ABSTRACT
In the August issue of the Middle Way we included a brief note of the great honour done by the Zen Buddhists of Japan to Mrs Ruth Sasaki, the widow of the Japanese Roshi, Sokei-an Sasaki, around whose teaching to a group of students in New York the First Zen Institute of America was built up. In October Mrs Sasaki paid an all too brief visit to London and of course visited the Zen Class at the Society's headquarters. There she was pressed for her views on 'Zen for the West', and it was clear that some of these did not accord with our own. I recorded the visit in a brief article in the November issue in which, after referring to the foundation of the First Zen Institute, I continued, 'This was the pioneer group of Westerners to study and attempt to practise Zen in self-preparation for the coming of a qualified Roshi from Japan. Their efforts were rewarded by two visits from Miura Roshi who, however, has now once more returned to Japan. Then Mrs Sasaki, after years of negotiation and preparation, persuaded the governing body of Daitoku-ji, one of the largest Rinzai Zen monasteries in Kyoto, to rebuild a very old but ruined sub-temple in its enormous grounds, and to use it as a training school for Western students of Zen. As a climax, Mrs Sasaki was honoured as no Westerner has ever been honoured before, by making her not only a member of the Order, but a 'Head Priest' or 'Chief Monk' of the newly rebuilt sub-temple, and as such ranking with the others of that title throughout the monastery. On her way from Japan to New York for a visit Mrs Sasaki called in at London and spent much of her short five days
with members of the Society. She attended a meeting of the Zen class and a tea and dinner party at our home, and had talks with members of all persuasion in the field of Buddhism. She has enormous knowledge of present day Japanese Buddhism, and in particular of the origin, history and present position of Rinzai Zen. All that she has to say, therefore is well worth considering carefully, though opinions may rightly differ as to the applicability of what she says to our special conditions here. For myself, I made the following notes after her departure, though others may not agree with my understanding of what she said or its interpretation.
