about. Specifically, you have no clue regarding the steps to doing a forensic audit.
Worse, you don't want know.
Shut your piehole.
Merry White Benezra's Novel about her experiences at DBZ:
ReplyDeletehttp://specialkarma.wordpress.com/
Praise for Special Karma
September 18th, 2011
Special Karma is a fascinating novel, of interest to anyone who has attempted to do meditation practice or follow a spiritual discipline, to anyone who has fallen in and out of young love. In it one experiences the intensity of life deeply apprehended, the attractiveness of a character who is both honest about and just slightly amused by the events of her life. Central to the story is the theme of a spiritual teacher (the Japanese Zen Roshi) who abuses his position by initiating sexual liaisons with his female students—and whose approaches to the protagonist, Iris, ultimately lead to her disillusionment about practicing Zen and living in a Zen center. Special Karma is the only novel I know of that presents the theme of the sexual misconduct of a Zen master. Benezra handles this delicate subject with an understatement and irony consistent with the thoughtful, personal tone of the whole book.
Sandy Boucher, author of Turning The Wheel: American Women Creating The New Buddhism
For those among us too busy or lazy to search out a link explaining just what a forensic audit is, here's the scoop on "Forensic Audits" from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forensic_accounting
ReplyDeleteForensic accounting is the specialty practice area of accountancy that describes engagements that result from actual or anticipated disputes or litigation. "Forensic" means "suitable for use in a court of law", and it is to that standard and potential outcome that forensic accountants generally have to work. Forensic accountants, also referred to as forensic auditors or investigative auditors, often have to give expert evidence at the eventual trial. All of the larger accounting firms, as well as many medium-sized and boutique firms, have specialist forensic accounting departments. Within these groups, there may be further sub-specializations: some forensic accountants may, for example, just specialize in insurance claims, personal injury claims, fraud, construction, or royalty audits
Forensic accountants may be involved in recovering proceeds of crime and in relation to confiscation proceedings concerning actual or assumed proceeds of crime or money laundering.
So, it seem that certain kinds of litigation against ZSS must be pursued or at least threatened before a Forensic Audit would be in order.
Also, it seems that neither IRS not NYS requires periodic statutory audits.
But I am not completely certain about this. I don't know offhand what would precipitate a government audit of a non-profit.
A Statutory Audit is a legally required review of the accuracy of a company's or government's financial records. The purpose of a statutory audit is the same as the purpose of any other audit - to determine whether an organization is providing a fair and accurate representation of its financial position by examining information such as bank balances, bookkeeping records and financial transactions.
Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/statutory-audit.asp#ixzz1ccHBNXl4
Thanks for the info about the definitions of a "forensic" vs "ordinary" audit, though that was not my point.
ReplyDeleteWhat concerns me is that the ZSS' current abbot claims to have "ordered" an in-depth audit as a result of the Olive Branch meeting in August. This is disingenuous since the board has allegedly been pursuing said audit for over a year already, ever since the FTI recommended it. So either the previous talk was just empty promises by the Board or the abbot's trying to profile herself and the usefulness of her Olive Branch meeting. Or both.
They never actually did an audit in all that time: they just amassed documents, a difficult and laborious process that probably didn't always receive cooperation from some document holders.
ReplyDeleteI believe a forensic audit would be contingent on establishing that there is at least, for example, an appearance of fraud, that would warrant such further and more detailed investigation.
"Or both."
ReplyDeleteSo it was neither?
"disingenuous"
"empty promises"
"trying to profile herself"
You have certainly profiled yourself, d*ckwad.
Ignore the Troll.
ReplyDeleteSecond that! After all, what intelligent response could you have?
ReplyDeleteOk ok ok... I just have to guess.
ReplyDeleteIs this Spike?
Because you sound like Spike at times.
I'm flattered.
ReplyDeleteDidn't he retire due to health and confidentiality concerns?
good, it wasn't supposed to be an insult.
ReplyDelete"Didn't he retire due to health and confidentiality concerns?"
That is news to me.
But at least I now know that you have been on this thread for quite a while, your style of talking it dead on with his.;)
He could get quite pissed at people taking shots at Genjo...
Unconcerned Heckler said:
I *heckled* Marinello's *hecklers* to try to make them stop their unjustified *heckling* of him.
He was also a sexual abuse survivor...
Unconcerned Heckler said:
I am a child sa survivor (hence anon).
I wonder now, does Spike enjoy the emWave...?
You see the similarities I am sure - it's hard to tell, you use so many names.
I think you are Spike, that is, if you are also the poster Unconcerned Heckler.
"I wonder now, does Spike enjoy the emWave...?"
ReplyDeleteKnowing that guy, it's probably right up there along with his pulse oximeter and cuff (and bike. and little spike).
He shouldn't have quit. Now someone else has to do this stuff because no one else will.
