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Dennis Genpo Merzel
Title	Roshi
Personal life
Born	Dennis Merzel c. 1944 Brooklyn, New York, USA
Nationality	American
Education	University of Southern California
Occupation	Former Zen teacher Author Poet
Religious life
Denomination	Sōtō Zen
Senior posting
Predecessor	Taizan Maezumi
Website	www.kzci.org

Dennis Genpo Merzel Roshi (b. 1944) is a Sōtō Zen roshi and abbot of Kanzeon Zen Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, which he founded. He also has training in Rinzai Zen. He was the second Dharma Successor of Taizan Maezumi roshi, whom he began his Zen practice with in the 1970s. In 1996 he received inka from Bernard Glassman, Glassman being Maezumi's first Dharma Successor. He is former President of the White Plum Asanga, and has appointed several Dharma Successors during his time spent teaching. As the author of five books to date, Merzel has recently been spending time marketing a meditative technique which he calls Big Mind ™, which is in fact Voice Dailogue Therapy rebranded. Today he takes residence in Salt Lake City, Utah accompanied by his wife, who is co-abbot.

Biography

Dennis Genpo Merzel was born in 1944 in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Southern California. In high school he was a champion swimmer, and in junior college he was captain of his water polo team that won the 1965 gold medal at the Maccabean Games held in Israel. He attended the University of Southern California, obtaining a Masters degree in educational administration. He went on to become a high school teacher.

In the mid-1960s he divorced a woman he was married to for only a short time. In 1968 he suffered the loss of his father, and was soon injured in a bad motorcycle crash. Unsure of where life was taking him, he took a road trip to the Mojave Desert in 1971. There he had a self-reported spiritual awakening—of sorts. He decided to lead a different life for himself, one dedicated to understanding who he was and how he could "be of service to humanity".

In 1973 he ordained as a Buddhist monk under the guidance of Taizan Maezumi, completing his koan studies in 1979. Before ordaining in 1973, he had spent a year in silent retreat in the mountains of California. In 1980 he became a Dharma Successor of Maezumi. Starting in 1982 Merzel began traveling to areas of Europe and established an international network of Zen groups. Genpo Merzel received inka from Bernard Glassman in October of 1996 of the White Plum lineage. He currently serves as President of White Plum Asanga. He has appointed many Dharma Successors since, and has conferred inka to John Daido Loori and Catherine Genno Pages.

Big Mind

Big Mind ™, according to Merzel, is a process that allows everyone—including non-Buddhists—to experience the enlightenment of the Buddha. The process claims to implement a combination of meditation and psychological techniques and, while borrowing from certain truths found in Buddhism, is not a Buddhist form of meditation. In workshops he, or someone trained in how to conduct a Big Mind seminar, requests that participants get in touch with various aspects of themselves. He walks them through interactions with different aspects of their mind which he terms The Controller, The Skeptic and Desiring Mind—ending the process with Big Mind and Big Heart. According to Genpo Roshi, Big Mind and Big Heart are the forces within that allow us to see the interconnectedness of all beings. Since developing the Big Mind process in 1999, he has offered his seminars to more than 20,000 individuals all around the world.

Acclaim

In the foreword to Merzel's book of the title Big Mind, Big Heart, author and integral theorist Ken Wilber wrote about the merits of the Big Mind ™ process. Wilber argues that Big Mind is likely the single-most important discovery made in Buddhism in the last two centuries. He endorses the idea that one can attain kensho in about an hour by undergoing Genpo's Big Mind process, foregoing years of intensive practice. Wilber ends the foreword by expressing a deep thanks to Dennis Genpo Merzel for discovering this simple and innovative process.

Criticism

Sōtō Zen priest Brad Warner has been critical of Merzel and the Big Mind ™ process, which Warner called a "scam" in a March 3, 2007 blog he does for SuicideGirls. He had a problem with the assertion that one can attain enlightenment in one day by undergoing the Big Mind ™ process. Warner asserts that enlightenment—referred to as satori or kensho—is contingent on ongoing, laborious practice, requiring many years before coming about. He equally has qualms with the suggested donation price for attending a Big Mind seminar, which at the time of his blogging was $150. He likened the program to convincing yourself you will be as good as Michael Jordan was in basketball after just one day of practice. As Warner puts it, "Clowns like these can con folks into parting with large sums of money — there’s a $150 “suggested donation” to attend a Big Mind™ seminar — to hear them spout drivel like this because there is so little understanding of what kensho or satori — Enlightenment, in other words — actually is. In fact, there is so much confusion on the subject that I tend to reject the words entirely. If what Genpo Roshi is selling is Enlightenment, I want no part of Enlightenment."

Personal life

Merzel is married to Stephanie Young, co-abbot with him at the Kanzeon Zen Center. He has two children, Tai and Nicole. He is often found in casual attire and, despite his accident years ago, he continues to ride motorcycles. His wife is a great-great granddaughter of Brigham Young.

Bibliography

• The Eye Never Sleeps: Striking to the Heart of Zen (1991, Shambhala Publications)
• Beyond Sanity and Madness the Way of Zen Master Dogen (1994, Tuttle Publishing)
• 24/7 Dharma: Impermanence, No-Self, Nirvana (2001, Journey Editions)
• The Path of the Human Being: Zen Teachings on the Bodhisattva Way (2005, Shambhala Publications)
• Big Mind, Big Heart: Finding Your Way (2007, Big Mind Publishing)

External links

• Kanzeon Zen Center
• Big Mind Website

References

1. ^ "Faculty Profile". Omega Institute. Retrieved 2008-01-03. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
2. ^ Jarvik, Elaine (2005-08-26). "The Zen of Sitting". Desert Morning News. Retrieved 2008-01-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
3. ^ Dumas, Bianca (2001-12-13). "Zen In Zion". Salt Lake City Weekly. Retrieved 2008-01-03. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
4. Prebish, Charles S (1999). Luminous Passage: The Practice and Study of Buddhism in America. University of California Press. pp. p. 98. ISBN 0520216970. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
5. Snelling, John (1987). The Buddhist Handbook. Century, an imprint of Random House. pp. p. 341. ISBN 0712615547. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
6. Wilber, Ken (2007). "Big Mind, Big Heart (Foreword)". Big Mind Publishing. Retrieved 2008-01-03. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
7. Warner, Brad (2007-03-03). "Brad Warner's Hardcore Zen: Big Mind™ is a Big Load™ of Horse Shit". SuicideGirls. Retrieved 2008-01-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

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