An Open Letter to the Board of the Zen Studies Society Regarding Eido Roshi

An Open Letter to the Board of the Zen Studies Society Regarding Eido Roshi December 30, 2010

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30 December 2010
The Rev’d James Ishmael Ford
Boundless Way Zen
Mugendo-Ji
1030 Pleasant Street
Worcester, MA 01602
Joe Soun Dowling
ZSS Board President
New York Zendo Shobo-Ji
223 East 67th Street
New York, NY, 10065
Dear Mr Dowling,
As a member of the North American Zen teacher mahasangha I have kept my thoughts and suggestions regarding the Reverend Eido Shimano private between myself, the Reverend Roko Sherry Chayat and the Reverend Genjo Marinello. Like others in this situation I’ve taken some grief from those who felt that in my position I should make a public stance. I’ve been willing to suffer these rebukes because I’ve felt I could be of more use in private.
With the roshi’s December 1st letter* to the New York Times, however, there has been a significant turning and I feel I must now speak publicly.
Eido Roshi has many gifts as a teacher and commands the loyalty of many students. No doubt this complicates things for you and the Board. Additionally the way our culture tends to address matters of sexuality and sex, to my mind swinging wildly between libertinism and Puritanism, rarely balanced, makes it hard to have clear and unambiguous positions. The pressures on you must be terrible. As someone committed to the establishment of Zen institutions in the west you have my genuine sympathy.
And, the repeated and frequently shocking accounts of his abuse of his position of authority, if true, are evidence Eido Roshi should not be sanctioned as a teacher anywhere in any capacity. And, at this point in time I find it near impossible to believe these accounts are not true. It is surprising his behaviors have not led to criminal prosecution, or at least civil action.
I was among those who counseled Shinge Roshi and Genjo Sensei to seek outside intervention this past year. I was heartened that you chose to go with the FaithTrust Institute and specifically the Reverend Dr Marie Fortune. I was less sanguine to learn you, the Board, were not willing to follow their counsel precisely. At the same time I wasn’t there and again I felt my task was to support Roko & Genjo as they sought a way through that could bring healing to Eido’s many victims while allowing your sangha and its important mission to go forward.
With Eido Roshi’s letter it is no longer possible to seek a compromise.
I counsel you as strongly as I can to dismiss the Reverend Eido Shimano from any position of authority in the Zen Studies Society or its affiliates.
For the sake of his victims, for the sake of your sangha, for the sake of the Zen Dharma, I hope you will take this action.
Sincerely,
James
The Reverend James Ishmael Ford
Boundless Way Zen

*Eido Shimano Roshi’s letter to the New York Times transcribed by Al Billings.
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December 1, 2010.
News Editor
The New York Times
620 Eighth Avenue
New York, New York 10018
Re: “Sex Scandal Has American Buddhists Looking Within” – published Saturday, August 21, 2010, The New York Times National section
Dear Sir,
It has been three months since the article written about me appeared in your National Section. In this day and age, it quickly spread all over the world and, I am told, was translated into Japanese. I was hurt deeply. However, I endured for more than three months and endeavored to calm down. Since this is the year that I am planning to retire, I do not this article and my retirement to be linked. One has nothing to do with the other – there is no cause and effect.
As the date for my retirement is nearing, I think that at the very least, I need to point out the inappropriate attitude of the writer of the article and the misinformation contained in his piece. I highlight the following:
1. Mr. Oppenheimer did not interview me for this article, nor did he speak with Mr. Aitken or the young woman who is referred to in the article. The article states that he attempted to contact me and that I did not return several phone calls – this is just not true. I was never contacted by Mr. Oppenheimer, nor did I receive any correspondence from him at either my Livingston Manor address or my New York City address.
2. It is clear to me from reading the article and knowing the facts, that Mr. Oppenheimer obtained his information from second and third hand sources and the opinions expressed therein are neither factual nor backed up by proof. In fact, none of the individuals who have been quoted in the article were at the dinner table when the purported statement was made and there could not have “overheard” what was said.
3. In addition, I have no resigned because of these false accusations. At the beginning of this year, during a meeting of the Board of Directors in January, I made an announcement that 2010 was the 50 year anniversary of my being in America and that I planned to do a final fund raising for a mountain gate entrance to the monastery and would step down from the Abbot. This fundraising was to be the final act in a 50 year career in the United States. The article falsely states that I am stepping down from the Abbot because of allegations.
Moreover, I would like to mention the following: When the article appeared, I was in Switzerland doing a silent retreat. When I returned to the United States, many people brought the article to my attention. The effect has been profound. Many people are hurt and confused. As an aside, minutes from our Board of Directors meetings are private documents. If they wound up in Hawaii or in Mark Oppenheimer’s possession, they were improperly obtained and/or delivered. Did anyone question why Mr. Aitken would write about a Buddhist monk for 50 years, when I have had contact with him only twice since 1964. I shall look forward to what your journalist, Mark Oppenheimer, has to say about the contents of my letter.
Very truly yours,
 
*signed*
 
Eido T. Shimano, Abbot

 


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