White Plum Asanga

Many teachers of the White Plum Asanga present at the 40th anniversary of the Zen Center of Los Angeles

White Plum Asanga, sometimes termed White Plum Sangha, is a loose (hence asangha) "organization of peers whose members are leaders of Zen Communities in the lineage of Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi," created by Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi and Tetsugen Bernard Glassman. It consists of Maezumi's Dharma heirs and subsequent successors.

Characterization

A diverse organization spread across the United States and with a small presence in Europe, the White Plum Asanga

[I]ncludes teachers who represent the spectrum of styles to be found to American Zen—socially engaged Buddhism, family practice, Zen and the arts, secularized Zen, and progressive traditionalism."

Conceived of informally in 1979 by Maezumi and Tetsugen Bernard Glassman, the White Plum Asanga was named after Maezumi's father Baian Hakujun Dai-osho and then later incorporated in 1995 following Maezumi's death. Tetsugen Bernard Glassman was the White Plum Asanga's first President and his successor was Dennis Genpo Merzel. Following Merzel's term, in May 2007, Gerry Shishin Wick served as elected President of White Plum, until 2013 when Anne Seisen Saunders became the current president.

Notable members

• Jan Chozen Bays
• Merle Kodo Boyd
• Charles Tenshin Fletcher
• Tetsugen Bernard Glassman (Past President)
• Joan Jiko Halifax
• Robert Jinsen Kennedy
• John Daido Loori
• Peter Muryo Matthiessen
• Wendy Egyoku Nakao
• Pat Enkyo O'Hara
• John Tesshin Sanderson
• Gerry Shishin Wick (Past President)
• Michael Mugaku Zimmerman
• Diane Musho Hamilton

Notable centers

• Lost Coin Zen
• Still Mind Zendo
• Yokoji Zen Mountain Center
• Upaya Institute and Zen Center
• Kanzeon Zen Center
• Zen Center of Los Angeles
• Zen Mountain Monastery
• Village Zendo
• Great Vow Zen Monastery
• Sweetwater Zen Center
• Zen River
• Brevard Zen Center
• New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care
• Soji Zen Center
• Zen Life & Meditation Center
• Great Plains Zen Center
• Two Arrows Zen

See also

• Buddhism in the United States
• Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United States

Sources

• Maezumi, Taizan; Glassman, Bernard (2002). On Zen Practice: Body, Breath, Mind. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-315-X. OCLC 49822921.
• Prebish, Charles S.; Baumann, Martin (2002). Westward Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Asia. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-22625-9. OCLC 48871649.
• Prebish, Charles S (1999). Luminous Passage: The Practice and Study of Buddhism in America. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-21697-0.
• Tucker, Mary Evelyn (1997). Buddhism and Ecology: The Interconnection of Dharma and Deeds. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-945454-13-9.

External links

• White Plum website

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