dharma transmission from Nishijima roshi

[Myoku]

I recently discovered, that Brad Warner got transmission from Gudo Wafu Nishijima, just like Jundo. Though I googled for it, I seem not be able to find out who else got transmission from him, does anybody know ?

[Taigu]

Re: dharma transmission from Nishijima roshi

Yes Peter, quite a few people...
Jeremy Pearson, Mike Cross, Eric Rommeluere, Nicole de Merkline,Nissim Amon, Gerhard Wolfgram, Michel Proulx Jean Marc Bazy, Michael and Yoko Luetchford, Peter Rocca...Many missing here.
The Dharma transmission is both a very personnal thing and a complete universal process. It is done through a particular teacher but it also has to do with the simple acknowledgement of what already is.

gassho


Taigu

[Jundo]

Re: dharma transmission from Nishijima roshi

I recently discovered, that Brad Warner got transmission from Gudo Wafu Nishijima, just like Jundo. Though I googled for it, I seem not be able to find out who else got transmission from him, does anybody know ?

Not a clue!

Well, I can point you to some folks ... many of whom have very different approaches to teaching and styles, by the way. It is like any family, in which siblings carrying the same blood and parents can come out with very different personalities. However, all are dedicated to Zazen. Sorry to do this by geography ...

Jean-Marc Bazy, who has visited us here in Tsukuba these past couple of years, is in Lyon, France ...

http://www.treeleaf.org/sit-a-long/with ... tenho.html

Jiun Eric Rommeluere is in Paris ...

http://zen.viabloga.com/

Michel Proulx is in the south of France, Nicole de Mercline is in Belgium ...

http://www.zendogensangha.be/home28.htm
http://zenmontpellier.blogspot.com/

Dagmar Doko Waskoenig is in Germany and Austria, and is a very interesting teacher who is very serious about the Vinaya, and became a full Vinaya nun ...

http://www.buddhistwomen.eu/EN/index.ph ... rWaskoenig

Yudo Juergen Seggelke is a nice fellow, also in Germany ...

http://yudoblog-b.blogspot.com/

Ritsunen Gabriele Linnebach is a very lovely, soft spoken priest who translated Shobogenzo into German, and recently spoke at the Dogen translation conference at San Francisco Zen Center

http://www.sfzc.org/zc/display.asp?cati ... ageid=2467

Peter Rocca is in Ireland, and in Japan with Gerhard Wolfram,

http://thestupidway.blogspot.com/

Michael Luetchford is in Bristol, England,

http://www.dogensangha.org.uk/

and Richard Morrissey is in London, nice fellow ... with 9 kids!

http://www.richardmorrissey.org/

Taigu's teacher, Michael Chodo Cross, was the co-translator with Nishijima Roshi of the Shobogenzo into English, and is now translating a text from Sanscrit.

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Dogens-Sho ... 0952300214
http://nothingbutthelifeblood.blogspot.com/

Gustav Ericsson is a very nice chap, and also an ordained Christian priest in the Church of Sweden.

http://www.gustavericsson.com/

There are a couple of fellows in Israel who have gone into a New Agey direction.

http://www.nissimamon.com/english/e-about.html

http://www.gilalon.webs.com/

Luis Diaz Broughton is in Chile ...

http://taichile.blogspot.com/2006/12/el ... chile.html

And then, of course, Nishijima Roshi has Dharma Heirs in Japan too, not listed here.

http://www.dogensangha.org/nishijimaroshi.html

... and I am probably forgetting a couple of folks. I have often described Roshi's Lineage as "The Island of Misfit Zen Toys" (referring to an old children's program in the US about an island near the North Pole where all the broken and misfit toys went to live from Santa's workshop ... the wooden train with 5 wheels, for example, and the square basketball ... ) ...



Roshi has given a home to many serious Zen students who could not fit in in other places for various reasons, such as several of the folks in France and Germany who had issues with the internal politics in the Deshimaru Lineage. He only cares about Zazen and Dogen and few other things, and most of his Dharma Heirs are focused on the same.

Gassho, Jundo

[Jinyu]

Re: dharma transmission from Nishijima roshi

Hi!
interesting question! I didn't know they were "so many"...
I just allow myself to add Nicole de Merkline that Taigu mentioned.
She live and teaches in Belgium, here is her website http://www.zendogensangha.be
It isn't very important but if someone pass in Belgium and want to practice zazen here... first call me :lol: and then go sit with her :mrgreen:

gassho,
Jinyu

[Jundo]

Re: dharma transmission from Nishijima roshi

Hi!
interesting question! I didn't know they were "so many"...
I just allow myself to add Nicole de Merkline that Taigu mentioned.
She live and teaches in Belgium, here is her website http://www.zendogensangha.be
It isn't very important but if someone pass in Belgium and want to practice zazen here... first call me :lol: and then go sit with her :mrgreen:

gassho,
Jinyu

Thank you, Jinyu. I somehow left her off the list by mistake.

