Monk who brought Zen Buddhism to US dies

Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)

Joshu Sasaki Roshi celebrates his 50th anniversary at Rinzaiñji Zen Center in Los Angeles in 2012 (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

 

Monk who brought Zen Buddhism to U.S. dies at 107

Zen Buddhist teacher Joshu Sasaki Roshi, a leading figure in Zen Buddhism in America whose legacy was later complicated by allegations of sexual abuse, has died. He was 107.

 

Roshi died Sunday afternoon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said Gento Steve Krieger, head monk at Rinzai-ji, also known as the Cimarron Zen Center, in Jefferson Park. He died of complications of old age, Krieger said.

 

Roshi arrived in Los Angeles more than 50 years ago and was among a wave of Japanese teachers to tailor Zen Buddhism teachings to Westerners. He once pledged to students that he would not die “until Zen is born in America.”

 

“He was a Zen master,” Krieger said. “I don’t know anybody else who lives that completely and that fully. When you meet somebody like that, it changes your opinion of what a human being is.”

 

He opened dozens of Zen centers, including one on Mt. Baldy known for its rigorous training regimen.

 

Decades later, allegations from dozens of former students that he had sexually abused them...More

Were Anasazi [Native Americans] Buddhists?

Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly; Hendon Harris (chinesediscoveramerica.com)

The most famous building in the entire Tibetan plateau, Potala Pueblo, Lhasa (HCC)

Tibetan store (Aaron Berkovich/flickr)

Were the Anasazi, who are known to many as the Native Americans of the Southwest, Buddhists? 

 

Buddhism began in the sixth century BCE in India [although the Buddha was from neighboring Afghanistan -- the ancient northwestern frontier of Gandhara and to points west -- where the Dharma quickly took hold among his familial clan simultaneous with its spread in Magadha/modern Bihar, India].

It soon spread to ancient Greece and parts of its empire in Central Asia [Bactria, Sogdiana, etc., where Alexander the Great left yet another "Alexandria" in Kandahar, Afghanistan, when it was part of the Hellenic Empire], the geopolitical Middle East, and some believe to Europe (Kalmykia) as far north as Scandinavia and even North America, which was partly ancient Mexico, a spread Rick Fields documented in How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in America and Edward P. Vining's Inglorious Columbus, which recounts how a group of Afghan Buddhist monks led by Chinese Buddhist missionary Hwui Shan  "discovered" America and therefore interacted with the Native Americans long before the genocidal, Polish, Jewish Christopher Columbus].

This is where the Native Anasazi (or Ancestral Puebloan people, such as the Hopi, Hisatsinom, and others) come in.

• Did they leave temples and treasures here?

One piece of evidence is the ancient Buddhist proclivity for carving building and shrines into mountains and creating distinctive rock formations. They are now found all over the world and bear a likeness to that favored by Vedic Hinduism/Buddhism. Buddhism ultimately reached China in the first century ACE, after it had made a grand impact on Greece bringing in many Eastern philosophical idea -- the atom (kalapa), democratic voting and rudimentary parliamentary rules of order (Sangha organization according to the Vinaya), and so on.

 

The Anasazi culture mysteriously appeared in North America at an undetermined time and disappeared about 1300 ACE. Where did these incredibly advanced people come from? How and why did they just as mysteriously disappear? We know they were astronomers because we have found some of their observatories. We know they were road builders because we have found their roads. We know they were incredibly proficient at stone carving and masonry because we have found evidence of their work and architectural styles in the Four Corners area of the Southwest.

 

Native American indigenous Apache, remnant Anasazi spirit dancers, 1887 (Native Skeptic)

 
These architectural styles and art carved in stone provide the best evidence that the source of the Anasazi culture with its advanced knowledge and artistry was Vedic Asia.

 

This is a provocative statement likely to offend a few scholars. However, if one takes the time to examine the art and architecture, compare examples from each culture side by side, it will provide clear evidence of their connection.

 

Rock cliffs of the Grand Canyon, Arizona

If one were to start by using the image search terms “Were the Anasazi people Buddhist?” one would find that the architectural styles of the Puebloan people (Anasazi) and Chinese Buddhists are so similar that they show up interchangeably on the image page clearly demonstrating that they used the same techniques for carving out rock caves. (See examples of rock caves carved high on the cliffs of Bandelier National Park, New Mexico. They bear an incredible likeness to Asian Buddhist caves). 

Further search “Architecture-Pueblo complexes and Great Houses” or “Bandelier National Park Rock Cave Images” to see more). Compare these to the Caves of Dunhuang and the Longmen Caves in China or to the recently discovered Shangri-la Buddhist Caves of Nepal all of which are carved high up on rock faces.
 

Luoyang Shaolin Buddhist temple (G-W-H)

For evidence of IDENTICAL construction techniques used in ancient China and in ancient North America “zoom in” on these pictures of the rock-cut caves at Bandelier National Monument, USA and the Caves at Dunhuang, China.  Both locations, separated by the vast Pacific Ocean, show identical horizontal rows of small bored holes cut into the cliff faces perhaps to insert wooden pole frames for shade canopies for each location thousands of miles apart.

