Monday, November 2, 2015

Eido Shimano letter

Wait long enough and the same stuff will come around again, as, for example, this letter by Eido Tai Shimano, a wealthy man who once played at Zen Buddhism and left considerable wreckage in his sociopathic wake:
November 2, 2015

Dear Dharma Brothers and Sisters,

We never know when our departure day will come. Now, at the age of 83, I am more aware than ever of the transiency of life. In addition, Aiho has been seriously ill for over a year.

I would like to meet with you face-to-face on Saturday, November 21, to speak openly from the heart. I know that many of you discontinued your practice at the Zen Studies Society, but I hope you will participate in the meeting from 2 to 5 p.m.

Judy Chang, minister at All Souls Unitarian Church, is kindly making her chapel available to us for this. The address is 1157 Lexington Avenue (at 80th St.), New York City.

My wish is to express my ignorance and sincere regret for hurting the hearts of the Sangha. It is my hope that through this face-to-face meeting, our heavy burden can be laid to rest, for you and for us all.

Gempo Roshi said again and again, "Human beings are emotional beings." I now understand this golden teaching at last.

Gassho,

Eido Tai Shimano
Eido Shimano, for those who hardly remember or don't know at all, is a Japanese fellow who came to the U.S. in the 1960's and was instrumental in helping to create two Zen centers -- Zen Studies Society in New York City and Dai Bosatsu Monastery in upstate New York. In the 1980's, his womanizing and financial shenanigans came to light. What followed was, to put it politely, a shit storm. At this late date, who will remember? Not many, I think ... which may be one reason he wrote his letter: Even a villain likes his publicity.

For those wanting to touch base with old and dusty and once-painful matters, resources include the Shimano Archive and a variety of segments of this blog
(1,
2,
3
and so forth and so on.)

It's all old, now -- old, old, old. Many a spiritual aspirant's heart was broken. Shimano may get his ginned-up resurrection, but I, for one, will not be there to agree with such fantasies.

10 comments:

  1. I wonder what he will say. From the wording of the letter I am in the same camp as you, I.e. Same old... But it is probably a good idea to give him the benefit of the doubt to offer a heartfelt apology. His wife went gaga ages ago, but now it is clinical. Difficult to deal with. Maybe he has finally something sincere to say.

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  2. He may sincerely wants to have a clear conscience. Or perhaps just an untarnished legacy.

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  3. My suspicion is that it might be part of some quid pro quo for settlement of the lawsuit, but I hope this isn't the case.

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  4. Who called this meeting? Who will lead it? What happened to all the similar meetings others attempted without success to call in the past? What substantive, two-way-street outcome could reasonably be expected?

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    1. All very good questions. I suppose the two-way-street would require victims to step forward and demand compensation

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  5. Maybe this is what it's about. Come forward or keep quiet so he can arrive at an out of court settlement.

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  6. These insincere creeps never change. Sorry, it's true, but maybe those still hip deep in spiritual fantasies will like to attribute "genuine repentance" to this creep

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  7. It's all about Shimano. He calls the meeting, sets the place and date, etc. Just wants to secure his reputation on his own terms, the way he does best: speaking in front of an audience of devotees. Someone should pelt him with eggs.

    Will the meeting be videotaped?

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  8. Everything about this screams “false!”

    This man was willing to bleed his own center dry in a lawsuit to get what he wanted… what has changed? What is he getting out of this? What is he going to get after this meeting?
    What are the conditions he is requiring to have this little heart-to-heart, because lord knows he’s not doing it for nothing.
    Here’s a good question to ask…

    HAS HE DROPPED HIS LAWSUIT AGAINST DBZ??

    That would be a good indicator of this little charlatan’s sincerity… I’d *maybe* consider giving him a second look if he forfieted all claims against DBZ in light of half-century of abuse and lies and manipulation.
    Maybe he’s realized that his court case will be in legal limbo for years? That he may not even be alive to see any sort of judement?
    He’s trying to get back in. He’s telegraphing his punches so badly that if it connects, you *wanted* to get hit.

    Tread carefully DaiBosatsu – This little charlatan is manipulating again.

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