In this five-part series guest blogger and filmmaker JL Aronson writes about his Fall 2012 pilgrimage to Buddhist centers in California and beyond. Follow his journey as he meditates his way through the West. Find out more about JL here. See more photos from JL's pilgrimage here. Happy reading! - Madeline
Ok, back to China.
The general principles that define “Zen” and distinguish it from other forms of Buddhism were synthesized in medieval China and dispersed to faraway lands. Vietnam, Korea and—obviously—Japan all developed rich Zen permutations. The fact that the Japanese derivation is mostly widely known in Western countries is in large measure attributable to the early work of people liked Shunryu Suzuki, Taizan Maezumi (more on him in a bit) and the scholar D.T. Suzuki. Only one Chinese Buddhist teacher came west at that time and had any lasting impact. His name was Hsuan Hua and he had the good sense to pay a visit to Hong Kong in 1949. China was about to fall into the vortex that lifted many millions out of poverty, but not before starving many of those millions to death and effectively criminalizing their religions. Before embarking on the one-way trip out of his homeland, Hsuan Hua had received the seal of the ancestors from old Master Hsu Yun, then approaching 110 years. (He’d live another ten more after that. Really.)
The transmission he received from Hsu Yun gave Master Hua the kind of credibility that inspires faith. His intimate familiarity with the texts of the tradition also lended a required authority, first for the Chinese followers that encountered him in Hong Kong and elsewhere and who looked for signs of cultural continuity amid bad news on the main land. He came to San Francisco in 1962, and before long found students and donors. In the spiritual firmament of the time, a number of American seekers found their way to Hsuan Hua. Alas, the Japanese style was not for everyone.
In 1974, Master Hua purchased a shuttered mental institution on 488 acres of Mendocino County, a couple hours north of San Francisco. From this was born the first Chinese Buddhist monastery outside of Asia. However, that designation only begins to describe the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. In addition to training facilities for scores of monks and nuns, the City also encompasses a private elementary and junior high school (like Catholic school but with Bodhisattva chanting services in place of mass), a large garden, a vegetarian restaurant, Dharma Realm Buddhist College (currently working on establishing full accreditation), and a retreat center for visiting lay practitioners.
Master Hua died in 1995 but his syncretic yet orthodox approach lives on. His teachings give nearly equal merit to all five historic branches of Chinese Buddhism, including the esoteric and devotional approaches that were largely dispensed with by Japanese innovators. He also felt it was important to unify the Mahayana schools (which include Zen and Tibetan Buddhism) with the Theravadan schools of Southeast Asia. Though no one would confuse the practices that take place at the City of 10k Buddhas as anything other than Chinese Bodhisattva-centric, Hsuan Hua instituted a policy for all ordained monastics of only taking one meal a day, an austerity long-associated with Southeast Asian Buddhism. A number of his Western followers seem to have scattered since the Master’s passing, but his community in the backwoods of Ukiah, surrounded by wine and marijuana growers, continues to devote itself to wholehearted practice, assuring that Chinese Buddhism will still have a toehold in the Western most part of the West for years to come.
Visit the City online at www.cttbusa.org
Click here for the next installment in the series Modern Pilgrimage - The Zen Center of Los Angeles!
SAGELY CITY OF TEN THOUSAND BUDDHAS
Ukiah, CA
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| Main Gate, City of 10,000 Buddhas, Ukiah, CA Photo by JL Aronson |
The general principles that define “Zen” and distinguish it from other forms of Buddhism were synthesized in medieval China and dispersed to faraway lands. Vietnam, Korea and—obviously—Japan all developed rich Zen permutations. The fact that the Japanese derivation is mostly widely known in Western countries is in large measure attributable to the early work of people liked Shunryu Suzuki, Taizan Maezumi (more on him in a bit) and the scholar D.T. Suzuki. Only one Chinese Buddhist teacher came west at that time and had any lasting impact. His name was Hsuan Hua and he had the good sense to pay a visit to Hong Kong in 1949. China was about to fall into the vortex that lifted many millions out of poverty, but not before starving many of those millions to death and effectively criminalizing their religions. Before embarking on the one-way trip out of his homeland, Hsuan Hua had received the seal of the ancestors from old Master Hsu Yun, then approaching 110 years. (He’d live another ten more after that. Really.)
 |
| Hsuan Hua photo credit http://www.buddhadharma.com/contact_us.html |
In 1974, Master Hua purchased a shuttered mental institution on 488 acres of Mendocino County, a couple hours north of San Francisco. From this was born the first Chinese Buddhist monastery outside of Asia. However, that designation only begins to describe the Sagely City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. In addition to training facilities for scores of monks and nuns, the City also encompasses a private elementary and junior high school (like Catholic school but with Bodhisattva chanting services in place of mass), a large garden, a vegetarian restaurant, Dharma Realm Buddhist College (currently working on establishing full accreditation), and a retreat center for visiting lay practitioners.
 |
| Peacock and Main Buddha Hall at City of 10,000 Buddhas, Ukiah, CA Photo by JL Aronson |
Visit the City online at www.cttbusa.org
Click here for the next installment in the series Modern Pilgrimage - The Zen Center of Los Angeles!
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