Thanks, and apologies for taking so long to reply. I guess for me the question is: who are we talking about when we talk about "Zen students"?Meido wrote: ↑Fri Sep 09, 2022 4:05 pmFair enough, and returning the respect. I should edit my words to say "most Western Zen students have no idea..."Genjo Conan wrote: ↑Fri Sep 09, 2022 3:48 pm With respect to both you and Rev Port: this isn't true. Many of us are aware. The degree to which one believes this to be a problem depends on where one sits, I suppose, but we're aware.
To be clear: I have respect for Soto Zen in general, and some living Soto Zen teachers in particular. What I perceive in the USA, though, is largely a wave of adharmic stuff and unqualified teachers drowning out the voices of genuine Soto practitioners. I do see these problems as a direct result of what occurred in Meiji/Showa (and since then, the continued ignoring by Soto-shu bureacracy of calls for reform).
Rinzai Zen here is also not without issues.
One book I'm looking forward to btw will reportedly be put out by Shambhala in the next year or so, under the title Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha (The Life and Teachings of Tangen Harada Roshi).
At my temple (at least pre-pandemic; things have changed some), I'd say there were at least three kinds of practitioners.
The first would maybe come to public talks or attend a half-day sit, maybe give a little money to help with the upkeep. I'd be very surprised if any of those folks gave much consideration to where our practice comes from. They may know who Dogen was; probably wouldn't know who Keizan was (who changed Soto Zen practice in ways every bit as momentous as the Meiji-era folks did); almost certainly wouldn't know about the Meiji reforms. Nothing against these folks: these kinds of lay practitioners have always been a valid and valuable part of our larger community.
The second are the other extreme. They're folks who have practiced for a long time, have probably taken precepts, have likely spent some time in a monastic practice. These folks almost certainly have a handle on our history, including at least some understanding of the various major reforms. For example: for his understanding of the Meiji reforms, Rev. Port tends to cite work by Jiryu Rutschman-Byler. Jiryu is currently tanto at SFZC's Green Gulch Farm, and is scheduled to be installed as abbot in a couple of months. You can't get much more "mainstream American Soto Zen" than that.
The third is where there's some variance. These are the folks who have practiced for a while, have probably done some reading, may have taken the precepts. In my experience--and I need to be clear that all of this represents my own experience--there's often what I perceive as a misunderstanding of history; misunderstanding of our practice. It's here where this "Zen is beyond words and letters, so that means I don't have to read anything" idea seems to crop up. "We're all originally awakened so no need to practice." I see a lot of Soto Zen practitioners--and yeah, even some teachers--get stuck here.
One of the major criticisms I have of how Soto Zen is practiced in the USA is that I don't think we do a good job of helping the people in category one reach category two without getting stuck in category three. Some teachers and some temples do what seems like a good job of that level of teaching; some, regrettably, I think do not. Maybe it's always been this way. In any event, I have no idea how to fix this: I'm just an asshole with a rakusu and sore knees.
But I do think we need to be careful about who we're talking about when we talk about American Zen, because I see a vast range of understanding.
Edit: and to say, this is one of the criticisms I have of Dosho's writing. Some of his points, I think, are well taken. But he takes a sweeping, categorical approach to American Soto Zen: whether for rhetorical effect or because that's how he feels, I don't know. I think his premise is flawed. And because I think his premise is flawed, I think his conclusions often miss the mark.
I love Soto Zen deeply. I want to see it flourish. I have faith in my teacher and in the practice as I've been given to understand it. And because I love this practice, I feel free to criticize it where I think that's appropriate. But I think we need to start from the right starting line. That's one place where I think Dosho goes wrong. JMO.