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Volume 20.1development. After what happened withGenki, I began the long process ofconfronting and healing those wounds,which has been a great blessing in my life.So in the long run the experience I had withGenki, both his earnest Dharma teachingand his inappropriate behavior whileinebriated, both, contributed to my ownDharma development and unfoldingawakening. After all is said and done, I feelgratitude for all of it.MushinWhen I think of Genki, the image of thekitchen in one of the early Zen houses in theCD comes to mind, with buckets ofonionskins for dying cloth lined up. Andalso a basin with ashes from the fireplaceand bracken fiddleheads soaking for adelicious early spring tonic salad. Healways had projects underway. He was aterrific cook, and I was so moved by the joyhe expressed in cooking for the sangha. Heprovided a wonderful example in that way.Whenever I am engaged in that activity Ithink of Genki and the recipes he taught usto make, the joy in serving and sharing theDharma Way.”Lance Shodo Hilt wrote, “I am glad he wasable to die at home. Yes, one of a kind,never met anyone else like him and I doubtI ever will. He was a life changer for me, atremendous positive force. I was veryfortunate to know and practice with him. Tothis day I cannot step into a Zendo orpractice zazen without images of himarising, his resolute posture, the quick firmgait, his playful manners and speech.Farewell Master Genki, you will be longloved and remembered.”Bruce Daimon Williamson wrote, “I am astudent from Chobo-Ji from 15 years ago. Istudied with Genki for a few months beforehis retirement from Seattle, and then withGenjo for about 2 or 3 years. First, I wantto send my fond memories of Genki, and tosay his memory has always and willSpring 2013continue to stay with me as I continue myjourney in life. A beautiful soul has passedthrough the world. I also write because formany years I have not returned to Chobo-Ji,and yet my experience there has never leftme.”piece, “My Lost Teacher,” which can befound at: http://sweepingzen.com/my-lostteacher/. An overview of Genki’s life withus would not be complete without a reviewof Rev. Kangan Glenn Webb, who foundedthe Seattle Zen Center and invited Genki tobecome the resident teacher, public wordsJohn Tokugan Sundsten wrote, “I attended (http://www.ravallirepublic.com/lifestyles/b l i f e / a r t i c l e f 2 9 f d b f a - 9 3 f b - 11 e 2 Genki's memorial at Genjo's new Zendo b994-001a4bcf887a.html ) and more privatea very nice setting with strong vibes The thoughts, (http://www.shimanoarchive.com/whole thing a bit swift and cold maybe PDFs/20100816 Takabayashi.pdf).(Zen-like perhaps), but then most peoplethere didn’t have that much contact withGenki other than indirectly. His wife was With the help of many photographers I putthere which was nice, and of course Genjo's together a photomontage of Genki’s life inthe USA that includes some short videosand can be accessed from Chobo-Ji’s website under the “About Us” pull down menu.You can also see photos of the gravesideservice and 49th Day Memorial at: http://choboji.org/history/recent-sangha-photos/ .Ihad a wonderful visit with the WallaWalla Sangha April 26-28. I got to sit withinmates at the Walla Walla penitentiary,have pizza with students at WhitmanJohn Sundsten & Bill KooglerCollege, sat a day with a very diversesangha from construction laborers tosangha. Genjo spoke well of Genki physicists from Hanford, and gave a publicincluding his “human” side. A few others talk on “Zen and the Art of Relationships.”also spoke, and the tone was quite down to As usual Kathy Janaki Howard and herearth with sincere personal comments or husband Chris were wonderful hosts andappreciation for Genki and respect for his organizers.enthusiasm and directness. Genjo's daughterspoke movingly of him. And sake with Soon I will be doing a lot of traveling, asnacks after was appreciated! Driving to thesite from Hood Canal that morning I was sesshin in the UK, a meeting of thewondering if I might say something and American Zen Teachers Association in TX,what it would be. Oddly, as I swung off I5 back here for Summer Sesshin (June 21 –onto Columbia going up to Beacon Hill, out 28), up to Alaska to do a wedding, out toof nowhere came: ‘Plop!’ The old Matsuo CT for another sesshin with Robert HeiwaBasho's frog. So I was prepared to add Burns in July, a half day sit with thesomething at the memorial, but as the time Ellensburg sangha (7/20) and Upaya infor comments came to a close I never did August. Of course I will be here for theget to say it. My own shyness with being August three day Odayaka Sesshin,outside looking in, or just paralysis of the designed especially for newcomers andwill. Anyway, perhaps this note is my Silver Dragons (anyone over 60). It is notchance. I was going to say that I remember too soon to put this sesshin down in yourGenki as Basho's frog leaping into the pond. calendar; we need 10 or more reservationOr dropping onto the Seattle Zen Center. deposits to make it go.Just plop! With many ripples though andone of the ripples being the present Zendo Believe it or not there are few moreand Sangha. My personal R.I.P. to him.”offerings in this issue besides the onesalready mentioned above; please enjoyand the mix of warm and wild springAlso included in this issue are pieces by theseweather.Edward Daiki Cadman, “Genki’s Gift” andCarolyn Josen Stevens, “A Cracked Bowl.”I am not including, but I hope everyone has With gassho,either read or will read my DharmaGenjobrother’s Rev. Kankan Kurt SpellmeyerPage 3

Volume 20.1Genki’s GiftLyrics by Daiki Edward Cadmanto a tune by Chip Jasmin!LAZE FROM MOUNTAIN SAND"OWL FROM STREAM-BED CLA# HAPED BY MY HAND%O DRINK FROM EVERY DA#'O YOU HAVE A WHISK?'O YOU HAVE SOME TEA?(AN YOU TAKE THE TIME%O DRINK FROM ETERNITY?) MADE IT TWENTY YEARS AGO) USE IT EVERY DA#) GLAZED THIS BOWL WITH*OUNTAIN SAND%HIS BOWL I GIVE AWA#'O YOU HAVE A WHISK?'O YOU HAVE SOME TEA?(AN YOU TAKE THE TIME%O DRINK FROM ETERNITY?%HIS BOWL I GIVE TO YOU*Y STUDENT ON THE WA# VERY TIME YOU WHISK THE TE,-LEASE REMEMBER ME AND SA#.ES I HAVE A WHIS/.ES I HAVE SOME TE,0ND EVERY DAY I USE YOUR GIFT%O DRINK FROM ETERNIT#Spring 2013A Cracked Bowlby Josen Carolyn StevensMuhoGenki Takabayashi Roshi departedthis life on Sunday, February 24th, 2013. Hewas 81 years old [by Japanese reckoning]and died from the complications of anautomobile accident and congestive heartfailure. He lived in retirement in Victor,Montana and is survived by his wife, GeneiLeslie Gannon.Genki Roshi was my first Zen teacher. Hewas the founder of Dai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zentemple in Seattle and dharma father to thefirst generation of Chobo-Jistudents. He was a profoundlyenlightened and deeplyflawed human being, and Il o v e d h i m d e a r l y. T h i sreminiscence is raw, he hasonly been gone a few hours,but it feels right to put someinitial thoughts on paper.led 4 week-long sesshins per year, offereddokusan, gave lively teishos, and shared hisstunningly simple and profound Zenaesthetic with every student who came tosit.Under Genki’s leadership, Chobo-Ji stayedsmall. In general, most people who try Zenpractice don’t stick with it, but Genki’s poorspoken English and worldly limitationsturned off most seekers. Those of us whostuck around did so because we fell in lovewith his example, his commitment topractice, and his multi-faceted artistry. Hesat, he cooked delicious food, he madepottery and calligraphy, served tea, andarranged flowers. He overdrew his bankaccount, forgot to pay hisinsurance premiums, fell flat onhis face and went straight on,always with a commitment to“just now, beginning.”L ikemost Zen masters, hegenerally presented aninscrutable face. Yet he alsoshared emotion, oftenThe first day I met Genki, hespontaneous and explosive. Itand the zendo were movingwas always fresh andfrom one rental house toinstructive. I remember seeinganother. In the early days, thehim be really, really angry aChobo-Ji sangha met inhandful of times. One time, aG e n k i ’s l i v i n g r o o m ,resident student slept in andwherever that was, and I haveskipped zazen. When she finallythe impression that it was aemerged, he made her bowbit of a movable circus.down numerous times beforeStability was not one ofthe main altar. We were all a bitGenki’s characteristics. Hestunned. Another time a seniormade a precarious living as astudent left sesshin in a huff. Genki stoodlandscape gardener supplemented by dues up before the altar and yelled a “Katsu!” thepayments from the small sangha. His memory or which still brings shivers to myEnglish was poor; his capacity to earn a spine. But as quickly as the emotion swelledliving and put down roots problematic at up, it blew through him and was gonebest. As an orphan raised in a Japanese without