Really, who's going to be dv ad for Shinge?
Knowing that guy, it's probably right up there along with his pulse oximeter and cuff (and bike. and little spike).
ReplyDeleteWell in that case, I would welcome you back... but it seems now that you never left.;)
Death will be, as it will be for all of us.
ReplyDelete"... it's mostly a placid
lake a dawn, mists rising, a solitary loon
call, and staring into the still, opaque water..."
Ever notice the parallels between the way the ZSS has handled the Shimano scandals and the way TEPCO and the Japanese government have handled the Fukushima disaster?
ReplyDeleteSee enenews.com
Dear Rory:
ReplyDeleteIf you need to continue on your theme, we're ready to listen.
Most sincerely,
Spike
Spike speaks for himself, and no others.
ReplyDeleteYes: if you are struggling with issues of death, just keep it to yourself.
ReplyDelete"The ZSS 99% said...
ReplyDeleteSpike speaks for himself, and no others."
Thank heavens we have a spokesman!
1% said...
ReplyDeleteYes: if you are struggling with issues of death, just keep it to yourself
Alternative Therapies for Depression
Acupuncture, Aromatherapy, Biofeedback, Chiropractic treatments, Guided imagery, Herbal remedies, Hypnosis, Massage, Meditation, Music
Deep Relaxation, Yoga
Pythagoras, the sixth century B.C. philosopher and mathematician, is thought to have been the founder of music therapy. During World War II, the Veterans' Hospitals had volunteers who played their music for the wounded soldiers. The results were so positive that the VA added music therapy programs.
But, perhaps, not so much "The Doors" and Heavy Metal.
Take good care people.
Genjo posts to ZFI: http://www.zenforuminternational.org/viewtopic.php?f=73&t=3584&start=1440#p110425
ReplyDeletePART 1
11/7/11
Dear Shinge Roshi,
I hope you had a wonderful Harvest Sesshin at Dai Bosatsu (DBZ). I deeply respect your dedication to the Dharma and the efforts you are putting forth to nurture Zen practice at Hoen-Ji (Syracuse), Shobo-Ji (NYC) and Kongo-Ji (DBZ). I have read and re-read your letter to the Zen Studies Society Sangha dated November 1st < http://www.shimanoarchive.com/PDFs/2011 ... Sangha.pdf >, and though I see some movement to close this matter of Eido Roshi’s multiple ethical breaches over decades, I still find more absent than present in your actions to date.
For example, in your letter you say you “cannot apologize for what others have done or have not done”, but on this point, I strongly disagree. The United States apologized long after it should have for the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, but the apology was greatly appreciated by those internees still living and their decedents. As abbot of the Zen Studies Society (ZSS) I think it is your responsibility to see that the organization as a whole apologizes for its part in minimizing Eido Roshi’s earlier ethical breaches and thereby inadequately protecting the sangha. The organization also failed Eido Roshi by never insisting on any conditions that might have helped him address his obvious addiction. Please don’t hide behind legal arguments that such an admission would put the organization at financial risk; a far greater risk, as the Faith Trust Institute has told us, is further alienating both victims and the wider public by not forthrightly admitting the organizational contribution to this serial problem.
Your letter also reports that you have revised the ZSS bylaws and affirm that there will be “elected representatives from both the New York Zendo and Dai Bosatsu Zendo.” In addition, you say that you have nominated others to be on the board with “strong non-profit, law, and business careers.” I applaud the democratic reforms and your pledge for transparency, but as far as I can tell the new bylaws have not been released to the public, there has been no mention of when or how elections will be held, how membership will be determined for who can vote, how large the board will be, or who you have nominated to serve on the board. Frankly, without this information everyone is left in the dark and these steps can hardly be lauded as transparent.
In addition, from what I understand, only one person from each of the two ZSS properties will be elected to the board. This will certainly not constitute a majority, not even a significant minority, hardly the progress many have been waiting for to assure that the ZSS Board be independent of the authority of the Abbot. I know some Zen Centers still have non-profit boards that are not substantially elected by the sangha, but if there was ever a more convincing case of the organizational dangers that are inherent in this model than ZSS, I’m not aware of it. Moreover, it is my understanding that the new bylaws still give the abbot a vote on the board and refer to abbot as the Chief Executive Officer. I know many were hoping for some real signs of separation of secular and spiritual powers in the new bylaws, but this appears to be missing. I understand that this kind of language and organization may work for smaller Zen groups, but given the history of ZSS and the real needs of a larger organization, the abbot should be in charge of practice, and the Board should be in charge of finances and management.
