The Shimano Archive
嶋野 栄道 老師 アーカイブ

11/18/06

The Zen Master in America: Dressing the Donkey with Bells and Scarves

by Stuart Lachs

Paper delivered at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, Washington D.C., Nov. 18, 2006 and The International Association of Buddhist Studies Congress, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, June 24, 2008.

03/00/07

The Golden Wind

Teisho by Eido Shimano

Buddhadharma Magazine
Spring 2007.

“To me, total responsibility means that everything – literally every single phenomenon inside and outside of my being – is wholly a projection of myself.”

“It is entirely my responsibility when things happen, including witnessing some troubled students come and go. We find it easy to blame them and dismiss them: ‘He’s crazy.’ ‘She’s a piece of work.’ But this is just a mere expression of our own frustration, and we don’t realize that by saying such things, the situation often becomes even worse. We don’t have the guts to accept that the problem isn’t with them, but it is within us.”

(See entries of 08/25/09 & 12/01/10)

09/11/07

Zen Studies Society Newsletter
Winter / Spring 2008

The Shintoization of Dai Bosatsu Zendo.

A Shinto shrine is constructed at Beecher Lake. The Japanese deity Benzaiten is enshrined. Benzaiten is the "goddess" of love and seduction.

[See entry of: 09/11/07]

02/00/08

Shimano's Japanese Book

愛語の力―禅僧ひとりニューヨークに立つ

Love language ability - to stand alone in New York Zen

Hardcover: 249 pages. "Chichi Publishing Company" (致知出版社)

Release Date: 2008/02

“Alone, a Zen monk stands in New York.” 

   “To say, one's ‘own power’ (jiriki) is wrong.

   ‘Other's power’ (tariki) also is not right.”

“Live each day steadily, without lying to yourself; this is the wonderful power of no-discretion that has pushed me forward.”

“When I entrust myself without fear to this power, my path automatically opens and my delightful devotion starts.”

04/17/08

Shimano Meets Pope Benedict XVI.

05/21/08

Genjo Marinello Osho
Receives "Dharma Transmission."

“On May 21, 2008, at Seattle’s University Friends (Quaker) Meeting House, Eido Shimano Roshi (嶋野 栄道) passed his staff to Genjo Marinello Osho, signifying such a transmission, known in Japanese as Inka.” 

“The ancient process of Inka has now swept Genjo Osho into its mysterious current. In his Rinzai-Hakuin Zenji Dharma Line, he becomes the eighty-third generation after Shakyamuni—who held up a flower and affirmed the smiling Maha Kashyapa as his Dharma Heir.”

05/23/08

Genjo Marinello First Edits the
Wikipedia Page on Eido Tai Shimano.

(Zenquaker = Genjo Marinello)

07/29/08

Robert Aitken Rōdaishi Email to the University of Hawai'i Archivists Ordering the Opening of His Sealed Eido Shimano Files.

08/15/08

A Character Assassination Email from
"Fudo" to Kobutsu Malone.

Fujin Attale Formhals
Seiko Susan Morningstar
Seigan Ed Glassing
Genchu Osamu Sekine
Mark Minervini
Dogo Pat Scanlon
Rinko Peggy Crawford
Aiho Yasuko Shimano
Eido Tai Shimano

Of these nine, only Fujin Attale Formhals has ever claimed association with Trungpa Rinpoche’s Vajra Sangha.  Kobutsu’s association with Trungpa Rinpoche extended from 1969 to 1977.  Since Attale Formhals was born on July 5, 1961, she would have been between the ages of eight and sixteen during the period in question.

11/05/08

Zen Studies Society Newsletter

Winter / Spring 2009

"Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was the head of that movement, and in August 1963 his well-known "I Have a Dream" speech was delivered in Alabama."

[Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech was delivered August 28th, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.]

11/29/08

The Mu News

My Road to Egely Kloster, Denmark

By Jushin

"I knew Denko Osho from his time at DBZ, in upstate New York.  I was there when he left.  He actually left twice, the second time being permanent.  Now, anyone who is familiar with Dai Bosatsu Zendo is familiar with abuse and deceit.  You get tired of people driving down the hill, vowing never to return.   Shimano discredits the escapee, lies are told, things are forgotten.  This has been going on for years."

"When Denko left DBZ, the second time, there were only three others in the room — another student, Shimano, and myself.  After leaving the first time, Denko had talked things over with the Board of the Zen Studies Society (the governing entity of DBZ) and had agreed to return.  So here he was, ready to give it another shot.  But on his first day back  he abruptly left the morning chant.  He just stood and walked out."

"Zazen followed, and after 15 minutes or so, Denko returned, sat down on the floor, and announced that it just wasn’t in his heart to continue at DBZ. And that was it.  He was leaving — this time or good.  Shimano reacted in typical Shimano fashion — shouting insults and commands, screaming angrily 'I am your teacher!  I am your teacher!'.  But Denko answered 'Not anymore', and was gone.  I remember Shimano announcing his leaving was a 'sign of mental illness'.  Typical Shimano."

02/24/09

An Application to Join the American Zen Teachers Association (AZTA).

"Our membership criteria are listed on our website, at www.americanzenteachers.org. You may want to look at the criteria, if you haven't already. While you're on the website, also look at the 'History and Function' page. It outlines the background and purpose of the AZTA."

"In reviewing the rather comprehensive membership application, I find several questions to which I have no answers, others to which I have no idea of the precise answers, and still more to which I must withhold answers for reasons that will shortly become apparent. I am extremely reluctant to elaborate on these, at least on the application, because of the potentially damaging nature of the surrounding issues—not only to my former teacher, but also to other very good, well-meaning teachers who have until now been completely unaware of certain issues. I hope it suffices that I put my name and contact information on the application."