a trace, utterly spent. Once ourmonastery, he knew Zen intimately, but sangha submitted a proposal to steward avery little about the world at large, vacant farm. It was an unusual situationespecially the United States where he found where a non-profit board essentially decidedhimself living, somewhat unexpectedly, in to give the farm away. The farm was anearly middle age.hour from Seattle, and Genki loved it at firstsight. He walked the land and dreamedIn contrast to life in the secular world, his about where he could live and where to putlife in the zendo was rock-solid. Once the zendo. When we weren’t selected, heChobo-Ji was established, he set a schedule was crushed. The sadness welled up andof daily practice and periodic sesshins and through him, and he withdrew to his privatekept it up, year in and year out. He usually residence for two days incommunicado.rose between 3 and 4 am, sat with his When he reappeared it was over, thestudents 5 mornings a week for an hour and sadness gone, no regrets, no looking back.a half, cooked and ate a formal breakfast,and then went out to earn a living, create H e was often funny, charming, andwonderful art, and live his ordinary life. He entertaining. One sesshin, he spoke duringPage 4

Volume 20.1every teisho about Soen Roshi, sharingstories of times they’d shared. Every day itwas something quirky about this gifted andeccentric Zen master. As the stories piledup, we realized the wonderful gift we werereceiving, and were filled with gratitude forour teacher and his “older” dharma brother.One by one, he taught us how to cook. HeSpring 2013Japan. For a time he became abbot of atemple in Kamakura Japan.After twenty years of Zen training, Genki The first thing Genki showed me about thewas a rising star within the Daitoku-Jiranks. However, because of troubles arisingfrom his own poor behavior, he lost favorwith the hierarchy, and no longer had muchof a future within Japanese Rinzai Zen.Therefore, he was amenable to overturesfrom Dr. Glenn Webb, then an Art Historyprofessor at the UW and head of the SeattleZen Center (the progenitor of Chobo-Ji), toconsider immigrating to Seattle to becomeour temple priest.was fast and sure, and entirely intuitive inhis method. At one point, I was learninghow to cook miso soup. First my soup wastoo salty, then too bland. Finally, infrustration, Genki said, “each bowl, oneumo plum,” by which he meant use the sizeof one umeboshi plum as the measure perserving. It was the perfect instruction. Hetaught us to finely chop the scallions and He arrived in Seattle in the autumn ofdrop them in the soup just before serving 1977, and I was one of a few students towithout stirring. He said, when your teacherlifts the lid and looks in, he’ll know yourlevel of attainment by the fineness of theonions. We used to sit side by side andmake sushi rice balls. His were quicklymade, smooth, perfect. Mine slow, lumpy. Itwas easy to see the lesson.One of my favorite memories is of dyeingsilk together. He was going to make Genjoand Gentei Oshos, and I volunteered to sewa kesa for Genjo. Genki and I bought whitesilk together, and then he dyed it gold withnatural pigments in a washtub on the zendolawn. Just hanging around to watch was arevelation to me; he was clearly feeling hisway and yet worked with steady intention.The result was a lovely and one of a kind.His was a Zen life, simple and direct, oftenimperfect and yet perfectly lived.association with him, I learned threeprofound lessons.human condition is that it is possible totranscend our likes and dislikes, preferencesand opinions. During the1980 summersesshin (weeklong meditation intensive)with him, which was held at Dry Falls StateCamp, the temperatures were in the ninetiesand the meditation hall was full ofmosquitoes and flies. In addition, Mount St.Helens had a secondary eruption, floodingthe air with gritty ash. To say that ourmeditation periods were hellish was not anunderstatement. During this retreat twice aday students would visit Genki Roshi in theDokusan Room where Dharma Interviewswere held. It was a small room with littleventilation, and we all concluded someanimal had died and was rotting somewhereunder the floorboards. In the meditation halland Dokusan Room, Genki sat serenelyunmoving in full-lotus, with a beneficentcountenance, seemingly impervious toadversity. However, he often related that athis first Daitoku-Ji sesshin, after three dayshe thought he