7 VOLUME 9 |ISSUE 1 |2018
These imputed qualities of the
master—(a) lack of self-interest
and (b) everything the master
does is to help the student—
easily combine to become tools of
dominance and abuse...
Here the reader is informed that, no matter what the Zen
master does, it is beyond both the reader’s and the student’s
understanding because the master’s mind is ever pure, a
mysterious state beyond the ordinary person’s comprehension.
The student is informed that the master’s authority must be
taken totally on faith in the infallibility and omniscience that is
implicit in his title Zen master. According to Master Sheng-yen,
the student is incapable of making any judgments relating to the
master’s activities.
The American Richard Baker, later to become Baker roshi, in the
Introduction to perhaps the best-selling Zen book in the English
language, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind (by Mr. Baker’s teacher,
Suzuki-roshi), describes the term roshi in perhaps the most
idealistic manner in the English language:
A roshi is a person who has actualized that perfect
freedom which is the potentiality for all human beings.
He exists freely in the fullness of his whole being. The
flow of his consciousness is not the fixed repetitive
patterns of our usual self-centered consciousness, but
rather arises spontaneously and naturally from the
actual circumstances of the present. The results of this
in terms of the quality of his life are extraordinary—
buoyancy, vigor, straightforwardness, simplicity,
humility, serenity, joyousness, uncanny perspicacity and
unfathomable compassion.... Without anything said
or done, just the impact of meeting a personality so
developed can be enough to change another’s whole
way of life. But in the end it is not the extraordinariness
of the teacher which perplexes, intrigues, and deepens
the student, it is the teacher’s utter ordinariness.
(Suzuki, 1970, p. 18)
This introduction was meant to describe a real person, and by
extension, as is clearly stated, all people with the title roshi. It is
not an idealized reference to a heavenly being or some distant
or mythological religious figure. It was also written 2 years
before Suzuki-roshi passed the mantel of authority to Mr. Baker,
anointing him as Baker roshi, as was known to Baker at the time
of the preceding writing. Essentially then, Baker was describing
himself and how he should be viewed by his students as the
soon-to-be Zen master of the San Francisco Zen Center.
To summarize, in the definitions and descriptions of the Zen
master quoted previously, there is an extraordinary claim to
authority. These descriptions were given by individuals who
are themselves Masters, the very official spokespersons for Zen
institutions and believed by credulous Westerners to be the only
valid voices of Zen. These definitions were given by modern
representatives of Zen from Korea, China/Taiwan, Japan, and the
United States.
One can easily see from these descriptions of a Zen master
that it is not necessary for any particular Zen master to make
claims concerning the master’s own enlightenment or own level
of perfection because Zen institutional traditions repeat this claim
for the person sitting in the role of Zen master. Any particular Zen
follower who is adequately socialized into a given group cannot
but see the master as expressing the Mind of the Buddha. Indeed,
the master often believes the same thing. Through its structure,
mythology, ritual practices, and perhaps most significantly,
through its use of a special set of terms and definitions, the Zen
institution reinforces this claim for the Zen master.
What Is the Basis for Zen’s Claims of Such
Authority?
The Chan or Zen sect does not base its authority on a text or
texts as do other sects of Buddhism rather, that authority is
communicated through the idea of mind-to-mind transmission.
This transmission is ritualized as Dharma transmission, by which
the enlightened mind of the Buddha itself has been passed
down through the ages. Similar to one candle lighting the next
in a supposedly unbroken chain, the enlightened mind of the
Buddha is transmitted from one enlightened Zen master to the
next. Zen claims this transmission is a separate transmission
outside the teachings—that is, outside of texts. In doing so, Zen
marks itself as essentially different from and more authoritative
than all the other Buddhist schools. In this scheme, the living
Zen master standing in front of you is the last in this unbroken
series of enlightened beings. Hence, holding the title Chan or Zen
master, or roshi becomes an unquestioned marker of authority.
Everyone else is open to delusional thoughts, self-interest, self-
aggrandizement, and all the shortcomings of ordinary human
beings.
To summarize, the basis for Zen’s authority is composed of three
elements:
(a) Zen master is considered an enlightened being beyond the
understanding of ordinary people—a living person who sits in
for the Buddha.
(b) Dharma transmission according to convention is the formal
recognition on the part of the master that the disciple has
attained an understanding equal to that of the teacher.
(c) Unbroken lineage, supposedly starting with seven prehistoric
Buddhas and continuing through the historical Sakyamuni
Buddha in India, to the six Chan patriarchs in China, down to
the present-day living masters.
In understanding Zen social functioning, it helps to keep in mind
Pierre Bourdieu’s (1991) basic model of religious authority:
Bourdieu argues that the standard setup for religious
authority requires three mutually reliant zones: (1) a
These imputed qualities of the
master—(a) lack of self-interest
and (b) everything the master
does is to help the student—
easily combine to become tools of
dominance and abuse...