 

Tibetan structures are like Puebloan dwellings of the Southwest. This American adobe complex was likely built between 1000-1450 AD near Taos, New Mexico, USA (wiki).

  

Rock-cut remains, Bandelier, NM, USA

Ancient Buddhists seem to have been fascinated by rocks shaped a particular way. Here is a very unusually shaped rock in Thailand and an almost identically shaped rock in the Bisti Badlands, New Mexico. 
 
The Bisti Badlands are an interesting place in the Four Corners region, where the Anasazi people lived. However, the common opinion is that “The Canadian Goose Bisti,” “The Sleeping Lizard Bisti,” “The Flying Turtle Bisti,” and so on are simply random acts of erosion. A more plausible explanation is that these rock formations are ruins of a people exhibiting a Vedic cultural heritage because of at least three different types of rock formations there.

1. Mushroom rocks like the ones found at Mushroom State Park, Kansas are found throughout these 45,000 acres of badlands. “Mushroom Rocks” are the chattra symbols of ancient Buddhism. Chattra is the Sanskrit word for “mushroom,” which is also the word for the Parasol, one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism. More

Buddhism in America before Columbus (video)

Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; All History Buff (History Channel)

Polish Jew Christopher Columbus came to infect, rape, and enslave for Europe (AMN)

   

Long before Christians and Conquistadors

The Chinese made a map of the world

It's 455 and the Aztecs live in America as the Chinese begin to make their way to the "New World."

This was long before Chris(to) Columbus' merchant mission. In fact, no less than a dozen cultures have tales of these adventures woven into their histories, but they are noticeably absent in American history books. This documentary explores the possibility that Chinese Buddhists, Japanese, Polynesians, Norse, Welsh, Irish, Ancient Hebrews, and Solutreans [DNA evidence of Africans arriving 50,000 years ago not included] all made it to the Americas much earlier than the mass murderer Columbus. 

Afghan Buddhist monks discovered America shows American historian in 1885 (archive.org)

 

Tibetans (China) brought pueblos to Natives

In 455 AD Buddhist missionaries -- Chinese Hwui Shen and Afghan Buddhist monks -- brought the world-religion of Buddhism to the Native Americans 1,037 years before Columbus, the Conquistadors and Cortes, and European Christian-Catholic missionaries in general.
 
Buddhist missionaries made it to Mexico via California (when California was part of Mexico) according to surviving records (see Minute 8:20). The Chumash (Native Americans from Los Angeles, the Channel islands, and Santa Barbara along the coast of Southern California) were even visited by the Polynesians (Min. 34:20). What hard evidence, apart from written histories, is there for all this?

 

Avoiding European invasion and genocid

Some maritime archaeological artifacts were found in our very own Los Angeles (Min. 11:20). By the time the Welsh set off for the New World, the magnificent Buddhist Khmer Empire of Cambodia was completing Angkor Wat (Min. 20:00), the greatest urban city of the time with a million suburban inhabitants made of stone in the jungle just like those in Mexico and Mesoamerica/Central America built by the Maya, Olmec, Toltec, Inca, and Aztec empires. 

 

But let's rebuild the ships, trace the routes, test the artifacts, and analyze blood evidence to finally learn the answer to one of the greatest mysteries of all time -- Who really discovered America?

• VIDEO: Proof Chinese brought Buddhism to America
• Why would the Smithsonian and others hide history? (Forbidden Archeology with Michael Cremo) 
• Christoph Columbus was JEWISH, historians argue

Convert them like this, Columbus (Daily Mail)

Scholars now believe that Italian mass murderer Columbus was actually a Marrano, a "secret Jew," who feigned conversion to Catholicism. Historians say five clues to the explorer's faith can be found in his will. His famous voyage was funded not by the Queen of Spain, but by three prominent Jews -- and he first updated them on the progress of his quest. One new theory even suggests he may have been looking for a safe haven for Jews persecuted and driven out of Spain...

No, comments Lorenzo Damas: Search "Christopher Columbus History Turned Upside-Down by New Polish Biography." Historian Manuel Rosa has these links in his book “Kolumb: Historia Nieznana” (published May 8, 2012 in Poland), translated from the Spanish book “Colon: La Historia Nunca Contada. Jews weren't persecuted in Spain until later, and that will is a forgery.

Buddhism in SWEDEN is growing fast!

Jaya (Buddhist Broadcasting Network, bbncommunity.com, 9-11-13); Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

It is evident that Europe is changing very rapidly, economically and socially. Although these changes are widely discussed in the media, there are a few that attract very little attention.

 

The change in demography, in particular the growth of alternative religions, is one notable item. Sweden is no exception.

