White Plum Asanga

White Plum Asanga, sometimes termed White Plum Sangha, is a loose (hence asangha) "organization of peers whose members are leaders of Zen Communities in the lineage of Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi," created by Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi and Tetsugen Bernard Glassman. It consists of Maezumi's Dharma heirs and subsequent successors.

Characterization

A diverse organization spread across the United States and with a small presence in Europe, the White Plum Asanga

[I]ncludes teachers who represent the spectrum of styles to be found to American Zen—socially engaged Buddhism, family practice, Zen and the arts, secularized Zen, and progressive traditionalism."

Conceived of informally in 1979 by Maezumi and Tetsugen Bernard Glassman, the White Plum Asanga was named after Maezumi's father Baian Hakujun Dai-osho and then later incorporated in 1995 following Maezumi's death. Tetsugen Bernard Glassman was the White Plum Asanga's first President and his successor was Dennis Genpo Merzel. Following Merzel's term, in May 2007, Gerry Shishin Wick served as elected President of White Plum, until 2013 when Anne Seisen Saunders became the current president.

Notable members

Jan Chozen Bays
Merle Kodo Boyd
Charles Tenshin Fletcher
Tetsugen Bernard Glassman (Past President)
Joan Jiko Halifax
Robert Jinsen Kennedy
John Daido Loori
Peter Muryo Matthiessen
Wendy Egyoku Nakao
Pat Enkyo O'Hara
John Tesshin Sanderson
Gerry Shishin Wick (Past President)
Michael Mugaku Zimmerman
Diane Musho Hamilton

Notable centers

Lost Coin Zen
Still Mind Zendo
Yokoji Zen Mountain Center
Upaya Institute and Zen Center
Kanzeon Zen Center
Zen Center of Los Angeles
Zen Mountain Monastery
Village Zendo
Great Vow Zen Monastery
Sweetwater Zen Center
Zen River
Brevard Zen Center
New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care
Soji Zen Center
Zen Life & Meditation Center
Great Plains Zen Center
Two Arrows Zen

References

Sources

Maezumi, Taizan; Glassman, Bernard (2002). On Zen Practice: Body, Breath, Mind. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-315-X. OCLC 49822921.
Prebish, Charles S.; Baumann, Martin (2002). Westward Dharma: Buddhism Beyond Asia. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-22625-9. OCLC 48871649.
Prebish, Charles S (1999). Luminous Passage: The Practice and Study of Buddhism in America. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-21697-0.
Tucker, Mary Evelyn (1997). Buddhism and Ecology: The Interconnection of Dharma and Deeds. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-945454-13-9.