"I am an itinerant priest, teaching where I am invited. I have no idea how many students currently claim me as their teacher, though from my correspondence, I would estimate the number to be several hundred or more. Many are still incarcerated. Because of this, I rely considerably on correspondence; this plus the fact that I move from sangha to sangha, and (formerly) from prison to prison, can sometimes be quite trying. I recently had to 'resign' publicly as 'teacher' of a person I had never met, on discovering that he had misrepresented himself as an ordained Zen monk."

"I have stood in death chambers where no Roshi has set foot, and I have watched my students die at the hands of other men. I have toiled for the Dharma in innumerable prisons throughout the country. I have lived in poverty to enable my prison outreach to flower. I have never taken a dime from anyone for teaching. I have no zendo, no temple, and no center. I have no attendants, injis, acolytes, or servants. I do not have a house to call my own. Nevertheless, I have no accusations of sexual impropriety, or financial impropriety, I have been falsely accused of lying however."

"The world seems to have become my zendo, my temple, and my center. All sentient beings are my students and my attendants... My teachers, beginning with my root teacher, Chögyam Trungpa, Rinpoche; still include Eido T. Shimano; and my current teacher is Shodo Harada, Roshi. From them, I transmit Buddhadharma."

"Rather than the collection of questions on the form that I cannot answer, let my application to AZTA be my work bringing the Dharma to the lowest of the low in our society. Let my application be the social justice work with which I have been engaged all these years. Let my application by my everyday actions. My actual teachings, writings, prison, and social justice work stand on their own merit. Let them serve as my application to the AZTA."

[See entry of: 06/09/10 ]

04/23/09

Enlightenment Therapy

By Chip Brown

The New York Times Magazine

Published: April 23, 2009

The tale of a Zen teacher who acknowledged and then attempted to deal with the demons he had once so cunningly disguised.

“The Invisible Man: If he hadn’t been so distraught, he might have laughed at the absurdity of it: a Zen master in the waiting room of a psychoanalyst. He was a connoisseur of contradictions, an unsentimental man with a “Zen noir” temperament and an un-self-sparing wit. “Anywhere I hang myself is home,” he liked to say. It amused him that the greatest discovery of his life happened almost by accident — that his decision to renounce a tenured professorship in philosophy and become a Zen Buddhist monk 35 years ago rested not just on the traditional revelations of an enlightenment experience (floods of light, samadhi or oneness, ineffable joy) but also on some farcical hurdles concerning Jewish wedding etiquette and his belated discovery that he had indeed been circumcised as a kid.”

07/28/09

The Zen Studies Society Newsletter

Winter / Spring 2010

“Misogi Practice at Joraku-an”

“On July 28, Kotaro Hiruta Sensei, head of Ichikukai Misogi Dojo in Tokyo, came to Dai Bosatsu Zendo to dedicate the new kamidana [Shinto shrine] in the Joraku-an zendo, there-by inviting genuine misogi practice to take place on this Mountain.”

“Thanks to the karmic interactions between DBZ, Ichikukai Dojo, and Brooklyn Aikikai, misogi practice has the chance to sprout on Dai Bosatsu Mountain.  Outside of Japan, it is practiced only at Hiruta Sensei's residence near Edwards, New York and at Brooklyn Aikikai's dojo.  So it is quite special that DBZ can act as a refuge for this unique spiritual tradition.  Fittingly, the old zendo of Joraku-an - the epicenter of so much spiritual energy 30 years ago - will once again serve as a place of intense practice.”

[See entry of: 09/11/07]

08/25/09

At the prison gate, step aside

By Kobutsu Malone

The Buddhist Channel.

(See entry of 03/00/07 )

09/20/09

Public Record ZSS Townhouse - 356 East 69th Street, NYC, NY.

11/11/09

Zen Forum International -

Sexual misconduct by Buddhist teachers (was Eido Tai Shimano)

This file comprises 1,107 Pages in Searchable PDF Format.

Captured: 11/12/11

2. The central -- and perhaps only -- lesson any of us might take from arrogant fools is this: 'Just don't you do that!' "

02/10/10

genkaku-again Blog -

Concerning Eido Shimano. The First 5,000 Entries Comprising 1,400 Pages in Searchable PDF Format.

Captured 02/14/11.

This blog is not always nice, neat, clean, civil or even relevant. There are entries of substance and entries that lack substance. Some are written by people who have first-hand knowledge. Some are not. A great many are written by "anonymous." But the object of the blog has been met in the sense that anyone is welcome to say pretty much anything s/he wants and in the sense that the events that inspired their writing deserves to be part of the history of Zen in America.

(Continued - See entry: 02/11/11)

03/30/10

A Note of Encouragement from Robert Aitken, Rōdaishi to Kobutsu Malone.

05/20/10

Robert Aitken Blog - Concerning Eido Shimano.

362 Entries Comprising 182 Pages in Searchable PDF Format.

Captured: 05/07/11.

"Blog" Robert Aitkens - betreffend Eido Shimano.

362 Einträge über 182 Seiten im durchsuchbaren .pdf-Format.

Aufgerufen: 7. Mai 2011

05/22/10

Nonin Chowaney - Zen Forum International

Declarations Made Before the 2010 Shimano Affair Was Revealed on June 21, 2010.

"Also, one of Eido's (嶋野 栄道) long-term students regards the latest round of postings on the internet as nothing more than "sanctimonious vilification." Most of it has been circulated by Stuart Lachs, who was a long-term student of a teacher whose sangha exploded as the result of the teacher's sexual misconduct. Stuart has put a great deal of effort over the past years in trying to discredit not only specific Zen teachers but also the dharma transmission process itself. I don't even bother to read what Stuart writes anymore because he has too many personal axes to grind. Another person behind the recent internet postings [Kobutsu Malone] has had a running feud with Eido and his sangha for many years over a variety of issues. I know the person, and I wouldn't trust what he says on this issue."

"I have no idea why Robert Aitken is bringing this issue up again at this time. As I said earlier, the events described in the letters that have been released and posted on the internet and the subsequent postings discussing them describe events that are over fifteen years old."

