Zen Master Who?: A Guide to the People and Stories of Zen [Paperback]

James Ishmael Ford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 20, 2006

Surprisingly little has been written about how Zen came to North America. Zen Master Who? does that and much more. Author James Ishmael Ford, a renowned Zen master in two lineages, traces the tradition’s history in Asia, looking at some of its most important figures — the Buddha himself, and the handful of Indian, Chinese, and Japanese masters who gave the Zen school its shape. It also outlines the challenges that occurred as Zen became integrated into western consciousness, and the state of Zen in North America today. The author includes profiles of modern Zen teachers and institutions, including D. T. Suzuki and Alan Watts, and such topics as the emergence of liberal Buddhism, and Christians, Jews, and Zen. This engaging, accessible book is aimed at anyone interested in this tradition but who may not know how to start. Most importantly, it clarifies a great and ancient tradition for the contemporary seeker.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Taxonomists rejoice: for all who have wondered about the difference between a roshi and a sensei, this book sorts these two kinds of Zen Buddhist teachers and offers lots more information about Zen schools and influences. A longtime Zen student and Unitarian minister, Ford is a sympathetic insider who knows much of his history firsthand, yet sees clearly enough to acknowledge the distortions and even abuses in the history of Zen as it came to this country. His delineations form a road map to persons and places in Zen in America. His eye is especially keen in appreciating the early teachers who brought Zen from Japan and adapted it to an audience growing in numbers and receptivity to Asian religious wisdom. End matter, including a guide to finding a teacher, is helpful; missing, however, is some graphic representation—a family tree, perhaps?—that could have summarized paragraphs of prose about lineages and who taught whom. The very existence of the book is evidence of the growth and maturation of a small but culturally significant group of what Ford rightly characterizes as religious believers. Beyond the obvious niche audience, this book holds interest for all curious about American Zen Buddhism and contemporary expressions of American spirituality. (Nov.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications (October 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0861715098
• ISBN-13: 978-0861715091
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #620,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Enlightened" Doesn't Mean Ethical, Compassionate or Good Teacher, January 31, 2007

By 

Leonard Moskowitz "Len Moskowitz" (Teaneck, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zen Master Who?: A Guide to the People and Stories of Zen (Paperback)

Before I start reading a book I don't know if I'll be moved to write a review. But when I find myself making notes in the margins as I read (as I did with this one), there's a good chance that I'll review the book to help others decide if the book will be useful to them.

James Ishmael Ford's fine book "Zen Master Who?" is worth reading if you want a bit of information about who's who in the Western Zen Buddhist world, how it got the way it is and where it might be heading.

It's written in three parts. The first restates what he calls the Buddhist founding "myths". The second tries to to give us a feel for the story of the people who brought Zen to the West from China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam, concentrating a bit more on Japan, as to-date the Japanese have had the most visible impact on establishing Zen in the West. The third and shortest part discusses the directions in which Zen in the West may be headed.

My most serious criticism? I felt that Ford's description of the last few generations of Zen Masters was not even-handed. I didn't appreciate how the serious character failings (e.g., inappropriate sexual relationships, substance abuse, financial misdeeds) of some Zen Masters were described in some depth while others were only mentioned in passing and those of many others (including his teachers) were omitted completely.

In the same vein, he glosses over the critical discussion of what "enlightenment" means in the context of unethical behavior by simply saying that Zen Masters are not perfect masters, not "gurus" and are subject to the same desires and temptations that all of us face. We would have been better served if he'd spent a few more pages (or a chapter) discussing how one can be an fully awakened master and still be an alcoholic, an adulterer, a supporter of national violence on an international scale, or financially irresponsible to friends, family and sangha. In the recent history of Zen, some of the best known Masters suffered these serious failings. There are lots of very odd people in the Zen world, and to choose a teacher one must know and understand this.

In his discussion of Christianity and Judaism in Zen, he misses an obvious disparity. We find Christian clergy from many different backgrounds (spanning the range from Jesuit Catholics to Unitarian Universalists and everything in between) becoming Zen lay-people, teachers and masters. In severe contrast, though many notable teachers and lay-folk in Western Zen come from Jewish backgrounds, they almost invariably are secular or non-religious Jews. There are essentially no traditionally religious Jews associated with (much less teaching) Zen in the West, and certainly no traditionally observant rabbis. Isn't this disparity worth some discussion?

I enjoyed his concise formulation of the Second Truth, of how suffering as the result of clinging is related to the co-arising of all things.

His very short (three page) appendix on "What to Look For When Looking for a Zen Teacher" can be boiled down to three suggestions: get into it slowly to see how you like it, ask other people about the teacher and try to evaluate the teacher by the quality of their students and the community as a whole. All of this is obvious but worth the time and space he devotes to it.

If you're interested in this book, you might also read "Zen in America" by Helen Tworkov (Kodansha Globe, 1994). Tworkov discusses five Zen masters (four of whom are mentioned by Ford), but in much more depth and detail.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great survey of Zen, December 15, 2006

By 

Michael J. Mccormick (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zen Master Who?: A Guide to the People and Stories of Zen (Paperback)

I found this book a very useful and entertaining survey. It covers the most seminal figures of the East Asian Zen traditions that are now found in North America and there is a very clear exposition of the practices of shikan taza (just sitting) and koan introspection. The capsule biographies of the many men and women who were instrumental in establishing Zen in North America were very interesting and really helped me to understand who was who, what was what, and most importantly of all what is out there now for someone who wants to take up Zen practice. The last part of the book goes over important issues concerning the continuing adaptation of Zen outside its original East Asian setting. There is also an appendix containing advice on what a beginner should look for in a Zen teacher, which I think would help save many people unecessary grief. All in all it is a great book for beginners, and even those who have been involved in Zen for awhile might find this a helpful summary and overview of the many traditions (including Korean, Vietnamese, and Chinese lineages that are now in America in addtion to the Japanese lines which themselves crisscross).

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Information for Zendoids - Highly Readable, January 2, 2007

By 

W. Giesey (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zen Master Who?: A Guide to the People and Stories of Zen (Paperback)

Among the rash of current historical/biographical Zen offerings, James Ford's Zen Master Who stands out as one of the more informative and certainly one of the most enjoyable reads. He starts with a focused reprise of the key historical Zen myths, and includes not only the thematic essentials but also by anecdote gives these stories a human dimension. He then moves on to his main subject, profiling a prodigious number of notable individuals and trends in recent and current Western Zen evolution, in a style both informative and enjoyable to read. Ford's wry humor, insight and compassion are apparent on every page, and the effect is engagingly conversational and personal. Another unique element of this book is the summary and discussion of the implications of all this material; where it might be leading us, and where we might try leading it. Not surprisingly, given that Ford is not only a Dharma heir but also a Unitarian Universalist minister, he evokes some intriguing possibilities for a liberal Western Zen of focused practice combined with committed social action, in a community of responsible and open-minded mutual support and self-determination. Altogether a lively and thought-provoking work.