would die from pain andexhaustion, and hoped there would be anearthquake to bring the roof down to end hissuffering. Yet, by the conclusion of theseven-day retreat there had been some kindof shift where he become confident that ifan earthquake brought the roof down thatsomehow he would remain seated in themidst of the rubble.The Autumn Sesshin of the following yearwas held on the Seattle Zen Center’s newlyacquired property at about 5,000 ft on thecrest of a ridge between Cle Elum andWith deepest gratitude and love,greet him at the airport. After a long flight Ellensburg, WA. It began to snow duringhe was hungry, so we offered him an airport our retreat and our newly built meditationJose1breakfast of oatmeal, and I became fearful hall did not yet have windows installed.he might just take the next flight home. In One Dokusan period I was waiting in line tofact, Genki wasn’t sure he would stay; he visit Genki Roshi and snow was comingthought he was coming just to check us out. through the vacant window and piling up onHowever, he was delighted to find that the frame of my eyeglasses. When I openedSeattle students were sincere, and he found the flap of the outdoor camping tent thatspirit and commitment strong and was serving as the Dokusan Room, I couldGenki Takabayashi died, Feb. 24th, at his ourrefreshing. Dr. Webb was able to assist with hear the crackle of ice snapping. In front ofhome in Victor Montana, with his wife getting a “green card” for Genki to stay in me Genki was once again sitting serenely inLeslie Gannon at his side. He had just the USA as a “missionary.” Eventually, he full lotus surrounded by icicles hangingturned 80 (81 by Japanese reckoning). He went on to become a US citizen.from the walls of the tent. When I left thewas born in Gifu Prefecture in Japan andnext month to train at Ryutaku-Ji, anwas given up for adoption at age 11 to aaffiliate monastery in Japan, these images ofRinzai Zen priest, Genpo Takabayashi, I ended up apprenticing with Genki Roshi Genki Roshi sitting untroubled byabbot of Seitai-Ji. His adoptive father (Senior Priest), as we soon came to call conditions and circumstances allowed me toeventually ordained Genki. As a young him, for twenty years until his retirement inadult he left for Daitoku-Ji, one of the two 1997. Over the course of my longContinued on next page principle Rinzai training temples in KyotoExtended EulogyPage 5

Volume 20.1face the uncertainty and trials of such ajourney with a measure of equanimity, and Iam forever grateful.Spring 2013everybody falls asleep round him. The nextday he’s brought before Pontius Pilate.could be an inspirational catalyst for those Imagine the struggle Jesus had that eveningtraining with him. He probed and prompted with everybody falling asleep around him,us to investigate and experience the depth ofmind in turmoil, sitting all night aloneThe second gift I received from Genki our true nature, a bottomless vastness hisand facing life and death. We can’t be sureRoshi was the opportunity to soak up his without form that gives rise to everything. but I imagine, that he must have enteredactualization that an “enlightened” life is an He taught mainly by example how to live deep Samadhi that night. From his behavior“ordinary” life. In everything he approached fully and passionately, with an attentive the following day, the gospels portray himhe demonstrated that living life fully with caring attitude, beyond any attachment to as being calm and clear in the trials and the“everyday openhearted activity” was rank, position, preference or opinion. He tribulations that followed. I’m sure it was aparamount. No matter if it was sitting zazen became a surrogate father to me, and I will rather dark night, not one that anyone would(seated meditation), cooking, calligraphy, be forever grateful for his continued wish to face. Jesus faced it, entered a deepgardening, landscaping, cleaning, pottery, presence in my life. May the flower of his Samadhi and his realization and example isgiving Teisho (formal Dharma Talk), inspiration continue to bloom for celebrated to this day.making a bowl of whisked green tea or generations to come.writing fiction, Genki was fully present toThrough Zen training we learn that each ofthe activity at hand, operating with joy,unending enthusiasm and energy. He taught With gassho,us has the capacity to enter deep samadhi orGenjous that samu (work meditation) was moreharmony