Willigis Jäger

Willigis Jäger was a Benedictine monk who trained in the Sanbo Zen tradition. He was a major influence on many Catholic religious who also took up Zen training. “Many can argue whether a Christian can validly do or teach Zen or not,” Jäger said. “The fact is, I am doing it.”

He died on March 20, 2020.

Catholicism and Zen: 75-85, 104, 105, 125, 126, 140, 141, 143, 184, 187, 194, 196

The Story of Zen: 258

Shodo Harada

To stress the importance of assuming a proper posture when meditating, Shodo Harada tells the story of “a rich man who wanted a third-floor residence so that he could be higher than any of his neighbors. When the carpenters arrived they naturally began construction from the bottom floors. When the rich man saw this he became angry and said to the carpenters, ‘I said I wanted a third-floor residence, so I don’t need anything else, just the third floor. Why should I waste my money building the bottom floors?’”

Cypress Trees in the Garden: 117-132

The Story of Zen: 349

Joshu Sasaki

Kevin Hunt told me this story about a visit Joshu Sasaki made to the Trappist monastery in Spencer, Massachusetts: “Now he had spoken about koan practice and how it was used. And he said: ‘I give a koan. To everybody. Same koan to everybody.’ And he had noticed when we start our chanting, we make the sign of the cross. And he said: ‘Hmm. Hmm. Good practice. Oh, that’s a good practice. That’s a good practice.’ His English was not very good. So he said: ‘Koan. Mmm.’ He leaned over to me, ‘What do you call that, brother?’ I said, ‘That’s the sign of the cross.’ ‘Ah! Sign cross. Mmm. Good practice. Strong practice. Mmm. Koan: How do you realize God sign cross? Meditate on that until I come back.’ So I did.”

Cypress Trees in the Garden: 15, 16-19, 26, 39, 40-42, 43, 44 – 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 51-53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 60-61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 83, 89-90, 91, 92, 104, 107, 111, 112-14, 121, 123, 133, 146, 201, 202, 220, 286, 313, 316-17, 318, 381, 393, 414, 436

The Story of Zen: 5, 6, 286-90, 323-30, 335, 336, 338, 371

Philip Whalen

 Philip Whalen approached his first intensive sitting at the San Francisco Zen Center’s Tassajara practice center with trepidation. But the experience eventually reminded him of being back in the army. “It took me several training periods to see that they weren’t trying to kill you. All you had to do was follow the schedule and you wouldn’t have to argue with anybody, not even yourself.”

The Third Step East: 88-91; 81, 82, 83, 85, 92

Seung Sahn

Bobbie Rhodes – Zen Master Soeng Hyang – told me this story about the Korean teacher, Seung Sahn:

“This time we were driving from Boston to Providence, and it was in the evening, in the summer, and a bug hit the windshield. I was driving, and he was sitting in the passenger seat. And the bug looked like it was still alive. But I knew, by the impact, that it must have died. But it was moving from the wind, and he thought it was alive. I said, ‘No, I think it’s dead, Soen Sa Nim.’ He said, ‘No, I think it might be living.’ I said, ‘No, I think it’s dead.’ And he goes, ‘Pull over!’ He almost screamed with so much urgency. ‘Pull over!’ So I pulled over on 95, a major highway, and got out of the car. I lifted the bug off the windshield and showed it to him. It had died. But it was amazing how much he cared about that bug. That was his heart—you know—that was the kind of heart he had. Not to harm. That’s what he always taught. Try to help. Try to relieve suffering.”

Cypress Trees in the Garden: 16, 160, 161-63, 168, 173, 196, 197, 201, 213, 219, 221, 317, 423-37

The Story of Zen: 307