"Another of Eido's (嶋野 栄道) long term students writes: It makes more sense 'to look at our present generation's teacher-student relationships with a keen eye rather than reaching into the past to point accusatory fingers at our Asian teachers.' I wholeheartedly agree, and I would add that it would also serve us all well to point those fingers at ourselves and take a good look at our behavior in all areas, not only sexual misconduct but also pointing fingers at and judging others."

06/00/10

The Zen Studies Society Ethical Guidelines updated June 2010
Captured from the ZSS Website
on September 7, 2010.

(See entry of 06/00/93 )

06/03/10

Letter from Jiro Andy Afable, Shimano's Second Dharma Heir, to the ZSS Board of Directors.

REDACTED
The author's contact information has been redacted from this document as a courtesy.

"Recent postings on the internet prompt this letter to you. I have kept my silence for many years, but now find myself implicated in ZSS affairs because of various documents posted on the internet." 

"The sheer volume of the material on the ZSS today and the internet's power of global disclosure merit a response. I am shocked by the things I did not know." 

"The recent viral dispersion of the 'Aitken-Shimano' archives over the internet, as well as other documents pertaining to past upheavals in the Zen Studies Society, is yet another crisis of scandal for the Zen Studies Society. At this point, the documents that are in public view make revelations that cumulatively are impossible to explain or defend, and they significantly alter perceptions of the 'history of a transmission' depicted in Namu Dai Bosa. The teaching legacy of the abbot will now be outweighed by the very personal accounts that allege predatory transgressions. Any responses of the ZSS from its board or its abbot are now suspect and self-satirizing. The lineage itself will be seen as problematic. The slow fallout of more documents as the years go by will be a haunting reminder of how successive waves of directors and monks, in being complicit, failed the Zen Studies Society envisioned by its founders." 

"Central to the story is the role of an abbot who could inspire students to do their best but who, by unbecoming conduct and an inability to learn from past mistakes, subverted many of his accomplishments and caused repeated departures of his students. Of the stories I investigated, the most painful, revealing, and instructive is the story of Mrs. Dorris Carlson." 

"Considering who Mrs. Carlson was, and what she did, 'Do not use the Carlson name in any manner' should have the utmost attention of the ZSS board. It is a directive that cannot be changed by a board resolution, and its intent is indisputably clear. Mrs. Carlson wished to have nothing to do with the Zen Studies Society, and she did not wish the Zen Studies Society to have anything to do with her." 

(See entry of 03/06/84)

"The tragic loss, in human goodwill and resources, not to speak of the warm fellowship that a true sangha can engender, is heart-rending." 

"What produced and tolerated the many crises in the Zen Studies Society was deeply flawed governance. The chairman of the board was the Abbot. His wife was also a full-fledged director with voting rights. After every scandal, what various directors did (sometimes with professional help from legal counsel) was help him survive and help the ZSS resume normal functioning as an organization." 

"Because an essential qualification was their compliance to an abbot who was also the chairman of the board and their teacher, any shortcomings of the abbot could not be dealt with openly and exhaustively. Despite the crises, there was little possibility of change. The governance of The Society made it often impossible for the board to act responsibly for the organization." 

"During the episodes of crisis where I was active in the Society, secrets had to be protected, for to have them revealed (we feared) en masse would destroy the Society. Secrets create tensions within an organization. Secrets divide families and congregations (sangha) and create false companionships (Friedman, Generation to Generation)." 

"All Dharma organizations in the United States are sustainable only when there is mutual trust between the Sangha and its leadership. The Sangha is key to sustainability, and it must be treated with the respect and gratitude it deserves." 

"In the ZSS, the great fear associated with a public event of closure was the airing of dirty linen in public. But the internet has already done that. Discussion, in the blogspeak the internet encourages, will keep revisiting old issues and can only damage the ZSS. 'Holding fast' in silence is to bury your head in the sand and deny that anything can be done. To 'march on' in nonchalance, as if one had no time to deal with ethical concerns, is to repeat a mistake of the past." 

"The internet postings open a new gate for the ZSS. For once, all the allegations, all that were embarrassments in the past, can be seen in the light of day and dealt with." 

"A sincere and heartfelt event of Reconciliation is the only way to re-gather the goodwill of the disaffected sanghas, and the only way to redeem the abbot and The Society. Only by public rites of redress, with the Sangha as the central participant, can you make a credible claim that The Zen Studies Society is turning a new leaf."

06/09/10

A Statement by Genjo Marinello, Shimano's Fifth Dharma Heir, to The American Zen Teacher's Association Private List Serve.

"Eido Roshi’s (嶋野 栄道) actions were not even illegal, just unconscionable by our standards, still it is not like he forced, bribed, coerced or paid anyone to have sex with him. No one has ever claimed that he has had any relationships with anyone except consenting adults, who should of known better themselves. Granted the power dynamic is totally lopsided and his responsibility for these actions is 80% or more, but not all his. Please know that if his behavior had continued, I too would have confronted him. I have never been, nor will I ever be part of a cover-up."

"As to why I continue to associate with him, he has demonstrated to my satisfaction, that he can see, hear, speak and act as the ancestors of our lineage; moreover, he has thirty years of experience and practice on me, and I will never catch up to his abilities in this regard. Why then would I remove myself from his council? I will be so fortunate to have it as long as I can. And then there is a debt of gratitude I owe to the lineage and to him specifically. I will do my best to repay it, by supporting and working to continue the best of his work, while leaving behind that which does not work."

"I believe in him more now than I did then, but I must say that when the full extent of his earlier history became known to me in the last year, I too was shocked. I read all the letters, many times with tears in my eyes. Nevertheless, it gives me even more admiration for the man, because he did not quit his impossible dream. In our shadow lies a gold mine, if we are brave enough to shine a light on it and then digest and learn from what we see, as I believe he has done. No matter how dark we may be at times, we all have the potential to combust our karmic hindrances and flower towards our natural Bodhisattva potential."