Here the reader is informed that, no matter what the Zen
master does, it is beyond both the reader’s and the student’s
understanding because the master’s mind is ever pure, a
mysterious state beyond the ordinary person’s comprehension.
The student is informed that the master’s authority must be
taken totally on faith in the infallibility and omniscience that is
implicit in his title Zen master. According to Master Sheng-yen,
the student is incapable of making any judgments relating to the
master’s activities.
The American Richard Baker, later to become Baker roshi, in the
Introduction to perhaps the best-selling Zen book in the English
language, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind (by Mr. Baker’s teacher,
Suzuki-roshi), describes the term roshi in perhaps the most
idealistic manner in the English language:
A roshi is a person who has actualized that perfect
freedom which is the potentiality for all human beings.
He exists freely in the fullness of his whole being. The
flow of his consciousness is not the fixed repetitive
patterns of our usual self-centered consciousness, but
rather arises spontaneously and naturally from the
actual circumstances of the present. The results of this
in terms of the quality of his life are extraordinary—
buoyancy, vigor, straightforwardness, simplicity,
humility, serenity, joyousness, uncanny perspicacity and
unfathomable compassion.... Without anything said
or done, just the impact of meeting a personality so
developed can be enough to change another’s whole
way of life. But in the end it is not the extraordinariness
of the teacher which perplexes, intrigues, and deepens
the student, it is the teacher’s utter ordinariness.
(Suzuki, 1970, p. 18)
This introduction was meant to describe a real person, and by
extension, as is clearly stated, all people with the title roshi. It is
not an idealized reference to a heavenly being or some distant
or mythological religious figure. It was also written 2 years
before Suzuki-roshi passed the mantel of authority to Mr. Baker,
anointing him as Baker roshi, as was known to Baker at the time
of the preceding writing. Essentially then, Baker was describing
himself and how he should be viewed by his students as the
soon-to-be Zen master of the San Francisco Zen Center.
To summarize, in the definitions and descriptions of the Zen
master quoted previously, there is an extraordinary claim to
authority. These descriptions were given by individuals who
are themselves Masters, the very official spokespersons for Zen
institutions and believed by credulous Westerners to be the only
valid voices of Zen. These definitions were given by modern
representatives of Zen from Korea, China/Taiwan, Japan, and the
United States.
One can easily see from these descriptions of a Zen master
that it is not necessary for any particular Zen master to make
claims concerning the master’s own enlightenment or own level
of perfection because Zen institutional traditions repeat this claim
for the person sitting in the role of Zen master. Any particular Zen
follower who is adequately socialized into a given group cannot
but see the master as expressing the Mind of the Buddha. Indeed,
the master often believes the same thing. Through its structure,
mythology, ritual practices, and perhaps most significantly,
through its use of a special set of terms and definitions, the Zen
institution reinforces this claim for the Zen master.
What Is the Basis for Zen’s Claims of Such
Authority?
The Chan or Zen sect does not base its authority on a text or
texts as do other sects of Buddhism rather, that authority is
communicated through the idea of mind-to-mind transmission.
This transmission is ritualized as Dharma transmission, by which
the enlightened mind of the Buddha itself has been passed
down through the ages. Similar to one candle lighting the next
in a supposedly unbroken chain, the enlightened mind of the
Buddha is transmitted from one enlightened Zen master to the
next. Zen claims this transmission is a separate transmission
outside the teachings—that is, outside of texts. In doing so, Zen
marks itself as essentially different from and more authoritative
than all the other Buddhist schools. In this scheme, the living
Zen master standing in front of you is the last in this unbroken
series of enlightened beings. Hence, holding the title Chan or Zen
master, or roshi becomes an unquestioned marker of authority.
Everyone else is open to delusional thoughts, self-interest, self-
aggrandizement, and all the shortcomings of ordinary human
beings.
To summarize, the basis for Zen’s authority is composed of three
elements:
(a) Zen master is considered an enlightened being beyond the
understanding of ordinary people—a living person who sits in
for the Buddha.
(b) Dharma transmission according to convention is the formal
recognition on the part of the master that the disciple has
attained an understanding equal to that of the teacher.
(c) Unbroken lineage, supposedly starting with seven prehistoric
Buddhas and continuing through the historical Sakyamuni
Buddha in India, to the six Chan patriarchs in China, down to
the present-day living masters.
In understanding Zen social functioning, it helps to keep in mind
Pierre Bourdieu’s (1991) basic model of religious authority:
Bourdieu argues that the standard setup for religious
authority requires three mutually reliant zones: (1) a
