Ezra Bayda

| 02-05-2021
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Ezra Bayda, author of Beyond Happiness: The Zen Way to True Contentment, gives a teaching on happiness and how we mistakenly seek it from external sources li. Ezra Bayda and Elizabeth Hamilton are no longer teaching at ZCSD. PRACTICE SCHEDULE When live activities can resume at the Center, the regular practice schedule will recommence as follows: Dawn Sitting: Weekdays, Monday-Friday 6-7 AM Tuesday Evening: Two Sittings, 6:30-8:00 PM. The SRZG was founded by Ezra Bayda in 1995 as an offshoot of his practice at Zen Center San Diego. He visits Santa Rosa from time to time. In a ceremony on July 23rd, 2016 Ezra Bayda and Elizabeth Hamilton acknowledged Diane Moore as a teacher, and as the new leader of the Santa Rosa Zen Group.

Joko Beck, American Zen Buddhist teacher, founder of the Ordinary Mind School, died after a long illness he was , 94.


Ezra Bayda Aging

Charlotte Joko Beck was an American Zen teacher and the author of the books Everyday Zen: Love and Work and Nothing Special: Living Zen. Born in New Jersey, she studied music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and worked for some time as a pianist and piano teacher died after a long illness he was , 94.. She married and raised a family of four children, then separated from her husband and worked as a teacher, secretary, and assistant in a university department. She began Zen practice in her 40s with Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi in Los Angeles, and later with Yasutani Roshi and Soen Roshi. Having received Dharma transmission from Taizan Maezumi Roshi, she opened the San Diego Zen Center in 1983, serving as its head teacher until July 2006.

(March 27, 1917 – June 15, 2011)
Joko was responsible for a number of important innovations in Zen teaching. In particular, she taught students to work with the emotions of everyday life rather than attempting to avoid or escape them. Because she was adept at teaching students to work with their psychological states, she attracted a number of students who were interested in the relationship between Zen and modern psychology. Several of her Dharma heirs are practicing psychologists/psychiatrists. In 1995 Joko, along with 3 of her Dharma heirs, founded the Ordinary Mind Zen School. In 2006 Joko moved to Prescott, Arizona, where she continued to teach until she retired as a teacher in late 2010. In the spring of 2010, Joko announced that she had chosen Gary Nafstad to be her Dharma successor.
Shortly after Joko’s departure in 2006 a controversy arose over the future of the San Diego Zen Center. Joko Beck sent a letter in which she stated that she was revoking Dharma transmission from two senior students: Ezra Bayda and Elizabeth Hamilton. Joko also stated that the San Diego Zen Center should not claim to represent her or her teaching. Joko’s actions caught some long-time students off guard and led one of her Dharma heirs to question her judgment.[1]
After years of declining health, Beck was placed under hospice care in June 2011 after her health rapidly deteriorated, she stopped eating and was dramatically losing weight. According to Beck’s daughter, Brenda, up until the end “She is happy as a clam and, as she told me, will die when she’s ready. She says it’s soon.” Beck died on June 15, 2011.[2] According to the Twitter account of fellow Zen teacher Joan Halifax, Beck’s last words were, ”This too is wonder.”[3]

Books

  • Everyday Zen: Love and Work (edited by Steve Smith; 1989) ISBN 0-06-060734-3.
  • Nothing Special: Living Zen (1993) ISBN 0-06-251117-3

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TitleZen Teacher
Personal
BornMarch 27, 1917
DiedJune 15, 2011 (aged 94)
ReligionZen Buddhism
SchoolOrdinary Mind School
Senior posting
PredecessorHakuyu Taizan Maezumi

Charlotte Joko Beck (March 27, 1917 – June 15, 2011[1]) was an American Zen teacher and the author of the books Everyday Zen: Love and Work and Nothing Special: Living Zen.[2]

Biography[edit]

Born in New Jersey, Beck studied music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and worked for some time as a pianist and piano teacher. She married and raised a family of four children, then separated from her husband and worked as a teacher, secretary, and assistant in a university department. She began Zen practice in her 40s with Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi in Los Angeles,[3] and later with Hakuun Yasutani and Soen Nakagawa.[3] Beck received Dharma transmission from Taizan Maezumi Roshi in 1978,[3] but broke with Maezumi over his actions and opened Zen Center San Diego in 1983,[3] serving as its head teacher until July 2006.[4]

Beck was responsible for a number of important innovations in Zen teaching. Because she was adept at teaching students to work with their psychological states, she attracted a number of students who were interested in the relationship between Zen and modern psychology. Several of her Dharma heirs are practicing psychologists/psychiatrists.[5] In 1995 Joko, along with three of her Dharma heirs, founded the Ordinary Mind Zen School.

Shortly after Beck’s departure in 2006, she revoked Dharma transmission from two senior students: Ezra Bayda and Elizabeth Hamilton. Beck also stated that Zen Center San Diego should not claim to represent her or her teaching.[6][5][7] In 2006 Joko moved to Prescott, Arizona, where she continued to teach until she retired as a teacher in late 2010. In the spring of 2010, Joko announced Gary Nafstad as her last Dharma successor.[6][5]

Ezra

Beck died on June 15, 2011 at age 94.[1]

Ezra Bayda

Lineage[edit]

Joko Beck appointed nine teachers:[8]

  1. Christensen, Larry Jissan
  2. Christenson, Anna
  3. Dawson, Geoff
  4. Howard, Gregg
  5. Magid, Barry (b. 1949)
  6. Nafstad, Gary
  7. Penn, Barbara Muso
  8. Smith, Elihu Genmyo (b. 1948)
  9. Rizzetto, Diane Eshin (b. 1942)

From two other teachers she later sought to revoke her appointment:[9]

  1. Bayda, Ezra (b. 1944) (revoked 2006)
  2. Hamilton, Elizabeth (revoked 2006)

Books[edit]

  • Beck, Joko; Smith, Steve (1989). Everyday Zen: Love and Work. ISBN0-06-060734-3.
  • Beck, Joko (1993). Nothing Special: Living Zen. ISBN0-06-251117-3.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ abTebbe, Adam (June 15, 2011). 'Charlotte Joko Beck dies at 94; American Zen pioneer'. Sweeping Zen. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  2. ^'Joko Beck Bio'. Sweeping Zen. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  3. ^ abcdFord, James Ishmael (2006). Zen Master Who?: A Guide to the People and Stories of Zen. Boston: Wisdom Publications. pp. 173–175. ISBN978-0-86171-509-1.
  4. ^'Honorary Founder'. Prairie Zen Center. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  5. ^ abc'Barry Magid Interview'. Sweeping Zen. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  6. ^ ab'Stuart Lachs'. Non-Duality. August 26, 2010. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  7. ^'Elizabeth Hamilton reflects on Joko Beck's life at memorial service'. Lions roar. Retrieved Jan 1, 2017.
  8. ^'Sanbo Kyodan: Harada-Yasutani School of Zen Buddhism and its Teachers'. Buddhist Studies WWW Virtual Library. Archived from the original on April 4, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  9. ^'Stuart Lachs interview Aug. 26, 2010'. non-duality magazine. Retrieved May 3, 2015.

Further reading[edit]

  • Friedman, Lenore (2000). Meetings With Remarkable Women: Buddhist Teachers in America. Boston: Shambhala Publications. pp. 125–150. ISBN978-1-57062-474-2.

External links[edit]

Ezra Bayda

  • Wilkefilm documentary on Joko Beck (2001)
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