"This current controversy, over old material, has been and continues to be fanned by four men with old grudges, intent to 'bring him down,' as one has said directly. By the way, none of the four men I am referring to are members of AZTA, but please be aware that a man who was declined membership in AZTA, in part because Eido Roshi (嶋野 栄道) would not acknowledged him as a Dharma Teacher, started the current wave of vilification. I am happy to participate in any AZTA discussion on any topic, but in my opinion no investigation public or private will satisfy these four."

06/10/10

An Appeal by ZSS to Build a $100,000 Sanmon Entry Gate at DBZ.

“To commemorate Eido Roshi's (嶋野 栄道) 50th Anniversary in the United States, and to express his gratitude to the Three Treasures, a Sanmon (gate complex) will be built at the entrance of Dai Bosatsu Zendo.” 

“Mysteriously, the Dharma arranged for Stefan Heringa to become our caretaker last year. Stefan trained in Japan as a Miya Daiku (temple carpenter) and is offering his exceptional talent and dedication to this project.”

“The total cost will be approximately $100,000. Please join Eido Roshi in making this historical project a reality.”

06/12/10

Genjo Marinello posts his AZTA statement to the Eido Shimano Wikipedia entry.  Kobutsu Malone objects, Genjo declares, “Eido Roshi's Biography page is being attacked.” 

An editor instructs:

“Zenquaker, it appears that you are the author of the cited source you assert is being suppressed. As such, it is generally not considered appropriate for you to be adding it. Additionally, as an open letter apparently posted to a chat forum, it does not appear to meet the criteria for a reliable source (q.v.).”

no date

Draft for Publication in Blind Donkey the Newsletter of Honolulu Diamond Sangha.

“RELEASED TO BLIND DONKEY:

 Dear Diamond Sangha members and friends:

As this issue of Blind Donkey goes to press, I learn that the Village Voice is planning to publish an exposé of Eido Rōshi (嶋野 栄道) of the New York Zen Studies Society, a story that was composed last year but never published. It is being rewritten by someone who has no previous knowledge of Buddhism.

The gist of the expose has been reported in Zen circles for several years; the allegation that Eido Rōshi (嶋野 栄道) has used his position as abbot and teacher to manipulate people unconscionably These reports have provoked chaos in the Zen Studies Society--many members have gone elsewhere to practice and some have discontinued zazen altogether. It is said that there have even been mental breakdowns and attempted suicides.

The exposé may include an account of what is happening at the Zen Center of San Francisco, where Richard Baker Rōshi has been asked to take a one-year leave of absence after incidents that undermined his credibility as a teacher. It may even include mention of rumors of inappropriate affairs between teachers and students in other Zen centers. The Village Voice reporter has been talking with Zen students across the country by telephone, and one cannot predict what she will decide to include in her story.

 The world of American Zen is relatively small, and communication within it is almost instantaneous. We in the Diamond Sangha share the suffering borne by our sisters and brothers elsewhere, and it is important for us to review what has happened and to take appropriate action.

During the 1960s, many people felt betrayed by national leaders and by the apparent bankruptcy of the political-economic system. Some of these people took up Zen as a new way of life, just at the time when new teachers were appearing. In the case of Eido Rōshi (嶋野 栄道), he seemed to be a descendent of a priestly line that was distinguished in enlightenment and culture. He became a successful leader of a large movement that included socially prominent members, some of them quite wealthy.

It was an authoritarian organization, ruled by Eido Roshi (嶋野 栄道) from the top. Members were encouraged to forget themselves in blind obedience to him, a distortion of the Buddhist teaching of no-self.  Eido Rōshi (嶋野 栄道) married early in his career, but he reportedly conducted a series of affairs with his students that violated his own teaching of non-harming.

 With all this being made public, possibly with the exposure of scandals elsewhere, it is time, I suggest, for us to examine Our own weaknesses in teaching, practice, and organization, and to rally around to strengthen our Sangha, and the Buddha Sangha generally.

 Many people are asking, 'How could So-and So do zazen for twenty or thirty years and still violate the spirit of the precepts in such a flagrant way?’ ‘Wasn't his character obvious to his teacher?' 'What does transmission of the Dharma mean, after all?' I want to face these questions squarely.

A full response would take more space than we have in this issue of Blind Donkey. It would discuss the delusions possible in Zen study: the literal and shallow interpretation of 'When I am tired I sleep; when I am hungry I eat.' It would include a discussion of authoritarian and exclusively male modes of Sangha organization which accompanied Zen teaching to the West.

It would examine cultural misunderstandings by Zen teachers and their followers. It would explain the place of the Buddhist precepts in Japanese Zen study, and the importance of Confucianism in Far Eastern monastic life. It would take up charisma, power, and submission as psychological factors.

I suspect that even when we have understood all these matters completely, we will still be thrown back upon ourselves. If it is possible to ask such hard questions about Zen leaders, with their marvelous heritage, then certainly we ourselves must acknowledge that we all have corrupt tendencies, simply as human beings. Where does such an acknowledgement lead us?

 I think that it leads us back to the old guidelines that have been neglected: the precepts, the paramitas, and the eight-fold path. It leads us to measures that will permit the sangha to be responsible for its own governance. It leads us to establish forums that will guarantee open communication.

 This means taking care of ourselves and being forthright with our teachers. Our responsibilities also extend to our sisters and brothers who are suffering the trauma of betrayal. I invite suggestions on this subject. How can we help? Please write to us, and write to your trusted sisters and brothers in other centers. Let's polish up the Sangha treasure! The whole world is in a terrible mess. Let's take care of our own troubles, and get on with the bigger job out there!”

(See entry of 00/00/84)

Draft of an Unpublished Article.

(See following entries.)