with our surroundings, where theimportant to our training than zazen, sutraartificial walls of life and death, self andrecitation or koan (Zen parable) study.other, fall away and there’s a harmoniousblending with everything and nothing. InChristianity, this blending might beThe third lesson learned, the hardest todescribed as union with “The Divine”, theaccept and perhaps the most important, is“unnamable mystery”, or ecstatic mergerKamben Chapter 24that all of us are fully human! That is to say,with the Father’s “Holy Spirit.” But whetherthat though Genki amply demonstrated thatth, 2013it’s called Great Father, Great Mother,March28we can be and are all vessels of the Dharma,Unnamable Mystery, Dharma, Tao or Mu,we are also limited, and from time to timethere is a unifying alive reality, a vibrantstubbornly primitive. There will always be Casemultidimensional nothing that miraculouslytension between our base instincts and truegives rise to All of This. It’s totallyinsight. When Genki left Japan he One day, Fuke went into the streets and understandable why it is referred to asabandoned a relationship and a child. He asked people for a one-piece robe. “Divine.”never understood credit or money well and Everybody offered one, but Fuke declinedoften found himself in debt. Early on during them all. The Master ordered thehis time in Seattle we had to warn female administrator of the temple to buy a coffin. T o truly face death with the clearparticipants that there was a good chance he Fuke came back. The Master said, “I have knowledge that we will lose everything,would make a pass at them. We are all a prepared a one-piece robe for you.” Fuke realizing in our heart of hearts thatblend of Buddha and bumpkin; with all the put the coffin on his shoulders and everything is fleeting, we fully come totraining in the world we will never arrive. circumambulated the streets, saying, terms with that fact that everything that hasIn other words, from wherever we are we “Rinzai found a one-piece robe for me. form, including your own life, is forfeit. Inare always just beginning. I often tell the Now I will go to the East Gate and depart such a circumstance, if our faith is strongstory of how at least once a year Genki from this world.” The townspeople rushed enough, practice will bring us to a deepwould give a Teisho where he would to the gate to watch him. Fuke said, “I am samadhi and we may have a penetratingexclaim, “I now just beginning to not ready today. Tomorrow, I will depart breakthrough or realization.from the South Gate.” He repeated the sameunderstand, just now beginning to see.”thing for three days. Nobody believed himOn the fourth day, no one Genki Roshi would sometimes say that weEveryone has limitations and shortcomings anymore.followed him to watch. He went outside the are here to find our “Blue Sky Mind,” athat arise from wounds in our history. town wall all by himself, got into the coffin, mind that is vast and boundless as the greatThere are three options for dealing with and asked a passerby to nail it shut. The blue sky, like the Big Skies of Montana.them. One is to do the very difficult work of news spread immediately. The townspeople He’d also refer to this as “Vacation Mind.”combusting, digesting and integrating these rushed there to see. When the coffin was Sesshin helps us cultivate and realizewounds. Second is to contain them so that opened, Fuke had vanished, body and all. “Vacation Mind” where, no matter what thethey don’t cause harm to others. Third is to Only the sound of his hand bell could be circumstances, it feels like we’re onskip over them with spiritual bypassing, heard fading away in the sky, fainter and vacation, even when facing our own deathwhich can be easily done, but usually comes fainter.”and the annihilation of everybody we loveback to haunt us. Like most of us, Genkimost dearly and most deeply value. To bemade use of all three.able to open to Vacation Mind, the kind thatwe have when we’re lying on the beach inToday is Maundy Thursday. That’s the Hawaii, in the midst of adversity and loss isnight that Jesus is in Gethsemane and our birthright. When we fully let in thatGenki Roshi proved time and again that heThe Book of RinzaiPage 6

Volume 20.1death is imminent

Volume 20.1 Spring 2013 Page 1 Dear members and friends, Our founding Abbot, Genki Roshi, died at his home on February 24th, and this issue of Plum Mountain News is dedicated to him.