Dedicated to Charlotte Joko Beck and Gesshin Prabhasa Dharma, Roshi
"The right use of mind is in the service of love, of life, of truth, of beauty." ~ Nisargadatta

Charlotte Joko Beck

The word Zen simply means meditation. Joko is a master of Zen, and she has never stopped surprising conventional Zen circles with her unconventional and innovative style of teaching. Coming from Soto Zen, early on in her expansive five-decade teaching career in the US and Australia, she noticed that most traditional Zen Buddhist customs (like rote chanting, wearing robes, shaving heads and building hierarchy,) could become obstacles to inner realization. So, she dropped it all. She continued to develop many awareness practices to help students understand themselves. She watched what helped them grow and what did not. Realizing that ambitious title and identity seeking could prevent students from completing their own genuine Zen, she discontinued all marks of status. The heart of practice in Joko's zendo is always the self-discovery found only in silence. Joko Beck will be long remembered as a unique and powerful Zen trailblazer. She is the author of two books: Everyday Zen, and Nothing Special, plus a CD set also called, Nothing Special. She expects awakening students to stand on their own sincere inquiry and nothing else. Currently, she is 93 and is teaching in Arizona.

Gesshin Prabhasa Dharma, Roshi

Roshi was to be the successor of Ven. Thich Man Gaic, but he outlived her. She died of cancer in 1999 at age 69. A Roshi in the Rinzai Zen tradition, Gesshin Prabhasa Dharma taught in the Mojave desert in California, and founded a Zen Center in the Netherlands. While she was known for her innate creative nature, love of the desert, and her elegance, her personal history is fascinating. Born in Germany, as a child she was once asked to present Hitler with flowers when he visited her village. Hitler thought she was beautiful, in fact, he thought she was the perfect Aryan! Her family fled to Switzerland, then went on to California where they all settled for the rest of their lives. Roshi grew-up with a keen eye for freedom, and in the 90s she warned "America could lose its precious freedoms if it is not paying attention." Beloved Roshi will always be remembered for her rigorous and creative practice-months in the desert, her appreciation of nature's beauty, her calligraphy and her extensive knowledge of penetrating literature. Her successor Juin Hogen, Roshi teaches in the Netherlands. (www.zeninstitute.org) Roshi's book "You Too Are Buddha" is only available in Dutch. (Photo credit: Roshi is smiling at photographer Helios Wilson, age 5 at the time.)

Acknowledgement:

With gratitude we respectfully acknowledge the early work of Russian artist Nickolas Roerich, who in the first half of the last century said, "Where there is peace there is culture, and where there is culture there is peace." He inspired our logo, and our Peace Education program is a continuation of his foresighted "PAX CULTURA" (Peace Culture) movement. The Roerich Peace Pact was ratified by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 and can be viewed (as well as the original banner and many paintings) by clicking the Nicholas Roerich Museum link and logo.

Logo:

Our logo has ancient roots. Nickolas Roerich used it as a flag to indicate a neutral zone for safety and protection in times of war to preserve places of artistic, scientific, and historic value. The meaning of the ZHS LOGO The three jewels in the center are: Truth The truth of nature, of being. Community The community of human beings on Earth. Awareness The moment to moment practice of being present. The circle around the jewels represents Life itself. Dark blue is a color of peace and healing.