“I should think that negative qualities, which later became evident were then only incipient. There were no women about, and the routine of the monastery undoubtedly consumed most of his energy. I did learn afterwards that he was resented by his fellow monks at Ryūtakuji (龍沢寺), who felt he was arrogant toward them.”

“Problems arose very quickly. As he began making friends in the group, divisive patterns of relationships appeared.  Looking back, I see that I did not handle things well: I argued when I should have kept silent, and I endured when I should have sought a showdown." 

“With the shock of a new culture, and with the character he brought to the situation, the transition from the monastery was in Shimano’s (嶋野) case quite stormy. Sometimes we felt that he was going through a delayed adolescence. Sometimes his judgment was so poor that we felt we could not explain it as simple immaturity.

In the spring of 1964, two women who regularly attended our meetings suffered nervous breakdowns and had to be hospitalized.  One of these breaks occurred during a meeting, and was dramatic and hysterical in its symptoms. I was alarmed and felt responsible, because afterwards I could remember odd things the women said and did before their breaks which might have given me some indication that they needed therapeutic help.”

“It had taken me four years of living in the same house with Shimano (嶋野), taking two meals a day with him, and working with him as best I could in translation projects and organizational matters, to realize that this was not merely a personality conflict I was suffering through, but the conflict of someone more or less normal with someone in a different dimension altogether.” 

“Apparently, Shimano (嶋野) was a breed apart. He was, we may be sure, well trained in the monastery, but it seems that only the exterior was polished. Some observers knew right away that this form had no heart. When Nakagawa Rōshi (中川 宋淵) suggested sending Shimano (嶋野) to Los Angeles to serve Sensaki Nyōgen Sensei (千 崎 如幻) in his last years, Senzaki Sensei (千 崎 如幻) sent a trusted friend [Shubin Tanahashi] to Ryūtakuji (龍沢寺) to meet Shimano (嶋野). She took one look, and returned to Senzaki Sensei (千 崎 如幻) and reported, ‘Not for you.’ ” 

(See entry for 03/21/94)

“Shimano's (嶋野) manipulation of others included sexual manipulation. This was a particularly painful betrayal.”

“I am also concerned about what Shimano (嶋野) will do now. My guess is that he will stand firm and deny everything, even in the face of all the facts marshaled in the exposé. So long as he is able to persuade even a few people to trust him, he will probably want to continue to teach.”

ロバート　エイトケンの未出版記事の草稿

”否定的要素は、後日明らかになったのですが、この時はまだ、初期の段階でした。　女の存在はなく、毎日の規則的な僧堂生活に精力を打ち込んでいたと思われます。　後で知った事ですが、龍沢寺内で彼は、他の僧に対して傲慢であったため、嫌われ者でした。”

”間もなく問題が生じ始めました。　グループの中に友人を作り始めると、彼の人間関係における典型的な性情が現れ始めました。　今思い返してみると、私はこの問題を適切に処理しなかったと、思い当たります：黙っているべき事を説得しようとしたり、はっきりさせるべき事に、黙って耐えたり致しました。”

”新しい文明に対するショックと、彼の持って生まれた性格のため、伝統的な禅寺での修行生活からの転換は、島野にとって暴風雨の中に立たされたようなものだったでしょう。　私達が観察した所、彼は少し遅れて思春期を体験しているかのようでした。　時には、彼の判断が余りに幼稚であるため、これが、単なる、未熟という言葉で説明がつくものであろうかと訝るのでした。”

”１９６４年の春、私達の集会の常連、二人の女性が神経衰弱の発作を起こし、入院を余儀なくされました。　この内一人の発作は集会の最中に起り、彼女はヒステリックな狂乱状態を示しました。　発作の直前、彼女が叫んだ不思議な言葉や行動の内容を思い返してみて、彼女の神経衰弱の原因の手がかりが、ここにあると思われ、治療に関する私の責任を感じました。”

”同じ家に住み、日に二度食事を共にし、ベストを尽くして共に翻訳をし、僧伽の雑務を片付けるという生活を四年間続けて分かった事は、この苦痛は単なる個人的感情によるものではなく、ともかく並の人間が、全く別の次元に住む者と対決しなければならなかった衝突であったと気付きました。”

”明らかに島野は別個の品種です。　彼は十分に訓練を受けた僧かもしれませんが、外殻を磨いただけの人物です。　一部の人は彼を一見して、即座に、心の不在を見抜きます。　千崎先生の最晩年、中川老師は島野をロスアンジェルスの千崎先生のもとへ送ろうと試みました。　千崎先生は、まず信頼出来る友人（しゅびん　棚橋）を龍沢寺へ送って島野と面会させました。　彼女は一見しただけで、（貴方には向かない人）と報告しました。

（１９９４年　記載事項参照）

”島野の人を巧妙に操縦する手腕は、性的操縦を含めて、著しく苦痛に満ちた背信でした。”

”私は今、島野が何をしようとしているか気にかかります。　私の推量では、彼は自分の地位をしっかり守り、エキスポゼイですべての事実を目前に並べられても完全に拒否するでしょう。　ごく少数の彼を信頼する弟子を納得させる事が出来る限り、多分彼は教え続ける事を希望するでしょう。

07/20/10

Email from Roko Sherry Chayat to the Zen Studies Society Board of Directors.

"I want to make something clear, since everything was so rushed as our phone-allowance was running out. I do not agree with asking Roshi to take a leave of absence at this time. I want to hear what he has in mind, and what his response is to our concerns about legal issues."

"Then I want to hear what a lawyer says."

"I do not think Roshi's continuing to teach his current students, who know what has transpired and still wish to be his students, constitutes any threat to ZSS or to us. I realize that most if not all of you disagree with me, but this is my considered opinion, and I ask you to respect it."

