Misplaced Pages

Part of a series on
Zen Buddhism
Main articles Zen Chinese Chan Japanese Zen Korean Seon Vietnamese Thiền Zen in the United States
TeachingsThe "essence" No-mind Original enlightenment Buddha-nature Turning the light around Kenshō Satori Sudden awakening The way Ten Ox-Herding Pictures Five ranks of Tozan Hakuin's Four ways of knowing One Vehicle The "goal" Bodhisattva ideal Buddhahood Background Zen and Sutras Doctrinal background of Zen Representation-only Emptiness
Practices Zazen Six Perfections Bodhisattva vow Bodhisattva Precepts Shikantaza Sesshin Dhāraṇī Walking meditation Nianfo Chan Koan Hua Tou Samu (Zen) Ōryōki Prostration (Buddhism) Buddhist chant Dharma combat Kyōgai Zen poetry Zen calligraphy
Zen scriptureIndian Mahayana texts Prajñaparamita sutras Lankavatara Sutra Śrīmālādevī Sūtra Lotus Sutra Vimalakirti Sutra Avatamsaka Sutra Mahaparinirvana Sutra Chinese texts Two Entrances and Four Practices Śūraṅgama Sūtra The Awakening of Faith Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment Platform Sutra Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall Transmission of the Lamp
Traditions East Mountain Teaching Sanjiejiao Oxhead school Heze school Hongzhou school Five Houses of Chán Tibetan Chan Trúc Lâm Plum Village Tradition Order of Interbeing Jogye Order Kwan Um School of Zen Taego Order Rinzai school Sōtō school Ōbaku school Sanbo Kyodan White Plum Asanga Ordinary Mind Zen School Zen Peacemakers
PersonsChán in China Classical Bodhidharma Hongren Shenxiu Huineng (Enō) Shenhui Mazu Daoyi (Baso) Shitou Xiqian (Kisen) Huangbo Dongshan Liangjie (Tozan) Xuefeng Yicun (Seppo) Linji Yixuan (Rinzai) Zongmi Yunmen Wenyan (Ummon Bun'en) Yongming Yanshou Dahui Zonggao (Tahui) Post-classical Zhongfeng Mingben Hanshan Deqing Contemporary Taixu Xu Yun Sheng-yen Zen in Japan Eisai Bassui Ikkyū Bankei Hakuin Ekaku Dōgen Seon in Korea Taego Bou Jinul Daewon Seongcheol Thiền in Vietnam Trần Thái Tông Trần Nhân Tông Thích Thanh Từ Thích Nhất Hạnh Thích Thiên-Ân Western Zen D. T. Suzuki Hakuun Yasutani Taizan Maezumi Shunryū Suzuki Hsuan Hua Seungsahn Sokei-an Category: Zen Buddhists
Institution Dharma transmission Zen lineage charts Zen ranks and hierarchy Zen organisation and institutions Zen Narratives
Related schools Sānlùn Wéishí Huayan Tiantai Shingon Tendai Pure Land Buddhism
v t e

Part of a series on
Western Buddhism
Statue of the Buddha in the Japanese Tea Garden, San Francisco
Main articles Western Buddhism Buddhist modernism Buddhism in the United States Buddhism in Europe Historical Greco-Buddhism Buddhism and the Roman world Greco-Buddhist monasticism
Tibetan dissemination 14th Dalai Lama In the United States Chögyam Trungpa In England Geshe Kelsang Gyatso In Germany Lama Anagarika Govinda
Theravada dissemination Thai Forest Tradition Vipassana movement In England Anagarika Dharmapala Sangharakshita Ajahn Chah In Germany Nyanatiloka Nyanaponika Thera In the United States Thanissaro Bhikkhu Joseph Goldstein Jack Kornfield
Zen dissemination Zen in the United States Modern Chinese Chán Hsuan Hua Sheng-yen Hsing Yun Rinzai Zen D. T. Suzuki Sokei-an Soto Zen Shunryū Suzuki Sanbo Kyodan Haku'un Yasutani White Plum Asanga Taizan Maezumi Korean Seon Seung Sahn Vietnamese Thiền Thích Nhất Hạnh Listing of Zen Buddhists
Pure Land dissemination In the UK Three Wheels Temple In the USA Buddhist Churches of America Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii In Canada Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada
Exchange Buddhism and Christianity Buddhism and Gnosticism Buddhism and psychology Buddhism and Western Philosophy Buddhism and Pyrrhonism
General Buddhism Buddhism Outline of Buddhism Traditions Theravada Mahayana Vajrayana Navayana Asian countries Indian Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism Chinese Buddhism Japanese Buddhism Korean Buddhism Listing of Buddhist topics
v t e

Charlotte Joko Beck (March 27, 1917 – June 15, 2011) was an American Zen teacher and the author of the books Everyday Zen: Love and Work and Nothing Special: Living Zen.

