Zen Buddhism in California

Mapping the spread of Buddhism to the West Coast of the United States, and the Santa Barbara Zen Center's place in this history

Runhan Zhou, Andrew Gersch

Overview

Zen Buddhism in the U.S. has came a long way. As we learned from our visit to the Santa Barbara Zen Center, this history is not a linear one. Our research also suggests that, to have a better understanding of the existence of SBZC, we might need to take a step back and examine the larger story that brought Zen to Santa Barbara.

Our map, therefore, will serve as an simplified roadmap of Zen Buddhism's spread in the U.S., focusing in California, where most of the major Zen Centers were first established.

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Earliest Spread

A pioneering figure of Zen promotion in the West was Soyen Shaku (1860-1919), a Rinzai rōshi from Japan.

At the World Parliament of Religions in 1893, Shaku introduced Rinzai Zen to America for the first time. 

Though Shaku did not speak English, one of his two major disciples, D.T. Suzuki (1870-1966) did. Suzuki helped translate many of Shaku's lectures, which became quite influential, especially among the Beat intellectuals in the northeast.

Picture with John Cage.

Unlike Suzuki, who primarily promoted the more noetic aspect of Zen, the other disciple of Shaku, Nyogen Senzaki (1876-1958), focused on spreading Zen teachings on meditative practices in northern California.

Together, Suzuki and Sensaki helped pave the road for further development of Zen Buddhism in the US.

First Zen Centers in California

As the influence of Zen Buddhism continued to expand, a growing number of native-born Americans became practitioners and even converts. As a result, Japanese teachers began developing Zen Centers in the U.S., mostly in California.

Several major Zen Centers that still exist today are shown here on the map.

Roughly, each of them represent one of the main dominant Zen lineages in California.

Sōtō Zen, represented by San Francisco Zen Center, founded by Shunryū Suzuki (1904-1971) in 1962.

Sōtō Zen. Houn Jiyu-Kennet (1924-1996) was born and raised in England, where she went to college in London and met D.T. Suzuki. After studying Sōtō Zen in Soji-ji, Japan, she traveled to America in 1969 to spread the dharma.

She founded the Zen Mission Society in San Francisco in the same year, and Shasta Abbey Buddhist Monastery in 1970.

Rinzai Zen. Kyozan Joshu Sasaki (1907-2014) came to America in 1962 and established the Rinzai-ji order in Los Angeles area.

Taizan Maezumi (1931-1995), and his mixed teaching of Sōtō, Rinzai, and Sanbo Kyodan. Maezumi founded Zen Center of Los Angeles in 1967.

As we learned from our interview with members of Santa Barbara Zen Center, not all Zen institutes in California are directly connected. They have different founders and sponsorship networks. But on a broader scale, they are parts of the same story.

For instance, Maezumi and Suzuki, though they pursued different paths of Zen, they both received their education in Zen Buddhism at Komazawa University, a Sōtō Zen university in Japan.

They departed from the same starting point and brought their knowledge to America, where they met and taught a variety of students, who will in turn inspire later generations. 

In fact, the transmission of ideas — and consequently, the birth of a new sangha — often happens between individuals. Specifically, SBZC was founded in 1973 by two of Maezumi's students at Zen Center of Los Angeles. As influenced by Maezumi, SBZC also incorporates an array of Buddhist teachings.

Timeline

1962

Shunryū Suzuki founded San Francisco Zen Center

1967

Taizan Maezumi founded Zen Center of Los Angeles

1967

Berkeley Zen Center founded

1968

Joshu Sasaki founded Rinzai-Ji Zen Center in Los Angeles

1973

SB Zen Center founded

Zen Centers Today

By delving into the past, we could discern the route through which Zen Buddhism gradually spread over California. Such presence of lineage can be felt in many Zen Centers today, though their repertoires of daily practice might seem differrent.

References

Burgan, Michael. Buddhist Faith in America. Facts on File, Inc., 2003.

Tworkov, Helen. Zen in America : Five Teachers and the Search for an American Buddhism. New York: Kodansha International, 1994. Print.