07/20/10

露光　シェリー　シャイアトより禅スタデイ　ソサイエテイ理事会員への手紙。

”私は、老師が、ここで起った事件を納得しそれでも彼の弟子でありたいと望む人びとに対して引き続き教鞭をとる事は、ZSSや、私達の立場を脅かすものであるとは思いません。私は貴方がた全員と言う言葉が妥当でなければ、殆どの方がたが私に同意なさらないであろうと了解しているのですが、これが私の熟慮した結果の意見で、顧慮して欲しいと思います。”

07/25/10

The Mu News

Eido Shimano’s Sex Scandal, Part (n+1)

By Jushin

“Shimano announced his retirement awhile back, during the opening tumult of the scandal.  As with anything Shimano does, the move was a calculated deception — little more than a delaying tactic.  A couple of months later, he effectively took it back.  What he did with the time he bought was this:  He and his cronies forced out anyone who held any complaints against him, and promoted those who continued to support him.  Finally, he appointed ex-lover and dharma heir Sherry Chayat abbot of his monastery, and, in return had her name himself ‘Honorary Founding Abbot’.”

“Shimano et al also spent time publicly attacking those who spoke against him.  This is his standard practice.   He sent a letter to selected supporters, suggesting that Mark Oppenheimer, the NY Times writer, made no attempt to contact him, or anyone else at ZSS, for the unflattering editorial Mr. Oppenheimer had written for the NY Times.  On another popular blog, an ex-caretaker was dismissed as an angry, bitter, alcoholic.”

“Mr. Shimano does this to plant doubt in the minds of ardent supporters who might be inclined to withdraw their support.  He and his immediate followers have done this regularly in the past — with Shimano himself even going so far as to denounce his women victims as 'mentally ill' when they had come forward in the past.”

07/26/10

Letter from Robin Westen to Robert Aitken Accompanying a Copy of Her Unpublished Article.

REDACTED
The author's contact information has been redacted from this document as a courtesy.

"Decades ago I interviewed you [Robert Aitken] for an investigative expose of Eido Shimano (嶋野 栄道). It was scheduled to appear as a cover story in the Village Voice, was set in galleys – and then, at the last minute, the VV lawyers (scared off by Zen Study Society threats) instituted the condition that they publish the piece without identifying Eido (栄道) by name. I refused. Thus, the piece languished in my files, unpublished."

07/26/10
&
04/00/82

Unpublished Article - "The Zen of Seduction" by Robin Westen, Dated August 1982. This is the Article Referred to by Robert Aitken in his Undated Piece "The Shimano Story."

REDACTED
The name and identifying information of a number of survivors have been redacted from this document.

The text of the exposé on Shimano (嶋野 栄道) by Robin Westen. The exposé was never published in 1982, due to fears of a lawsuit by Shimano (嶋野 栄道) and/or The Zen Studies Society against the publisher.

"I took it awkwardly, but before I could get the feeling back in my legs, he ripped me off the floor and pulled my body against his, then grabbed my breast, prodded my mouth with his tongue, and started to pull up my skirt and reach between my legs."

"I was to learn that Eido (栄道) had been involved in sex scandals for over 15 years, but each time they were brought to light in the Zen community they were silenced."

"Now I was having tea with Eido Roshi (嶋野 栄道). I was prepared to talk about my spiritual development, but surprisingly all he said was, 'The best time to make love to a woman is right after sesshin, when she looks her sexiest. If I had my way, if people understood the essence of detachment, everyone would sleep with each other the night sesshin ends.' ”

"As their internal inquiries mounted, another half a dozen women admitted that Eido (栄道) had made advances to them while they were attending sesshins, and that he had used the dokusan room as his station for seduction."

“ 'And almost before I knew it, he had pulled off his robe and was laying down on the bed stark naked. Well, I was in such a state then, I thought this must be some sort of test of detachment. It sounds ridiculous now, but when you’re serious about your Zen practice, and when you have a lot of respect for someone, you think the best, no matter what. And I thought the best when he ordered me to go down on him and perform fellatio. He told me it would be a spiritual experience for me... it wasn’t. To tell the truth it wasn’t much of a sexual experience.' "

09/23/11
&
04/00/82

Japanese Translation

19820400R_JP_Zen_Seduction.html

新しい翻訳
　09/23/11
（翻訳完了の期日）

New Translation
09/23/11
(date of translation completion)

未公開の記事ー”誘惑の禅”ロビン　ウェステン記者、１９８２年。　この記事はロバート　エイトケンの期日不明の“嶋野物語”を承けて書かれた。　

Unpublished Article - "The Zen of Seduction" by Robin Westen, Dated August 1982. This is the Article Referred to by Robert Aitken in his Undated Piece "The Shimano Story."

犠牲者達の名前と身元はこの文書から削減されています。

ロビン　ウェステンによる嶋野栄道エキスポゼイの全文。　エキスポゼイは嶋野栄道／禅スタデイ　ソサイエテイの出版社に対する訴訟を恐れて１９８２年には出版されなかった。

”私は遠慮がちに、その手にすがりましたが、足の感覚が戻る前に彼はいきなり私を床から引き上げ、抱き竦めて、私の乳房を掴み、舌を私の口内に挿入して来ました。　更に私のスカートを捲り上げ、股間に手を差し伸べて来ました。”

”今私は栄道老師と茶を飲む機会を得た。　私は私の精神的進展について語る為に準備してその場に臨みましたが驚いたことに彼は、'女性は接心直後が一番魅力的で、セックスに相応しい時期だ。　もし私の自由になり、皆も解脱の真髄を理解するならば、接心最後の夜皆でセックスをし合うのだが。' と言いました。”

”内部調査で更に６人の女弟子が接心の期間中に彼に言い寄られた事を認めました。　栄道は独参室を誘惑のための本部として利用していた事が明らかになりました。”

”　’気がつくと彼は、僧衣を脱いで、素っ裸でベッドに横たわっていました。　ああ、当時の私はこれを見て、多分解脱に関する試験に違いない、と思ったのです。　今思えば馬鹿げた話ですが、禅の修行に夢中で、その人物を心底敬っていると、いかなる事態が生じても最善を尽くしたくなるものです。　そして彼が私にフェラチオを命じた時も、私はこれを演ずる事が最善なのだと信じたのです。　彼はこれが私に取っての霊性経験であると言いましたが...　どうしてもそうは思えなかった。　実を言えば、良いセックスでさえもなかった。’　”

[ See entry of: 07/26/10 ]　

07/29/10

Letter from Jiro Andy Afable, Shimano's Second Dharma Heir, to the ZSS Board of Directors.