Biography

Born in New Jersey, Beck studied music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and worked for some time as a pianist and piano teacher. She married and raised a family of four children, then separated from her husband and worked as a teacher, secretary, and assistant in a university department. She began Zen practice in her 40s with Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi in Los Angeles, and later with Hakuun Yasutani and Soen Nakagawa. Beck received Dharma transmission from Taizan Maezumi Roshi in 1978, but broke with Maezumi over his actions and opened Zen Center San Diego in 1983, serving as its head teacher until July 2006.

Beck was responsible for a number of important innovations in Zen teaching. Because she was adept at teaching students to work with their psychological states, she attracted a number of students who were interested in the relationship between Zen and modern psychology. Several of her Dharma heirs are practicing psychologists/psychiatrists. In 1995 Joko, along with three of her Dharma heirs, founded the Ordinary Mind Zen School.

Shortly after Beck’s departure in 2006, she revoked Dharma transmission from two senior students: Ezra Bayda and Elizabeth Hamilton. Beck also stated that Zen Center San Diego should not claim to represent her or her teaching. In 2006 Joko moved to Prescott, Arizona, where she continued to teach until she retired as a teacher in late 2010. In the spring of 2010, Joko announced Gary Nafstad as her last Dharma successor.

Beck died on June 15, 2011, at age 94.

Lineage

Joko Beck appointed nine teachers:

1. Christensen, Larry Jissan
2. Christenson, Anna
3. Dawson, Geoff
4. Howard, Gregg
5. Magid, Barry (b. 1949)
6. Nafstad, Gary (b. 1949)
7. Penn, Barbara Muso (d. 2023)
8. Smith, Elihu Genmyo (b. 1948)
9. Rizzetto, Diane Eshin (b. 1942)

From two other teachers she later sought to revoke her appointment:

1. Bayda, Ezra (b. 1944) (revoked 2006)
2. Hamilton, Elizabeth (b. 1942) (revoked 2006)

Books

• Beck, Charlotte Joko (2021). Ordinary Wonder. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 978-1-61180-877-3.
• Beck, Joko; Smith, Steve (1989). Everyday Zen: Love and Work. Harper Collins. ISBN 0-06-060734-3.
• Beck, Joko (1993). Nothing Special: Living Zen. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-251117-3.

See also

• Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United States

References

1. ^ Tebbe, Adam (June 15, 2011). "Charlotte Joko Beck dies at 94; American Zen pioneer". Sweeping Zen. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
2. "Joko Beck Bio". Sweeping Zen. Archived from the original on 5 Dec 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
3. ^ Ford, James Ishmael (2006). Zen Master Who?: A Guide to the People and Stories of Zen. Boston: Wisdom Publications. pp. 173–175. ISBN 978-0-86171-509-1.
4. "Honorary Founder". Prairie Zen Center. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
5. ^ "Barry Magid Interview". Sweeping Zen. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
6. ^ "Stuart Lachs". Non-Duality. August 26, 2010. Archived from the original on 2014-06-23. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
7. "Elizabeth Hamilton reflects on Joko Beck's life at memorial service". Lions roar. Retrieved Jan 1, 2017.
8. "Sanbo Kyodan: Harada-Yasutani School of Zen Buddhism and its Teachers". Buddhist Studies WWW Virtual Library. Archived from the original on April 4, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
9. "Stuart Lachs interview Aug. 26, 2010". non-duality magazine. Archived from the original on 2014-06-23. Retrieved June 23, 2014.

Further reading

• Friedman, Lenore (2000). Meetings With Remarkable Women: Buddhist Teachers in America. Boston: Shambhala Publications. pp. 125–150. ISBN 978-1-57062-474-2.

External links

• Wilkefilm documentary on Joko Beck (2001)
• Upaya Newsletter for 6/20/2011
• YouTube channel for Joko Beck's teaching (accessed March 9, 2024)

• 1917 births
• 2011 deaths
• American Buddhists
• Oberlin College alumni
• Zen Buddhism writers
• Zen Buddhist spiritual teachers
• American Zen Buddhists
• American Buddhist nuns
• 20th-century American nuns
• 20th-century Buddhist nuns
• 21st-century Buddhist nuns
• 21st-century American nuns
• 21st-century American women