Zenways Nottingham

Shinzan Roshi in front of Gyokuryuji in 2017.

After having his kensho confirmed by Itsugai Roshi, Shinzan moved to a tiny temple deep in the mountains called Enjoji. He continued his Zen study at nearby Kokutaiji monastery with a very good teacher called Inaba Shinden. This was a time of clarifying his dream.

At this time in his life, Shinzan Rōshi realised he did not want to run a [mainstream] training school for funeral priests. He had discovered Gyokuryuji, former hermitage of the great Zen master Bankei, while out on takuhatsu (alms round). The little temple had no source of income and had thus been long abandoned. The buildings that remained were on the point of collapse. Shinzan Rōshi moved in and began saving what was left. As he restored the hermitage, he dreamed of restoring the focus of the Zen school.

He put up a sign at the gate announcing, “Training place for both young and old people to come and realise awakening.” This was much more in line with his dream.

[Day 11 of our 49-day sesshin retreat in honour of Shinzan Roshi 1935-2021]

Shinzan Rōshi was very keen to welcome hikikomori and other outcasts to try to help them find a way back into society.
For those of us training in the temple, we had to learn to work with these people and still maintain the schedule. Things could get quite wild! Of all the people who came to the temple, the most controversial were former members of a Japanese cult called Aum Shinrikyo. In 1995 Aum Shinrikyo released poison gas Sarin on the Tokyo subway killing 12 people and injuring many more.

Of the group, one of the most feared and reviled was the second most senior member, Kazuaki Okazaki. After the subway incident Shinzan Rōshi became involved in Okuzaki’s rehabilitation. He engaged him on the level of his meditation practice by asking about his personal experiences. Surprisingly there was a breakthrough. This brainwashed and very fixed character started to soften and open, seeing beyond his indoctrination and moving towards the middle way.

Shinzan Rōshi visited Okazaki regularly in prison. Gradually the prisoner started to recognise his awful crime. He began to try to do his very best to make amends, making apologies to surviving family members. He became a student of Shinzan Rōshi and studied Zen with him. A gifted artist, his Zen-inspired drawings are featured in our book Rough Waking (Zenways Press 2019).

Okazaki eventually received the death sentence and under Japanese law he was only permitted to receive visits from family members. So Shinzan Rōshi took steps towards adopting this hated man so that he could continue his visits. You can imagine the ripples this caused in every aspect of Shinzan’s life. His wife divorced him and many people in the Zen establishment shook their heads. Shinzan Rōshi continued.

Day 7 of our 49-day sesshin retreat commemorating the life of Shinzan Roshi (1935-2021)

Being, Not Doing | Insight Timer We can think about our lives in two contrasting ways: in terms of ‘being’ and in terms of ‘doing’. In our lineage of Zen there are two great Zen masters, each emphasizing one of these two approaches: Hakuin (1686-1768) who taught a journey from point A through the process of practice to poin...

Dear all,
Due to a clash with an online event held by Zenways London we have chosen to postpone our meeting this weekend in favour of allowing everyone to attend that if they wish.

We highly recommend you do as it is led by our teacher Daizan Roshi and based on his book 'Rough Waking' Please follow this link if you're interested:

https://zenways.org/event/rough-waking-in-association-alternatives/

Zenways Nottingham will be back at the usual time of 10:30am on Sunday 18th October

Rough Waking Workshop, in Association with Alternatives Events - zenways Time is tight; life is short. How long do you want to remain in the dream? Zen master Daizan Skinner Roshi will share the secrets of what it takes to rapidly and sustainably awaken within the conditions of modern life.