"As we all witness the imploding of the institutional structure which vested inordinate power on an Abbot (嶋野 栄道), and you are now swamped with suggestions on how to go forward, I hope you have the time to read what a Dharma heir and former vice-abbot has to say."

"All the past directors I have talked to have misgivings about their tenure in the ZSS as directors. Most have profound regrets for letting things go by they could have objected to. Please do not suffer the same fate."

"Please, though you were handpicked by the Roshi (嶋野 栄道) to serve at his pleasure, do not now be panderers telling him what he wants to hear." 

"Roshi (嶋野 栄道) and Aiho-San (愛法) are to be applauded for stepping down from the board. It was what was best for all concerned. Now that you are freed from their inhibiting presence, you too can do the best for all concerned."

"I understand what it means to be loyal to a teacher, as much as any of you. I know for sure that the teaching legacy of the Roshi (嶋野 栄道) can be salvaged only if the board proceeds honestly and transparently."

"Any reassessment of the Roshi (嶋野 栄道) in the years to come will depend on how unflinching and honest the board is today. A response from the board that tries to obfuscate some things that are simple will be imputed to Roshi's (嶋野 栄道) influence and will further damage his legacy. I suspect that the internet will encourage more people to come out with their grievances. There will be more revelations to cope with." 

"Please, always be aware of your fiduciary responsibilities, and if you only have a vague awareness of what they are, perhaps this is a good time to consider whether you should continue being on the board."

08/02/10

Robert Baker Aitken, Rodaishi Final Interview - Excerpt of Comments on Eido Shimano, Admiration and Encouragement for Survivors.

Aitken, Rodaishi Passed Away Three Days Later on
August 5, 2010.

Present, by invitation, were Lynn Davis and Kobutsu Malone.

Recorded with permission of Aitken, Rodaishi by Kobutsu Malone and Lynn Davis.

[For the complete Aitken interview online see: Here.]

08/02/10

Transcript of the Robert Baker Aitken, Rodaishi Final Interview - Excerpt of Comments on Eido Shimano, Admiration and Encouragement for Survivors.

Transcription by an Anonymous Volunteer Survivor.

"JW - So that disturbs you, the state of the world disturbs you more than your ah..

AR -  I’m just sorry that’s all.. uh, I don’t know if it disturbs me I just regret it.

JW – Are there other things related to your teaching, related to Zen coming to the West that you feel regrets about?

RA – There are so many things that are marvelous about it coming to the West that I can overlook the disadvantages.

JW – And yet from what I understand you’ve been working on ...erm trying to right the wrongs of one of your …ah .. you’ve written some stuff on your blog recently about Shimano, Eido (嶋野 栄道).

RA – Oh, that’s it.. That’s like asking a question about a hippopotamus when we’re really discussing a leaf frog.

JW – I’m just wondering if there’s a regret in the fact that this has been going on, and if you’ve been….

RA – You’re damn right it is.

JW – …to clear something up.

RA – Your’e damn right it is.

JW – Is there anything you would like to say about that?

RA – (forcefully) HE’S A CROOK.

JW – He’s a crook.

RA – (pause) We’ve got to find a way that he can say, "I’m a crook."

JW – Is there anything you would like to say to the people for instance in his circle, in his orbit who have maybe helped foster his behavior or enabled it?

RA – They are a part of the problem.

RA – How'm I doing Kobutsu?

KM – Good, Roshi

JW – I understand you guys have been working together. If I may bring in Kobutsu into the conversation for a moment…

RA – Sure.

JW – It must be very frustrating. This is more of a general question to get your reaction. It must be very frustrating to be aware of this for so long to be so interpersonally touched by it, and to be aware that it is one of the unfortunate by-products perhaps of Zen in the West, or this one instance of Zen in the West...

RA – (forcefully) It’s NOT a byproduct of Zen in the West, it’s a byproduct of a criminal mind."

08/02/10

ロバート　ベイカー　エイトケン老大師最終対談の録音ー嶋野栄道に対する評言、犠牲者の対する賞賛と激励。

匿名の犠牲者のボランテイアによる録音。

RA ＝ ロバート ベイカー エイトケン老大師

JW ＝ ジョエル ウィトニー（会見記者、トライシクル雑誌社）

KM ＝ 古佛 マローン（招待により列席）

JW - それが貴方を煩わす、世の中の状態が貴方に苦悩をもたらす、何よりも　...

RA - 私は只残念なだけだ　..　ああ、　苦悩と言えるかなあ、私は只後悔しているだけなのだが。

JW - 貴方が教えてこられた事以外、禅が西洋に渡って来た事に関して後悔されているのですか？

RA - 非常に多くの素晴らしいものが西洋にやって来たが、私はこの中に不利益な部分がある事を見過ごしているかもしれない。

JW - しかもなお、私の理解している範囲では、不正を正そうと試みて、ああ ... 努力して来られた,　貴方は嶋野..栄道の事をブログに書いておられましたね。

RA - おお、そうであった .. 河馬のことを尋ねているようだったが、実は、我々は葉の上のカエルの事を話していたのであったわ。

JW - 私の想像では、この事を後悔しておられるのではないかと 、 もしや貴方は ...