Due mainly to the arrival of Diasporas and the organic growth of Eastern traditions, such as Buddhism, many domestic people are paying attention. Buddhism is still relatively small in Sweden. But in recent years it has seen tremendous growth. It is trending, and estimates on new Buddhists are on an upward swing.

• Indigenous Buddhism in Kalmykia, Europe
• Swedish Christmas in Buddhist Los Angeles
• Buddhism in Russia and Yetis in Siberia
• Celtic Buddhism in Ireland

In April 2011 (the last year for which reliable data are available) it is estimated to have risen to around 35,000 to 40,000 or 0.38-0.43% of the Swedish population, making it the third largest religion after Christianity and Islam.

 

Most practitioners have Asian backgrounds from Thailand, China, and Vietnam. According to official reports in 2011, Buddhism is proportionally the fastest growing religion.

There are now several Buddhist temples in Sweden, including Stockholm (Theravada Thai and Sri Lankan), Borås, Eslöv, Gothenburg, Fredrika, and other parts of Sweden.

 

A BNN reader reports that a giant project in the northernmost part of Sweden is underway. It is supposed to be the biggest Buddhist center in Europe. It has now, however, had to scale back its plans to get clearance for its application to build. But once the project is completed, Sweden will have an enormous Buddhist center that can facilitate more followers.

 

 

Stockholm Buddhist Temple

The Stockholm Buddhist Vihara (monastic residence) is a Buddhist temple in the Theravada tradition. Like old centers in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and elsewhere, it was established by the Sinhalese community to continue an ancient tradition of spreading the Dharma or Dhamma. The center was built in Sweden in 1985 by the Sri Lanka-Sweden Buddhist Association (SIDA) in conjunction with the arrival of the first resident monastic in Stockholm. It is the first ever Buddhist temple formed in Scandinavia, and the members are mostly of Sri Lankan origin.

A Scandinavian home
SIDA came into being in 1983 as a result of the energetic efforts and dedication of ardent Buddhist devotees who gathered in Stockholm during the winter of 1982 to discuss the possibility of forming an association.

Their courage and determination resulted in establishing a temporary organization, which became permanent after a general meeting in March, 1983 at the SIDA Auditorium in Stockholm.
 
Once established in 1985 the Stockholm Buddhist Temple moved to several temporary locations until the monastics and devotees succeeded in acquiring a permanent building for the center in Jakobsberg in 1995.

Thai Temple in Gothenburg
In 2005 Mrs. Eh and her husband Stein donated five hectares in northern Rörum for a temple building. However, lack of municipal water and sanitation would have meant additional costs if it had been built there.
 
So in 2006, Mrs. Eh and her husband found a property, one owned by a Thai/Swedish family, was for sale. They jumped at the opportunity to create a temple in southern Sweden and decided to purchase the property.
 
The temple has been built by Theravada Thai Buddhists and their partners living in southern Sweden. They have received help from the monks of Wat Pa in Copenhagen under the direction of Abbot Phar Kru Somsak.
 
Theravada temple in Skåne Åstorpsvägen

Buddhism is not a law or set of dogmas. It is a direct path to enlightenment, something to be undertaken and verified for oneself. Since it is not a "religion" in our Western sense, one need not abandon any faith or creed to practice.

It is often spoken of as an Eastern philosophy or a way of life, says the Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Assati. All are welcome here to meditate, not only Buddhists. When the temple at Railway Road 13 in Åstorpsvägen was recently inaugurated, about 100 people attended. Most were Sri Lankan Buddhists from southern Sweden who previously had to travel to Stockholm or Copenhagen, where there are already Buddhist temples.
 
"Some attendees were not Buddhists," says Mr. Nandi Dei Zylva, Chairman of Standing Behind the Temple, a Sri Lankan Buddhist cultural association in Skaane. "My wife, for example, is a Christian."

"We’re neighbors with Björnekulla Church, and the pastor and his family came here," continues Mr. Dei Zylva. "They were very friendly and accommodating and said that our visitors were free to use their parking [lot]."

The temple in Åstorpsvägen was financed by members and is a Sri Lankan Buddhist temple, unlike the Bjuv, which is Vietnamese. Bhikkhu Assati explains the difference:
 
"Buddhism, which originated in Nepal and India, has two branches -- ours called Theravada [Teaching of the Buddha's Elder enlightened disciples] and the Bjuv called Mahayana [Great Vehicle]. Theravada is more conservative than the Mahayana. It is much like the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism."

• [A more apt comparison might be Sufism to Islam or Judaism to Christianity because both are related but one is a popularization and is ten times larger.]

"Regardless of the difference, we have a good working relationship with the temple in Bjuv," adds Mr. Dei Zylva. "Before we got our own [Theravada] temple, we went there often."
 
The temple’s representatives wish many Åstorpsbors will come to visit and meditate. They welcome all who feel the need to replace their daily stress with a moment of contemplative rest.
 


In addition to the Bjuv Buddhist temple of Sweden, there is a Vietnamese temple in Katrineholm.