PART 2
ReplyDeleteYou also announce in your letter that you “will arrange a Board training retreat with a non-profit professional on the best practices for governance and communication.” This is all fine and good, but there is no mention of any commitment to directly address the needs of those most impacted by Eido Roshi’s ethical breaches. At the very least some kind of trust fund should be set up to help those psychologically damaged by Eido Roshi’s deplorable behavior. In addition, there most definitely needs to be some kind of commitment to further sangha wide meetings where, as recommended by the Olive Branch facilitators, work can be done to educate and train the community in how to recognize and help prevent future abuses of power and authority. Furthermore, there is no mention of efforts to proactively open our arms to our Dharma brothers and sisters alienated from our practice over the decades.
Also noticeably absent from your letter is any mention of any restrictions placed on Eido Roshi. It is my understanding that he still has rooms dedicated to his use on both ZSS properties. I know his teaching has been curtailed and that he is only allowed to visit infrequently and under supervision, but as far as I can see there has been no public codification of these restrictions by the ZSS board. For the Sangha’s protection and Eido Roshi’s protection the scope and degree of restrictions must be made public. Of course you know my opinion, the simplest and most direct solution that would offer the best chance of healing of the fractured ZSS Sangha, would be to insist on an indefinite hiatus from Eido Roshi’s presence on campus. Most ministers who have retired from congregations without controversy volunteer to stay away for a year or more to allow the new minister to become adequately established. Eido Roshi resigned as abbot almost a year ago, for what reason does he still need to have rooms dedicated to his use on both properties? I hear there is still a huge picture of Eido Roshi hanging up in Shobo-Ji. Eido Roshi has proven himself to be a serial predator who has as yet only minimally understood the damage he has done to so many and has no concept of how much he has damaged American Zen. It is an affront to those he has harmed and the wider Maha Sangha that he is still so coddled by you.
Unfortunately, what is missing from your letter far exceeds what is present in your letter. I was hoping to feel sufficiently accepting of your positive steps to feel comfortable attending this year’s Rohatsu sesshin at DBZ, but regrettably I do not feel in sufficient communion with the reforms you have made to date. I feel such disappointment and disillusionment at the moment that I’m not sure when or if I will be able to train there again. It is such a shame to see this precious opportunity to really turn this organization around slipping away. Please stop favoring the man over the Dharma. I fear that just as others who have given so much to ZSS and the Dharma, I too will become one those who are alienated and forgotten.
May the Dharma and traditional Rinzai practice flourish at ZSS,
Genjo
Thank you, Genjo. We are in your debt.
ReplyDeleteGassho.
Is the above what Thanks But No Thanks meant when they said:
ReplyDelete3. ZSS should try to reconcile with Genjo and the Seattle Sangha. He can be forgiven.
Amazing, amazing post by Genjo.
No.
ReplyDeleteRe. Genjo:
ReplyDelete"Please don’t hide behind legal arguments that such an admission would put the organization at financial risk ..."
Since such a legal argument does exist, as far as the fragile financial viability of ZSS goes, this is bad advice.
True apology and reparation are due from Shimano. A ZSS fund to help sex abuse survivors, however, would certainly be worthy, if not necessary. They could start by asking for donations, and agreeing to match $2 to $1.
Shodo:
ReplyDeleteSame as ZFI Shodo?
Ask Genjo there?
GENJO: "Please don’t hide behind legal arguments that such an admission would put the organization at financial risk ..."
ReplyDeleteSIDBI: Since such a legal argument does exist, as far as the fragile financial viability of ZSS goes, this is bad advice.
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Yes, the legal argument does exist ... and the sun could conceivably rise in the West.
Any legal action taken against Roko or ZSS for making admissions and apologies faces one insurmountable road block: In order to take such legal action, Shimano would be forced to come out of the shadows, to face direct and public questioning, and to have his august standing thrown into question.
If such a legal counterattack had been a viable option (one that would have somehow protected Shimano's august standing), Kobutsu and the Shimanoarchives would long since have been to court and this discussion thread would have collapsed ... either Kobutsu or Shimano would have been penalized if not jailed.
Yes, the legal option is there. But based on the passage of time and the sociopathic maneuvers of the principle subject, I think we can safely say that no ... pigs will not fly.
"...Shimano would be forced to come out of the shadows, to face direct and public questioning, and to have his august standing thrown into question."
ReplyDeleteShimano could have been charged as an individual. ZSS could have been charged as an organization. Either or both, or Shimano as head of ZSS.
Unfortunately the pig has successfully flown.
(the principal subject lacks principle(s))
Genkaku: you're not the ZSS lawyer. The Board is under a lawyer's advisement on this.
ReplyDeleteSJ goer -- You're right. I am not a lawyer. And by extension, I do not know the intricacies of the law.
ReplyDeleteBut in the particular instance as regards making an honest and uncamouflaged apology to those who have been irrationally wounded in the course of studying Zen Buddhism, I think we might reasonably ask if a Zen Buddhism that is guided and limited by lawyers is the sort of Zen Buddhism any of us might really want to be party to.