RA - その通りだ。

JW - ...　明らかにしておきたい。

RA - 全くその通りだ。

JW - この事に関して、おっしゃりたい事がありますか？

RA - （激しく）奴は詐欺師だ。

JW - 彼は詐欺師ですか。

RA - （間を置いて）我々は彼に　“自分は詐欺師だ”　と言わせる方法を見つけなければならない。

JW - 例えば、彼を取り巻く人びと、彼の活動圏の内部に彼の行為を助長させ、事を成さしめているということについて貴方のご意見はありますか？

RA - 彼らも問題の一部なのだ。

RA - 古佛、私はどんな具合かね？

KM - 上々です、老師。

JW - 貴方がたはともに仕事をしてこられたように聞いておりますが。　　この辺で古佛にも対談に参加してもらってはいかがでしょうか？

RA - いいとも。

JW - ご不満だったと思います。　これは、あなたの反応を得る為の一般的な質問になるのですがすが。　これ程の長い間、この件と対決して来られて、個人的にも大きな影響を受けて来られた事を思うと憤懣やるかたない思いであられたに違いない、又、これは西洋の禅の不幸な副産物か、それとも恐らくは、西洋禅の一現象である事を思うと全くやりきれない思いであられた事と思います。　

RA　—　（激しく）これは西洋禅の副産物ではない。　これは犯罪者の心の産物だ。

08/16/10

Letter from Kobutsu Malone to Sogen Yamakawa Roshi.

"I would caution you in sending any monks at this time to Eido Shimano's (嶋野 栄道) Dai Bosatsu Zendo in New York, USA.

He is involved in a huge sex scandal that will reflect very badly on Shogen-Ji."

ニューヨーク州、ダイボサツゼンドーに雲水方を派遣されるご予定と伺いましたが、現在は嶋野栄道老師に関する長年にわたるセックススキャンダルが、アメリカでの禅関係者たちのあいだにセンセーションを巻きおこしているため、しばらくは見合わされた方がよいのではないかと、ご報告する次第であります。

08/21/10

New York Times Article, National Section - Beliefs
"Sex Scandal Has American Buddhists Looking Within"

"In interviews over the past two weeks, four board members, including Mr. Marinello, said that on June 21 a woman – whose name he would not reveal – stood up during dinner at the Catskill monastery and announced that for the past two years she had had a consensual affair with Mr. Shimano (嶋野氏), who was at the dinner. Several board members have said that Mr. Shimano (嶋野氏) later admitted the affair in conversations with them."

08/21/10

過去２週間に及ぶ取材の中で、マリネロ氏を含む4人のボードメンバーは、6月21日、一人の女性（名前を明かされていない）が、キャッツキルの禅堂での夕食中、嶋野氏も臨席の中、立ち上がり、過去2年間、嶋野氏と、合意の上での性交渉を持っていたことを公表した、と言った。数人（several: 7，8人）のボードメンバーは、その後、嶋野氏と会話し、氏がその関係を認めたと語った。水曜日には、ゼン・スタディー・ソサエティーは、声明を発表し、「今年7月に、ある女性が榮道老師と不適切な関係にあった」事を認めた。

08/21/10

Sex-Skandal lasst amerikanische Buddhisten nach innen schauen

Vier Vorstandsmitglieder, darunter Marinello, berichteten in Interviews in den letzten zwei Wochen, dass am vergangenen 21. Juni eine Frau - deren Name er nicht veröffentlichen wollte - während des Abendessens im Kloster in den Catskills aufgestanden sei und verkündet habe, dass sie seit zwei Jahren ein Liebesverhältnis mit dem ebenfalls am Essen anwesenden Shimano gehabt habe. Einige Vorstandsmitglieder äußerten, dass Shimano ihnen gegenüber die Affäre später in Gesprächen zugegeben habe. Am Mittwoch bestätigte die Society in einer Erklärung, dass „eine Frau im Juni diesen Jahres offenbart habe, dass ein unangemessenes Verhältnis zwischen ihr und Eido Roshi stattgefunden habe.“

08/21/10

Email from Lynn Davis, University of Hawaii Archivist to Kobutsu Malone.

“Any clues on who this person is?” 

“In the meantime let's name your archive and get the certificate of gift in place. We can date it to when you were in Hawaii. Roshi's archive is simply called the Robert Baker Aitken Papers.” 

“I would like to suggest your archives is also named Kobutsu Malone Papers. Let me know what you think.”

08/21/10

Email from Carolyn Stevens to Lynn Davis, University of Hawaii Archivist.

"I am a Zen student and have been reading the on-line material at ShimanoArchive.com. I am also a lover and user of libraries, and have some familiarity with how they work from past employment as a library clerk and graduate student in history. My curiosity has been picqued about how materials have gotten from the University of Hawaii archives to the internet in seeming lighting speed."

"Finally, I am wondering if your library makes available information about who has donated particular items to your archives. Again, using Jiro Andy Afable's recent letter as an example, I'm wondering if he donated the letter to the library himself given the short time frame and the letter's limited circulation. Is that something you can confirm, and can I learn who donated other items in the Aitken Shimano file?"

“The truthfulness of the materials published at the ShimanoArchive.com website matters to many American students of Zen, and the University of Hawaii archives plays an important role in establishing that veracity.”

08/21/10

Email from Kobutsu Malone to Lynn Davis, University of Hawaii Archivist.

"In her email to you her address in her email to you Carolyn Stevens uses this address: <Carolyn@ nco.com> which is associated with http://www.jjco.com/ That is the web site for Jacobson Jarvis Certified Public Accountants located in ... (you guessed it) Seattle!"

08/21/10

Email from Kobutsu Malone to Lynn Davis, University of Hawaii Archivist.

"Second: Carolyn Stevens is Genjo Marinello's wife!"

08/21/10

pdf file of Zenquaker Site.

"In addition to being our Abbot, Genjo Osho is a psychotherapist in private practice, a certificated spiritual director from a program affiliated with the Vancouver School of Theology, married to wife, Carolyn, and devoted father to daughter, Adrienne."