Possible new association for Rinzai Zen teachers/ordained in the West

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Meido
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Possible new association for Rinzai Zen teachers/ordained in the West

Post by Meido »

There has been some discussion in Zen circles over the past year regarding the possibility of establishing an association for Rinzai Zen teachers and ordained folks in the West. A few of us are starting to explore this.

As with similar associations established in other corners of the Zen world, we hope that it could foster communication and friendship between the different Rinzai lines active here. Further goals can be defined as we go, but I would hope they include shared practice events and mutual support of many kinds.

Our plan would be to open such an association to:

1. Ordained or lay fully authorized teachers (inka shomei) in any legitimate Rinzai line.
2. Ordained or lay persons who may not be so-called "full" teachers, but have been authorized to instruct in some manner by their own teachers.
3. Any other ordained persons.

At this early stage, I'd like to invite such persons to join our discussion with the intent of fleshing out the mission and initial goals of such an association. I've established a Facebook page to host this: reach out to me on Fb ("Meido Moore") or by email to [email protected] and I'll send you an invite to the page...
Matylda
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Joined: Mon May 14, 2012 3:32 pm

Re: Possible new association for Rinzai Zen teachers/ordained in the West

Post by Matylda »

Meido wrote: Fri Feb 22, 2019 10:29 pm There has been some discussion in Zen circles over the past year regarding the possibility of establishing an association for Rinzai Zen teachers and ordained folks in the West. A few of us are starting to explore this.

As with similar associations established in other corners of the Zen world, we hope that it could foster communication and friendship between the different Rinzai lines active here. Further goals can be defined as we go, but I would hope they include shared practice events and mutual support of many kinds.

Our plan would be to open such an association to:

1. Ordained or lay fully authorized teachers (inka shomei) in any legitimate Rinzai line.
2. Ordained or lay persons who may not be so-called "full" teachers, but have been authorized to instruct in some manner by their own teachers.
3. Any other ordained persons.

At this early stage, I'd like to invite such persons to join our discussion with the intent of fleshing out the mission and initial goals of such an association. I've established a Facebook page to host this: reach out to me on Fb ("Meido Moore") or by email to [email protected] and I'll send you an invite to the page...
I wish you good luck. Hope it will help rinzai zen to properly develope in the western hemisphere.

gassho :heart:
Meido
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Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2011 2:50 am
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Re: Possible new association for Rinzai Zen teachers/ordained in the West

Post by Meido »

Thank you, Matylda.

There are a lot of questions about it, and some obstacles. But at a minimum I think we can start to establish communication between students of the different masters who came here.
GDPR_Anonymized001
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Re: Possible new association for Rinzai Zen teachers/ordained in the West

Post by GDPR_Anonymized001 »

Meido wrote: Wed Mar 06, 2019 2:36 am Thank you, Matylda.

There are a lot of questions about it, and some obstacles. But at a minimum I think we can start to establish communication between students of the different masters who came here.
Rev. Meido,

I look forward to hearing how things progress. It has puzzled me for some time that the US seems to lack any sort of broader organization. Even organizing something for a specific tradition seems difficult. As you may be aware from your time spent here in Europe, there is a fairly well-established European Buddhist Union (itself made up of National level unions). It works to raise awareness, provide capacity building, promote dialogue, engages with the European Commission for public events, etc. I can only imagine a similar organization would be helpful in the US as the complexity of the landscape there is daunting. A Buddhist friend of mine divorced recently and was surprised to learn from his attorney that his discussions with his Buddhist priest are probably not covered under Priest–penitent privilege in his state because the code only references various christian and jewish clergy. Meaning his communications with the priest could be subpoenaed at trial. Sorry for the detour. Long story short, I hope your efforts on this are successful. I think there is a lot that can be accomplished if groups would cooperate more. :)
Matylda
Posts: 1065
Joined: Mon May 14, 2012 3:32 pm

Re: Possible new association for Rinzai Zen teachers/ordained in the West

Post by Matylda »

Meido wrote: Wed Mar 06, 2019 2:36 am Thank you, Matylda.

There are a lot of questions about it, and some obstacles. But at a minimum I think we can start to establish communication between students of the different masters who came here.
I am aware that the whole project is not easy one. However is there any other way? Whatever will happen I think it is worth of effort.

_/\_
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