About

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In 2016 I began practicing with a Single Flower Zen in Claremont, CA.  I loved it! And I still practice with them under the guidance of Ven. Myodo Jabo.  A month or so in I discovered that some of the sangha took classes online through Buddha Dharma University (BDU).  I learned that the courses were very inexpensive to make the Dharma available to all.  Fantastic! I signed up.  I took a couple of classes my first quarter and on top of my full-time job and other commitments decided to throttle back to one class per quarter after that.  The University was headed up by Ven. Wonji Dharma aka Paul Lynch (I will let you google him for yourself). Suffice it to say, he had a staggering knowledge of Zen Buddhism and had dedicated his life to sharing it.  

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After about four years I completed 17 courses and received a Bachelor's of Buddhist studies (which BDU had up until that year called a Certificate of Buddhist Studies) and took precepts to become a priest in the Five Mountain Zen Order. By this time, I had already started Riverside Zen Center.

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At some point I developed a strong desire to start a zazen group.  I chose the title of "Cat-herder". It was my desire to make it a place free of partisan politics. Sorry, but I just hate that shit. Complete separation of church and state.  This was church. And I think I succeeded fairly well. The only time politics came up was at dinner gatherings after practice, and I always did my best to steer the conversation in another direction if at all possible.  I wasn't always successful but it was the top priority to avoid divisive political crap at all cost.  

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I met some truly wonderful people at Riverside Zen Center and made some great friends.  I always hoped for people to show up who knew more than me.  And quite a few did. That wasn't terribly hard really. I liked letting others bring in something to share with the group or readings they were into, perhaps a new chant, and I learned a great deal.  All the while I continued with my teachers group in Claremont. 

Then along came a little virus named COVID.

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We were forced to shut down. After awhile, we went on zoom, but it wasn't the same. 

Eventually, we re-opened and did a hybrid zoom / in-person kinda thing.

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And then it was time to practice what I had learned in earnest.

My 89 year old mother collapsed and was hospitalized.

The number one point of Buddhist study is compassion. And it was time to direct my attention towards taking care of my mother. This was pretty much curtains for RZC.  As I write this it has been a year and "Momsy" is at home, but she requires a great deal of care and I'm still trying to work a 9-5 on top of that plus I have a diabetic cat. 

A few short months after completing my classes at BDU and taking more precepts, Wonji Dharma passed suddenly before naming a successor to run BDU. It was truly shocking to see how poorly his students handled this blow. It has turned into something like West Coast vs. East. (I've not plotted the different factions on a map like a game of Risk or anything, but based on my ballpark estimates, West/East). Currently there appear to be two almost exact copies of the BDU website to choose from, both claiming to be "the real BDU".  Will the real BDU please stand up. Here is the part I fail to understand. When it became known that Ven. Wonji was gone and he didn't make it perfectly clear who he wanted to take over, why didn't the people closest to him simply say, "let's have the graduates, affiliated sanghas, etc. nominate who they think should run BDU and put it to a vote"?  

Seems simple doesn't it?  But it was more akin to: 

"It's mine, NO! It's mine! Give it back, No, you give it back! Hey Mom, Billy hit me!"

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Has this shaken my faith in Buddhism?  No, not at all. Are you really so silly to think that Buddhists aren't assholes too? Wherever there are people, there will be assholes.  The point is we are trying not to be. That is why it is called Zen "Practice". 

Sahnryong Maitri - Cat-herder on hiatus, Riverside Zen Center