[Jundo]

Re: dharma transmission from Nishijima roshi

Hi!
interesting question! I didn't know they were "so many"...
I just allow myself to add Nicole de Merkline that Taigu mentioned.
She live and teaches in Belgium, here is her website http://www.zendogensangha.be
It isn't very important but if someone pass in Belgium and want to practice zazen here... first call me :lol: and then go sit with her :mrgreen:

gassho,
Jinyu

Thank you, Jinyu. I somehow left her off the list by mistake.

No, take that back ... she was there!

[Jundo]

Re: dharma transmission from Nishijima roshi

By the way, we recently discovered a film with my Dharma Grandfather (Nishijima Roshi's Teacher), Rempo Niwa Zenji, who was the Abbot of Eiheiji (Dogen's ol' temple) and the Chief Priest of the Soto Sect in Japan.

That's him in this film, about 1 minute 15 seconds in from the start (until the 4:30 mark), in Dokusan with a young priest and wielding (gently) the Kyosaku stick ...

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5uvap ... ant-2_news

The film was made by the Deshimaru Lineage, with whom he was also close. Here is a little more about his life ...

http://www.treeleaf.org/niwa.html



Gassho, J

[Myoku]

Re: dharma transmission from Nishijima roshi

Thank you Jundo and Taigu,
_()_
Peter

[Jinyu]

Re: dharma transmission from Nishijima roshi

My fault!
Sorry I haven't seen her on your list! :lol:

gassho,
Jinyu
ps: I love desjardins's film! It looks a bit like what it is sometimes (I mean an old documentary) but is still precious! And Niwa zenji is very calm and impressive in this film. It such a chance to have him in our lineage, and to share "this patriarch" with so many followers of the "Sawaki school of Soto Zen".

[Taigu]

Re: dharma transmission from Nishijima roshi

Yes Jinyu, Niwa is very very special to me. I always felt a very strong connection to him. When he became abbot of Eiheiji, he sat with the monks every morning ( which is very unsual, generally the abbots sits in his room). When he came to La Gendronniere to give his transmission to three of Deshimaru disciples, one of them saw him bowing secretly to every person passing by until a dog did show up, and guess what? Niwa bowed too.

gassho

Taigu

[Eika]

Re: dharma transmission from Nishijima roshi

My view is that variety of personalities in the collection of "misfits" as Jundo called them is actually one of the most encouraging aspects of Nishijima's legacy. I am deeply suspicious of students who are clones of their teachers, so I find it refreshing and honest that they are all so different from one another . . . one doesn't have to wear a powdered wig to play Mozart well, one just needs to practice a great deal and work with a good teacher.

Gassho,
Eika

[Shogen]

Re: dharma transmission from Nishijima roshi

My view is that variety of personalities in the collection of "misfits" as Jundo called them is actually one of the most encouraging aspects of Nishijima's legacy. I am deeply suspicious of students who are clones of their teachers, so I find it refreshing and honest that they are all so different from one another . . . one doesn't have to wear a powdered wig to play Mozart well, one just needs to practice a great deal and work with a good teacher.

Gassho,
Eika

Very well said Eika. Gassho zak

[Taigu]

Re: dharma transmission from Nishijima roshi

here is a picture of Niwa and a poem written a few years ago:


Like a laughing and beaming cat
Eternal rambling of the brook
the cow enters the stream
your eyebrows like brushes
and teeth and tongue
gulping deep blue sky
dolls you playing with
at five or six years of age
dressing them endlessly
your shaved head under the sharp blade
the incense cloud and fragrant pine
the loud voice of the valley
shaking the rocks
rocking the silent moon
not making sense of anything
loosing track, wiping footprints
how can one walk the rain
what is the faith of trees, bees, birds?
Not answering
bleeding laughters
merely gazing
with gentleness
you ascend the Eiheiji seat
and bow at dogs in secret
Niwa
my blood in yours
and yours in mine
soiled
as this all world
seal in space
not even a ripple
or stir
or chatter
or whisper
the seal where two moons
collide
and turn into
each other
Niwa
like a rambling and beaming cat
eternal laughing of the brook

Attached files

[AlanLa]

Re: dharma transmission from Nishijima roshi

Nishijima's heirs sound a lot like the people that make up this sangha, very diverse and from all over the place. Jundo is just a chip off the old black, eh.

[Kokuu]

Interesting to re-find this thread during our 15th anniversary celebration and a lovely reminder of what a big and, as AlanLa said, diverse family we are.

I looked this up after a discussion with another of Nishijima's heirs on Facebook, and not mentioned here thus far, Rachelle Allen-Sherwood, who is an artist in the UK: https://www.rachelleallen-sherwood.com/ My ex-wife met her at a Theravada talk in Canterbury and she said she studied with Roshi as a contemporary of Brad and Peter Rocca.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-