Charlotte Joko BeckIn the 1960s, Charlotte Joko Beck studied with Hakuun Yasutani Roshi and Soen Nakagawa Roshi. In 1983 she became the 3rd Dharma heir of Hakuyu Maezumi Roshi. In 1995 she and her Dharma Successors formally established the Ordinary Mind Zen School. Today, her Dharma Successors lead centres in the United States and Australia. A list of those centres is available here. From the early 1980s, until moving to Prescott, Arizona, in mid-2006, Charlotte Joko Beck was head teacher at Zen Center of San Diego.
Definitional Statement of the Ordinary Mind Zen SchoolCharlotte Joko Beck and her Dharma Successors have established the Ordinary Mind Zen School, whose purpose is set forth in the following statement.
The Ordinary Mind Zen School intends to manifest and support practice of the Awakened Way, as expressed in the teaching of Charlotte Joko Beck. The School is composed of Charlotte Joko Beck, her Dharma Successors, and teachers and successors they, as individuals, have formally authorized. There is no affiliation with other Zen groups or religious denominations; however, membership in this school does not preclude individual affiliation with other groups. Within the school there is no hierarchy of Dharma Successors.
The Awakened Way is universal; the medium and methods of realization vary according to circumstances. Each Dharma Successor in the School may apply diverse practice approaches and determine the structure of any organization that s/he may develop to facilitate practice.
The Successors acknowledge that they are ongoing students, and that the quality of their teaching derives from the quality of their practice. As ongoing students, teachers are committed to the openness and fluidity of practice, wherein the wisdom of the absolute may be manifested in /as our life. An important function of this School is the ongoing examination and development of effective teaching approaches to insure comprehensive practice in all aspects of living.
May the practice of this School manifest wisdom and compassion, benefiting all beings.
San Diego, November 2, 1995
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